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Cultural pluralism in Syria
By yaman | July 2, 2007
Sasa has posted a link to a very interesting article about Syria’s disenfranchised and repressed Kurdish population. Besides my concern about the article’s failure to note that the Kurdish issue is a regional one and not one exclusive to Syria, I think it is a good opportunity to comment on the way the Syrian government, among others in the area, frames its national identity.
Identity cannot be imposed from the top-down–this strategy invariably leads to resistance, violence, and injustice. The regime has always stated that erasing sectarianism has been one of its goals, and it frequently accuses opposition activists of stirring sectarian sentiments in order to justify silencing them. But we should not feel that it is necessary to have a single identity to have a strong, inclusive, and successful political system in Syria. The only way to achieve any form of workable unity is to start with disunity; every minority group must be recognized and respected according to its own identity, not the one that we wish to identify it by. Diversity of identity as well as political affiliation must be embraced, not denied. Homogeneity, when imposed, can only produce discord, as it is inherently imaginary and will inevitably lead to conflict. It is better to facilitate these differences in the national identity and culture than to exclude them, because they are going to be there and will remain there, accepted or not.
Edit: Upon rereading this I noticed that I used the phrase “disenfranchised Kurdish population.” This implies that the rest of the population is not also disenfranchised. That was a mistake, but the rest of the population does seem to have better access to power and influence and greater mobility.
Topics: Current Events |
