Content area
Full Text
SYRIA Cycle of Fear: Syria's Alawites in War and Peace, by Leon T. Goldsmith. London: Hurst, 2015. 306 pages. $37.50.
Reviewed by Fred H. Lawson
One of the most puzzling aspects of the current uprising in Syria is the role that the 'Alawi community has played in the struggle against the Ba'thist regime. Leon Goldsmith reminds us that at the outset of the revolt, 'Alawi activists and intellectuals could be found in the ranks of the opposition, and prominent 'Alawis suffered severe punishment for openly criticizing the authorities. Furthermore, the great majority of Syria's 'Alawis found themselves substantially worse off by 2011 than they had been 10 years earlier, due to the steady contraction of public services and economic opportunities in predominantly 'Alawi districts that took place following the death of Hafiz al-Asad. Moreover, leaders of the community recognized that 'Alawis as a whole would be blamed for the actions of the military and security services. Three influential figures consequently "denounced the killing of civilian protesters and tried to distance the Alawite community from the regime" in September 2011, and some 150 'Alawi representatives gathered in Cairo in March 2013 to draw up a reform platform predicated on the establishment of "a...