(Washington, D.C., 12/8/2024) The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), the nation’s umbrella group of Muslim associations congratulates the Syrian people on securing the end of 53 years of brutal tyranny with the defeat of Bashar Al Assad’s regime.
We hope this signals a new day of freedom for all Syrians, a step towards the territorial restoration of all of Syria, including its native and illegally occupied Golan Heights, the end of foreign interference in the nation, security for all of Syria’s historically diverse communities, and strong bonds between the peoples and nations of the entire Middle East.
We call upon President Biden to stop enabling the Israeli government’s attempts to take advantage of the transition of Syria by launching illegal attacks on Syrian land, unilaterally negating an internationally ratified truce agreement, and occupying additional Syrian lands and people.
The openly racist, genocidal Israeli government is completely out of control and its belligerent expansionist colonial ideology represents the biggest threat to peace, justice, and stability in the region.
Yet events in Syria today remind the world that oppression does not last forever. The long-occupied and tyrannized Palestinian people should enjoy the same basic liberation, freedom, human rights, national integrity, and security that we pray the Syrians now ultimately secure.
Oussama Jammal, USCMO secretary general said in a statement:
“For 53 years, the people of Syria have endured unspeakable oppression and persecution at the hands of the Assad regime. Today, that reign of terror ended when Bashar Al Assad fled, rejected and disgraced, into the ignominy of history and God’s judgment.
“The great lesson for all people is that – no matter how long it takes – tyranny, oppression, and usurpation of right and home will inevitably fail, justice will be done upon the tyrant, and truth will prevail by the will of God.
“Let Syria be a warning to the tyrannical and brutal governments of the world, and an inspiration for the suffering and persecuted people of this world, from Palestinians to Uyghurs to Kashmiris to the Rohingya and so many more. Their liberation is certainly on the horizon, God willing, even if we cannot perceive it.
“In our joy for the Syrian people, we cannot fail to call for the wholesome completion of the project for Syria’s restoration to its people and the bonds that bind it to its neighbors. This includes the restoration to the Syrian people of all their lands and freedoms, including the illegally occupied Golan Heights, a usurpation the Israeli apartheid government wasted no time significantly expanding, again, against international law.
“It is alarming but not surprising that the Biden administration has not made any statement against this violation of Syria’s national sovereignty and the further violent occupation of yet more Syrian people, who they are supposed to have liberated. We call on the incoming Trump administration to stop the Israeli government’s efforts to fan the flames of war and for President-Elect Trump to make plans to end U.S. military presence in Syria.
“The new Syria government that forms should be truly independent, free from foreign occupation, and pursue justice for all its people, regardless of differences of creed, social standing, political beliefs, and communal origin. Each community and every individual must be secure in their lives, property, and political and human rights.
“We ask God for His mercy upon beloved Syria and its people, and that He guides the people and its new leaders upon the pathways of peace.”
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