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The Right to Protect
and the Use of Force and Syria:
A contemporary Arabic and Islamic Perspective
Iyas Salim

Introduction:
This paper is going to examine the issue of military intervention within thecontext of the Syrian Crisis and, furthermore, how to respond to the Syrian
crisis within a regional context. The use of force by Western states under theinternational principle of the Right to Protect, R2P, is perceived in the region asinternationalizing the Syrian crisis which carries serious implications on the
future outcome of the Syrian revolt against the regime dictatorship. The courseof the future of Syria would be adversely shaped by consequences if such
military campaign carried out, particularly by foreign powers. In the context of
traditional Arab and Islamic political culture, the concept of Hizbul Al Fudul,
the Alliance of Fudul, functioned as an internal intervention based on consensus
1that include a military option if necessary. Syria is not an isolated case. The
revolt in Syria began as a chain reaction of the larger Arab revolt calling forsocial justice and freedom. In the early months of 2012, for example, peacefulweekly demonstrations on Fridays simultaneously took place in Syria andYemen echoed a unified call against authoritarian oppression in both societies.
Thus, it is crucial to understand local and regional opinions expressed byinfluential scholars, writers and public institutions reflecting regional sentimentand the way to intervene in the Syria. What are the policy recommendations
being expressed with regard to the contentious issue of foreign militaryintervention? The paper will outline policy recommendations based on theregional context of history and tradition in finding a way out of the Syrian crisis.

Implications of military interventions in Iraq and Libya:
The use of force in R2P in the case of Syria is viewed by observers in the212

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region within the shadow background of two cases of contemporary militaryinterventions in the Arab World; Iraq and Libya. The chief example is Iraq
where the use of military force was implemented for a regime change. For manyin the region, Iraq has not become the exemplary case of democracy andstability. On the contrary, it is largely viewed as a fragmented country broken
up along sectarian lines, disintegrating into violence with no end on sight. In the
meanwhile, the controversy concerning military intervention in Libya is quite
serious. NATO waged military attacks continuously for several months in Libya
with civilian causalities estimated in the tens of thousands of civilians inaddition to the devastation of national infrastructure. The political scene
remains blurred in Libya with the potential contestation among national rivals
and in some cases resorting to violence. Thus, the repetition of another war in
Syria is causing high tension in the region and sending genuine sings of alarm.
For the more recent example, the military intervention in Libya has been ahighly controversial one. The United States and Britain are been accused of
hijacking the popular revolt. The perception is that The U.S and NATO haveundermined the democratic aspirations of indigenous political movement that2

are seen to be capable of displacing the old regime. NATO has the capabilities
3of global outreach with millions of troops from approximately sixty countries.

With warships and warplanes policing the Mediteranian, NATO is poised to4consolidate a firm control on the outcome of Libya.

One regional perspective points out to the consequences of foreign militaryinterventions in the recent past. In the case of Iraq, a dictator was replaced by asectarian dictator. The situation in Afghanistan shows more of a failed statethan restoring stability. And in Libya, it is more of a precarious and5

unpredictable political and security climate. There are two schools of thoughts
which have emerged in the region as far as changing dictatorial regimes isconcerned. One is the American school of thought which is manifested in thecases of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. The other school of thought is related tothe circumstances of political change in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. According to
one opinion leader, the American school of thoughts brought all kinds ofdevastating military hardware, mercenaries and the fifth column, collaborators,
to change dictators. But what are the results? One million killed in Iraq, sixty
6

thousand killed in Afghanistan and thirty thousand killed in Libya.

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Implications of Foreign Military Intervention in Syria:
Regional sentiment has opposed Western military intervention in Syria for
few reasons. Syrian is different from Libya. The Syrian army is well-armed andequipped with sophisticated military hardware. Politically speaking, theinternationalization of the conflict would include Russia, Iran and China
standing with Syria and Hezbollah against NATO and Israel. Such action would
need a UN resolution which is clearly not forthcoming given Russia and China
7vetoes. Syria is unpredictable in terms of the cost of foreign intervention which
could potentially instigate a civil war. The essence of the Syrian revolution isabout a popular revolt by all Syrian people revolting to depose a dictator andestablish a free and plural society for all Syrian.
Moreover, there is a growing fear among international players that the
Syrian crisis is soon coming to end without establishing foreign constraints on it
in order to contain an expected victory. For Israel, Russia and the West, theAssad regime is no longer capable of standing firm against the revolution
despite all the support received from Moscow and Tehran. The UN in thisregards has been accused as being incapable of acting in full responsibility
where the UN was referred to as a “penetrated international organization” forsizing out a space of intervention for the purpose of limiting the revolution and8

not for saving the people.

One cannot escape the Arab World’s sentiment of linking foreign militaryintervention and history. The U.S is perceived regionally as looking for ways tointervene in order to contain not only the Syrian revolution but the rest of the
Arab Revolt or Spring. That is to obstruct any efforts on the part of the Arab
9people of realizing unity. Military intervention is historically linked toEuropean colonization which aimed at “tearing up the Arab Homeland”

10

into

pieces and established new cultures of separate “modern” states in order to11

prevent unity.

Impact of the Use of Force on the Region
Lebanon is highly vulnerable in many ways to the ongoing conflict. Militaryintervention under the pretext of Right to Protect would intensify
internationalizing the conflict and thus, a spillover would be an imminent fact.

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Foreign intervention would impact Syrian society adversely and jeopardize theunity of the country. As Lebanon has experienced the ills of foreign militaryinterventions in the past, trust is a rare commodity when it comes to theintentions of Western powers meddling into the affairs of Syria. As a neighbor,
Lebanon has little faith in outside actors, even from a regional level, ininterfering with the Syrian conflict.
Arab Gulf governments are supporting the arming of Syrian oppositiongroups, however for different reason. One is that politicos of Gulf countries
converge with those of U.S. Those countries having experienced the Arab Spring
and undergoing a democratic change hold that the Syrian revolution must
continue with peaceful demonstrations. Arming the rebel groups would lead todeepening of strife throughout all of Syria. Gulf countries do wield tremendous
financial resources in addition to powerful media clout at a regional level. The
close relations between Gulf countries and the U.S could be seen by many people
12

that such countries are executing politics of a major outside power. The
prevalent understanding is that most Arab Gulf countries are not comfortablewith the new Egypt and the rest of Arab Spring countries. The foreign ministerof the United Arab Emirates stated early in 2012 that Egypt had become a13major source of instability in the region. For many, the statement is interpreted
as Arab Gulf countries are being wary and even ambivalent as far as ArabSpring is concerned. With Qatar being different as the Qatari based al Jazeera
TV network is never the less known for its sympathy to the Arab Spring
movement.
The Palestinian issue is strongly present through the course of events in
Syrian and the Arab Spring. The foreign minister of Qatar, Hamad Bin Jassem,
stressed that the war on Gaza on 2008 and 2009 was responsible for triggering
14

the Arab Revolt. The foreign minister referred to the scenes of children andwomen killed under Israeli bombardments that caused horror and deep
resentment not only against Israel but at the Arab dictatorial regimes
remaining silent at the time. The Foreign minister warned the U.S from doublestandard attitude which could fire back negatively at U.S within the Arab andMuslim public opinion. However, he called for an Islamic and American
coordination to work together in resolving the crisis in Syria. Qatar asked for
the U.S to work and cooperate with the emerging Islamic governments resulting
15

from recent elections in Arab Spring countries. Such a view is shared by many

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in the region in realizing the hope for a peaceful outcome for the Arab Revolt.

Hilf Al Fudul “The Coalition of Fudul”
Hilf Al Fudul is the traditional Islamic approach of intervention in case ofcrimes committed against civilians, injustices and, in general, abuses committed
16

on civilian population. The term Hilf Al Fudul means the alliance or a coalitionof certain tribes and societal representations in stopping crimes and establishing17

justice. In the case of Syria, the approach is to establish a coalition that include
both popular participation and represented legitimate leadership. Internally, forSyria to overcome the crisis, a solution must come from the people in order touphold diversity of different social segments in society by keeping unity and18

social cohesion in a free and plural society.

With regard to the sensitive issue of the Alwite minority which President
Assad belongs to, an internal development must affirm a common ground with
the Alwite minority and the rest of the Syrian society. One way to achieve an
inclusive role for the Alwites is for the minority community to severe ties withthe ruling family of Assad. The Assad family has utilized the Alwite minority toits own political goals. However, the Alwite minority needs to participate in thedownfall of the dictatorship in order to build a new Syria for all the Syrian
19people. The revolutionaries on their part can achieve the goals of Hilf Al Fudul
by including the Alwite minority and not targeting them for revenge purposes.
Acts of revenge against the monitory would jeopardize such alliance where thesocial cohesion and inclusiveness are highly crucial for the success of the20

alliance.

At the international stage, the Syrian crisis is increasingly identified as a“civil war.” However, for the opposition, as being united in the face of regime
atrocities, the term civil war is not promoted nor advocated by any leader fromthe opposition whether inside or outside Syria. Therefore, Hilf Al Fudul works
to avoid civil war at costs and in the meanwhile to construct communication
channels for various segments of society in order to ensure the success of the21

goals of the revolution and to keep the integrity of the Syrian people intact.

Internally, despite the continuous bombardment of Syrian towns andvillages by the Assad regime, reports have named several governments within
Syria staging peaceful demonstrations.

22

Throughout the country,

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demonstrations indicate that the Syrian society is functioning in resistance tothe regime from grass-root level. These Demonstrations took place despite heavy
security presence by the regime forces. Moreover, the Syrian free army is
becoming more consolidated internally and gaining widespread influence
throughout the country. Such developments have become a basic launching base23of the revolution in order the complete the liberation goal of the Syrian people.

The Syrian revolution is in fact protecting neighborhoods of Alwite minority in24

different parts of the country.

At regional level, a military intervention by strictly regional actors has beenechoed. During the Bosnian crisis, NATO was allowed to intervene against the25

Serbs without a UN mandate. It is argument that in the case of the ongoingcrisis in Syria, an obligation based on moral, humane and legal, must be bornupon the Arab and Muslim states to carry. Arab and Muslim countries can notabandon their responsibility just because the West is incapable. As events
develop in Syria and around it, an alliance of some countries, namely, Turkey,
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, were put forward as an option. The goal is to form atrilateral alliance to protect civilians in Syria and to create a safe area starting
26

from north of Syria and stretching horizontally along the Turkish border.

In conclusion, foreign Military intervention, or the use of Force under the
principle of Right to Protect, is widely seen in the region with discontent andsuspicion. With a background of foreign military intervention on Afghanistan,
Iraq and Libya, public sentiment in Arab countries is highly ambivalent on theissue of foreign military intervention. In the context of regional history andtradition, the concept of Hilf Al Fudul, Coalition of Fudul, is considered an
option for internal Syrian societal forces to form a unified front against theatrocities and injustices of the government regime. The traditional approach of
Hilf Al Fudul needs to invest efforts and reaching out to the Alwite minority of
Syria and condemn any sectarian tendency of violence. The coalition of Fudul
extends to regional countries, Arab and Islamic, in standing up to the crimes of
the Syrian regime and help the Syrian people achieve their own freedom in an
inclusive and plural society. The stakes are high for the people of Syria. The
grass-root revolt against oppression embarked on a course of change in deciding
a future of freedom, freedom, civil society and social justice.

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The following suggestions can be considered recommendations for policy
makers. Western military intervention is not an option. A military intervention
could potentially spark a civil war as the ongoing violence is perceived as anarmed opposition against the government regime. Arab and Muslim states needto consider the implementation of the traditional principle of Hilf Al Fudul,
Alliance of Fudul, in unifying the Syrian opposition and maintain the social
cohesion of the Syrian people including the Alwite minority. The Alwite minority
should be encouraged to severe its ties with the Assad ruling family. At regional
level, a coalition of regional Arab countries and Turkey to formulate a consensus
policy of stopping the regime from committing atrocities is crucial. The
establishing of regular regional meetings among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iranis important and should be promoted and encouraged. Establish a regional andinternational civil society network for humanitarian relief inside Syrian and forrefugees residing in neighboring countries.

Notes
1 Research, The Emirates Center For Strategic Studies and. Islamic Movements: Impact on
Political Stability in the Arab World. Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies andResearch, 2003. P.54.
2 Schoenman, Raph. Global Research. 6 10, 2012. http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.
php?context=va&aid=31124 (accessed 6 14, 2012). Ibid.
3 Rozoff, Rick. GLOBAL WARFARE: The Worldwide Deployment of NATO’s Global Expeditionary
Force. 5 7, 2012. (accessed 5 31, 2012).
4 Ibid.
5 Guardian, The. Syria: what can be done? Five commentators discuss the merits of five ways inwhich the outside world could respond to Syria’s crisis. 2 10, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/
commentisfree/2012/feb/10/syria-five-options (accessed 4 12, 2012).
6 Ibid.
7 Guardian, The. Syria: what can be done? Five commentators discuss the merits of five ways inwhich the outside world could respond to Syria’s crisis. 2 10, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/
commentisfree/2012/feb/10/syria-five-options (accessed 4 12, 2012).
8 Ibid.
9 Qassem, Sattar. Arabs prestige increase with revolutions. 4 15, 2012. http://www.aljazeera.net/
analysis/pages/2d33f493-e104-46ed-bd74-7f4483eef599 (accessed 5 3, 2012).
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Huedi, Fehmi. The revealing crisis of Arab weakness. 5 3, 2012. http://www.aljazeera.net/
pointofview/pages/0a852915-b342-49b5-bab9-fb7bcc63777a?GoogleStatID=2 (accessed 5 5, 2012).

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13 Ibid.
14 Net, Aljazeera. Bin Jassem calls upon America to respect Islamic parties. 5 29, 2012. http://www.
aljazeera.net/news/pages/e8257c0d-9892-41e1-bdf4-85147cd88e4e?GoogleStatID=9 (accessed 530, 2012).
15 Ibid.
16 Khatib, Muhath Al. Al Jazeera TV Program, Al Sharia Wa Al Hayat. Dosha: Al Jazeera TV, 8
12, 2012. Muhath Al Khatib is the current Leader of the Syrian Oppsotion Coalition working
from outside Syria.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 AlGhazi, Tauba. The Alwite community and Assad Family Rule. 4 16, 2012. http://www.aljazeera.
net/pointofview/pages/07980395-17e3-4463-b8e1-61eba084b2fb (accessed 4 18, 2012).
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Newspaper, Al Quds Al Arabi. Demonstrations in Syria and other regions. 6 1, 2012. http://www.
alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=latest/data/2012-06-01-15-20-55.htm (accessed 6 2, 2012).
23 AlHubail, Muhana. Reisstance brings down Assad and saves the state. 6 17, 2012. http://www.
aljazeera.net/analysis/pages/14ecc7c1-f998-4df1-a066-44058e742755?GoogleStatID=1 (accessed 6
18, 2012).
24 Ibid.
25 AlMubarak, Mohamoud. A trilateral Alliance is required. 5 30, 2012. http://www.aljazeera.net/
pointofview/pages/d3618bc4-df30-406b-97be-5440e9144e12?GoogleStatID=1 (accessed 6 3, 2012).
26 Ibid.

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