Every muslim is brother. Like one building, where one component strengthens
other parts, and so on. Like one body, if the eye is in pain, then the whole
body gets pain too. We and our brothers in faith are like a hand and a pair of
eyes in one body. When the hand is scratched, tear will drop from the eyes. And
when the tear flows, the hand will wipe those tears.
Now one of our body parts is in pain. Syria has been in chaos since a war
started there two years ago. Bloodsheds, teardrops, massacres, and murders have
become daily sightings in that country.
In a report released by Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on 26 June 2013,
it was mentioned that Syria death toll has reached 100.191 since the beginning
of the war, while civilians accounted for more than one-third of the overall
fatalities. Another information that was released by United Nations reported
that 6.561 children have been killed during the war. UNHCR also reported that
the number of Syrian refugees has reached 1.700.000.
On 24 June 2013, we have a chance to interview a Syrian who lives in
Damascus; the capital city of Syria; named Mazen A. A. We hide his last name at
his request for security purpose. The 30-year old man told us that the war was
caused by the tyranny of the Shia government. Although Shia just account for
about 10% of the population, they have power in their hands by ruling the
government for the last 42 years.
The Shia regime led by Bashar al-Assad indeed is an authoritarian regime,
and did not hesitate to kill their own Sunni people. Nevertheless Bashar did
not commit the genocide alone. He was supported by Russia, Iran, Iraq, and the
Hizbullah armies from Lebanon. Mazen told us “They (Russia) send weapons
and experts. Iran send weapons and warriors. Moreover they also donate fund.
Iraq send oil and warriors, while Hizbullah is in direct contact with Free
Syrian Army.”
We asked him how hard life has become since the war started. He replied that
his own life has become so hard. He was interrogated by the intelligence
because he had beard that time. Thus he forcefully shaved his beard. Goods have
also become so expensive due to the decline of Syrian Pound against US Dollar.
Beside that, the electricity is cut for 8 hours each day. Moreover, recently,
because of the scarcity of food supplies, even a fatwa that allows cat
meats to be eaten has been released in Homs, one of the most severe places.
Being a muslim has also been so hard there. Many muslims have been forced to
renounce their faith. Even they are forced to say “Laa ilaha illa Bashar
al-Assad” (There is no God but Bashar al-Assad). Those who refuse to say
the words will be tortured, even to death. Mazen clarifies the truth of this
news. And if people go to perform prayer in a mosque, the regime will take them
to the intelligence and interrogate them.
In order to survive, muslims in Syria have to live under several conditions,
such as “do not talk about politics. And do not talk about Islam either”. Under
these conditions, the khutba (sermons) given there are limited to
several themes, because themes like politics, corruptions, and economics are
forbidden. If they violate this rule, they will be arrested.
A war can only be called a war crime if citizens are victims. To sum it up,
the war in Syria is a war crime, since the military force bombed randomly, and
they arrest someone with no reason at all, just because they don’t like that
person. Thus Syrian people live in severe psychological condition, they always
afraid that something will happen to them.
One question that often appears is “why do we have to help them who live
so far away while we have so many problems here?”. Such question often
appears as if there are only two choices: a.) Help Syrians and ignore our
fellow Indonesians, and b.) Help Indonesians and ignore our brothers in faith
in Syria. No, it’s not like that. The answer is: Although we help our brothers
in Syria, we won’t ignore our fellow Indonesians. Islamic brotherhood isn’t
limited by territorial boundaries between one country to another, because the
heart of a muslim is interconnected to the heart of other muslims.
There are many ways that we can do to help our brothers in Syria. From
becoming a mujahideen, to the simplest one, yet can’t be
underestimated, the prayer. Becoming a mujahideen hasn’t been possible
for us, because we still don’t have the required power, weaponry, and support
from the government. Thus all we can do is to help by raising funds to be
donated to Syria, and by praying to Allah the almighty. Those are the best
solutions. “Please pray for us, brother, and if possible, help us by
sending some armed mujahideens here. Also ask your government to say a
word about us in front of the UN and other international communities.”, that’s
what Mazen told us. He also added that what is needed is to spread the correct
information about Syria in the midst of injustice in news reporting presented
by both local and international news agencies. So what are we waiting for?
Let’s act. Insha Allah, Allah will reward us for our efforts.
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This article is based on an interview with a native
Syrian discussing about the situations in Syria after a war started
there. The interview was conducted by Amrizal Aufar and Wahyu Jatmiko from
Forum Studi Islam (Islamic Study Forum/FSI), Faculty of Economics, University
of Indonesia. Feel free to share this article
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