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Islamic and Islamist Revivalism in Syria: the Rise and Fall of Secularism in Ba'thist Syria

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Islamic and Islamist Revivalism in Syria: the Rise and Fall of Secularism in Ba'thist Syria Islamic and Islamist Revivalism in Syria: The Rise and Fall of Secularism in Ba„thist Syria. Line Khatib © 2 Line Khatib Islamic Revivalism in Syria 3 Line Khatib ISLAMIC AND ISLAMIST REVIVALISM IN SYRIA: THE RISE AND FALL OF SECULARISM IN BA„THIST SYRIA. ___________________________________________ 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS _____________________________________________________ 6 ABSTRACT _________________________________________________________________ 7 RESUME ____________________________________________________________________ 8 Chapter 1: The Subject of Islamic Revivalism in Syria _____________________________ 10 Scope of the Study __________________________________________________________________ 10 Key Research Questions and Key Variables ______________________________________________ 12 ―Islamic,‖ ―Islamist‖ and ―Fundamentalist‖ Defined _______________________________________ 13 Why Study Syria‘s Conflictual Relationship with its Islamic Movement? _______________________ 14 Contribution _______________________________________________________________________ 16 Contending Perspectives ______________________________________________________________ 16 Methodology _______________________________________________________________________ 25 Map of the Work ____________________________________________________________________ 27 PART I: THE ORIGINS OF THE CONFLICT ___________________________________ 28 Chapter 2: Rise of a Secular Socialist Party: The Ba´th in Power _____________________ 29 Introduction ________________________________________________________________________ 29 The Arab Socialist Ba´th Party Doctrine _________________________________________________ 29 The Ba´th Party‘s Ascent to Power _____________________________________________________ 35 The Ba´th in Power __________________________________________________________________ 38 Chapter 3: Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood ______________________________________ 44 Introduction ________________________________________________________________________ 44 The Muslims Brothers: A Different Kind of Social Base and Agenda __________________________ 44 The Muslim Brothers: An Islamic Party _________________________________________________ 51 Beginnings of Low Intensity Islamist Militancy ___________________________________________ 53 Conclusion Part I ____________________________________________________________________ 57 PART II: HAFEZ AL-ASAD‟S ERA AND THE CONFLICT WITH THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: MUTING OF SECULARISM IN SYRIA? ______________________ 58 Chapter 4: Conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood _________________________________ 59 Introduction ________________________________________________________________________ 59 Theoretical Explanations for the Rise in Islamic and Islamist militancy ________________________ 62 The Open Challenge with Emphasis on the Secular Element _________________________________ 62 Secularism ___________________________________________________________________________ 63 Islamic Revivalism in Syria 4 Line Khatib The Conflict___________________________________________________________________________ 63 Explanations of the Violent Contention: Political and Economic Grievances, Anomie and Social Alienation _________________________________________________________________________ 78 The Political Culture School ______________________________________________________________ 78 The Socio-Economic School ______________________________________________________________ 81 The Social Movement Theory School _______________________________________________________ 86 Chapter 5: Resurgence of Neo-fundamentalism and Decline of political Islam as a model for change (1982-2000) ___________________________________________________________ 89 Introduction ________________________________________________________________________ 89 The Regime‘s Counter-Offensive _______________________________________________________ 90 Control, Cooptation and Compromise: Blurring of Borders between the State and Society and the Muting of Secularism ________________________________________________________________ 93 Tightening of State-Society Relations and Creation of New Alliances _____________________________ 95 Manufacturing Consent through the Religious and the Portrayal of the Muslim Brotherhood as an Enemy of Moderate Islam _____________________________________________________________________ 98 Reaching a Modus Vivendi with the Bourgoisie: Economically Rewarding Patronage Networks and Reinvigoration of the Private Sector.______________________________________________________ 104 The Tacit Gender Pact _________________________________________________________________ 108 The Regional Factor ___________________________________________________________________ 116 Conclusion of Part II ________________________________________________________________ 120 PART III: BASHAR‟S ERA: ISLAMIC AND ISLAMIST REVIVALISM? ___________ 122 Chapter 6: Bashar Following in his Father‟s Footsteps: the Promotion of Moderate Islam in the name of de-radicalization _________________________________________________ 123 Introduction _______________________________________________________________________ 123 Islamization from Above: How is Today‘s Ba´thist Regime Further Empowering Syria‘s Islamic Sector? _________________________________________________________________________________ 125 The State Response to a Growing Islamic Sector ____________________________________________ 125 Islamization from Above and the Regime’s Social Policies _____________________________________ 127 Islamization from Above and Economic liberalization (Infitah) _________________________________ 132 Islamization from Above and the Regime’s Foreign Policy _____________________________________ 137 The Resulting Underground Activity ___________________________________________________ 149 Conclusion________________________________________________________________________ 152 Chapter 7: Revivalism and re-emergence of political Islam as a model for change: Syria‟s Islamic and Islamist sectors ___________________________________________________ 154 Introduction _______________________________________________________________________ 154 Fundamentalist Groups Co-opted by the Damascus Regime and Islamization fron Below _________ 155 Playing the Apolitical Game_____________________________________________________________ 155 General Discourse: Apolitical? ___________________________________________________________ 158 The Most Influential Groups in Syria’s Islamic Revivalism _____________________________________ 161 Female Shaykhas _____________________________________________________________________ 167 Ideological commitments and Material Incentives ___________________________________________ 169 Dispersed and Informal Aspect of the Islamic Network _______________________________________ 174 Beyond the Nation-State: Towards Political Outreach? _______________________________________ 176 Groups opposing the Damascus regime: Opposition pacifism and opposition activism looking for systemic change ___________________________________________________________________ 179 The Islamic DemocraticCurrent and The Syrian Islamic Front as Neo-Fundamentalist Groups ________ 180 Islamic Revivalism in Syria 5 Line Khatib Islamist Militant Groups and the Call to Islamic Resistance ____________________________________ 190 Conclusion________________________________________________________________________ 199 Chapter 8: Islamic activism and the Erosion of the Secular State ____________________ 202 Introduction _______________________________________________________________________ 202 Islamist Revivalism? ________________________________________________________________ 204 The Economic Burdens _________________________________________________________________ 204 Economic Liberalization and the Youth ____________________________________________________ 209 Possibility of Turning Political ___________________________________________________________ 214 Repressive measures and the Limits of Syria‘s Islamic Movement ___________________________ 218 The Regime’s counter-measures _________________________________________________________ 218 The Secular Opposition ________________________________________________________________ 221 Conclusion________________________________________________________________________ 225 Chapter 9: Conclusions ______________________________________________________ 229 Scope of Study ____________________________________________________________________ 230 Questions Explored _________________________________________________________________ 230 Theoretical Analysis _______________________________________________________________ 231 Contribution 231 Map of the Work and Main Arguments ________________________________________________ 233 BIBLIOGRAPHY __________________________________________________________ 238 Primary and Secondary Sources _______________________________________________________ 238 Newspapers _______________________________________________________________________ 251 Publications on the Web _____________________________________________________________ 252 Interviews ________________________________________________________________________ 255 Islamic Revivalism in Syria 6 Line Khatib Acknowledgements I am indebted in the writing of this dissertation to my father, whose vast knowledge, passion for politics and unconditional support have enlightened my way. Without him, none of this would exist. I am also indebted to my mother,
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