Aerial view of the city of Sweida, after clashes between Bedouin fighters and armed Druze men, on July 18, 2025. (Credit: Stringer/Reuters)
On one side, an old regime that oppressed the "majority" under the pretense of defending "minorities"; on the other, a new regime relying on the "majority" to justify its bloody "neutralization" policy against "minorities." Since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the country has become a microcosm of an incurable regional ailment: sectarianism. This is nothing new. Even if it was not institutionalized as in Lebanon, Assad father and son skillfully manipulated communal identities to entrench their rule. But today, unlike in the past, sectarianism is no longer concealed. Throughout the war, the sham secular façade has gradually crumbled, revealing raw hatred based on religious belonging. It is a legacy meticulously constructed over more than 50 years, and one from which the new...
On one side, an old regime that oppressed the "majority" under the pretense of defending "minorities"; on the other, a new regime relying on the "majority" to justify its bloody "neutralization" policy against "minorities." Since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the country has become a microcosm of an incurable regional ailment: sectarianism. This is nothing new. Even if it was not institutionalized as in Lebanon, Assad father and son skillfully manipulated communal identities to entrench their rule. But today, unlike in the past, sectarianism is no longer concealed. Throughout the war, the sham secular façade has gradually crumbled, revealing raw hatred based on religious belonging. It is a legacy meticulously constructed over more than 50 years, and one from which the new...
