Syrian Confession: History and Modernity

The Islamic factor has a tangible impacton the internal situation and foreign policy of many states of Muslim regions. Recently, it has also acquired an unprecedented importance on the international political arena. Information agencies around the world report hourly about new developments in this or that country of the world, in which Islamic religious and political groups took part.

The focus, the territorial base of these groupsis Syria. The religion of 90% of the citizens of this country is Islam, which encourages people to associate terrorism and Islamic faith. In the media space, clichés "Syrian terrorists", "Syrian suicide bombers" and so on are increasingly seen.

Such associations promote the injectionconflict and stimulate a sense of "Islamic danger". Suffice it to recall the bloody story of "Charlie Ebdo", which was provoked by their religious caricatures, and yet another attack on official, peaceful Islam, the roots of the problem lie in Islamic dogma. Traditional Islam and specifically - the moderate Islamic faith of Syria has long been successfully integrated into the modern world, peacefully coexists with other religions and underlines its rejection of extremism with all its might.

Brief excursion into the pre-Islamic period of Syrian history

Syria is located on the line of contactat once several continents: its continental part is in contact with the Near East, the south of the country borders on the Arabian Peninsula, and the north - with Asia Minor. Since ancient times, Syria is the place of intersection of the largest trade routes and the point of generalization of several religious systems: Palestine, Phenicia, Mesopotamia and Egypt.

The main feature of the organization of the pantheon of the godsin the territory of ancient Syria was its decentralization. Various Syrian cities had their own cults, however, there was also a mandatory, "official" cult: all, without exception, the kingdoms worshiped the gods Baal and Baalat.

Folk cults are mainly associated with gods,Favorable agriculture: the gods of rain, harvest, harvest, winemaking and so on. One can also note the exceptional cruelty of the ancient Syrian cults: the deities were considered to be extremely evil and harmful, and as a result they had to be constantly cajoled with the help of victims, most often human.

Thus, the confession of Syria in the ancient period can be characterized as a system that unites private communal-agricultural cults with nation-wide cults.

History of the spread of Islam in Syria

In Syria, Islam beganspread in the beginning of VII century. Its emergence is associated with the development of monotheistic religions - Judaism and Christianity, as well as with the evolution of the religious consciousness of the population of Arabia. By the 7th century there were many people in Syria who believed in one God, yet did not consider themselves to be Jews or Christians. Islam has perfectly fitted into the situation, becoming the factor that united the disparate tribes, "laid" the ideological basis for political, social and economic changes.

By the end of Muhammad's life,an Islamic state in which all secular and all religious power was in the hands of Muhammad. After the death of the prophet, a situation arose when a ruler should become a man who will hold in his hands both religious and secular components, in other words, the deputy prophet on earth, the "caliph". There is also a new form of state - the caliphate.

The first four caliphs, according to the Arabhistoriography, were called righteous caliphs. All of them were companions of Muhammad. Only one of the Caliphs - Abu Bakr - dies of his death, the rest were killed. Before his death, Abu Bakr appointed his successor Omar. It was under him that Syria, Iraq, Egypt and part of Libya came under the authority of the Caliphate. The Arabian Muslim state could already be boldly called an empire.

The first task that faced the Caliphate -leveling old tribal cults and redirecting the energy of the Arab tribes from the outdated primitive traditions for a good cause. Words of conquest became wars. After a while, as a result of these wars, a small religious system developed into a world-wide civilization.

The whole territory of Syria almost without a fight handed overposition. The population was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Omar's troops did not touch the old people and children, did not kill the prisoners and did not rob the locals. Also, Caliph Omar was ordered not to touch Christians and give the population their own choice of religion. Syria had never known such a soft approach, and therefore the local population willingly converted to Islam.

The reasons for such an eager change of faith can beto depict, remembering what a religion in Syria dominated just before the arrival of Omar. Christianity, by that time already quite spread in Syria, was still incomprehensible to the people, only recently departed from tribal cults, Islam was an understandable, consistent monotheism, also respectful of the sacred values ​​and personalities of Christianity (in the Koran there are also Isa, and Mariam - Christian Jesus and Mary).

The modern religious palette of Syria

In modern Syria, Muslims make up more than 90% of the population (75% are represented by Sunnis, the rest are Alawites, Shiites and Druze).

The Christian faith of Syria has 10% of its population (of which more than half are Syrian Orthodox, others are Catholics, Orthodox and adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church).

The most significant national minority of Syria- The Kurds. The Kurdish faith in Syria is extremely diverse: about 80% of all Kurds are Sunnis, as well as many Shiites and Alawites. In addition, there are Kurds professing Christianity and Judaism. The most unusual Kurdish religious trend can be called Yezidism.

Religious and political conflicts in the territory of modern Syria

In our time, the phenomenon of mass anti-Islamicpsychosis is connected, at least with the propaganda of terrorists of the "Islamic state". On the Internet, daily evidence of new "PR actions" extremists IGIL, Al-Qaida and other transnational organizations based on the ideology of Islamic radicalism. This ideology represents a decisive interpretation of Islamic doctrine in the context of the idealization of the early Islamic way of life and the political strategy based on it, aimed at the formation of a global caliphate, governed by the laws of the Sharia.

This ideologically grounded alternativeis precisely the theoretical basis for war against the West and against its fellow citizens who profess Islam of a different kind, declared by the terrorists of the "Islamic state". This terrorist group is in strong opposition to the Assad government, which adheres to more moderate religious norms and cooperates with Western countries.

Thus, in spite of the fact that the truethe Islamic faith of Syria is now stained with blood, this blood lies on the conscience of terrorists, sponsors and accomplices of terrorism. The causes of these bloody conflicts lie in the field of politics and economy (oil and gas reserves on the territory of Muslim states are of strategic importance for the economies of Western countries), but not in the field of Islamic faith. Islamic doctrine is the ideological lever of extremists, a means of manipulation in its own geopolitical and geo-economic goals.