Complex sentence: The Shalish family through Dhu al-Himma maintain a significant level of influence in the Syrian government and economy and are comparatively as powerful as the Makhlouf family which are maternal relatives of Bashar al-Assad.
Split into simpler sentences: The Shalish family through Dhu al-Himma maintain a significant level of influence in the Syrian government and economy. They are comparatively as influential as the Makhlouf family who are the maternal relatives of Bashar al-Assad.