Syria today is the most romantic place in the Middle East because it is a place of intense competition – as it has been for thousands of years. The outcome of the race for control of the Syrian regime and the coalition will define the situation in the Levant and in the Middle East for years to come.
Three groups of domestic, regional, and international actors compete for power and influence in Syria because of the country's unique status. It is a rare Arab country that is complete and important, because of its people and nature, good environment, and political, cultural, and ethnic relations in the Middle East and around the world.
Syria today, even in its shambles after half a century of brutal brutality and 13 years of war, is home to hundreds of diplomats, businessmen, human rights activists, and extremists. But this is not new.
The people and rulers of Syria have experienced this throughout the past 5,000 years, since Damascus and Aleppo emerged as prosperous, powerful, and prosperous cities in the third millennium BC. Throughout human history, the country and the people of Syria have been creating knowledge, value systems, food, wealth, culture, technology, and knowledge that have made their country successful and admired around the world.
A road trip through Syria reveals roads, walls, gardens, waterways, and rural areas that have long served as the east-west and north-south trade routes connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa. On their banks are the great cities of Syria – Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama, Deir az-Zor, Palmyra, Deraa, Latakia, and others – which have played prominent roles in the country's history. Different tribes and religions lived in these beautiful towns – Sunnis, Shia, Alawites, Druze, Christians, Armenians, Jews, Arabs, Kurds, Circassians, and a few others. Throughout history, they have lived together by negotiating their differences using the formal and informal means that exist in these cities.
Syria has been and remains unique because it is a fully Arab state that enjoys all the elements of a real world and nation. These include fertile soil and water; mineral wealth and agriculture; industrial base; human capital through skilled citizens, skilled managers, and entrepreneurs; people living in different areas in urban and industrial areas, as well as rural and urban areas; a strong national and cultural identity; and, access by land and sea to the economy and trade routes of three continents.
It is also an important country because of its living economy and geography. Powers ancient and modern – from Greece, Rome, Persia, Byzantium, and India to Britain and France, not to mention Russia and the United States – fought to control Syria in order to gain access to its resources and important routes through it. If you want to hear how it works, go and spend a few days at the Damascus Sheraton Hotel.
More than any other Arab country, including modern Egypt and the rich Gulf states, Syria is also important because it generates many waves in the region that reflect the aspirations of ordinary Arabs to fulfill their human and cultural aspirations. At various times in the last century, these ideas have come from many different groups, including constitutionalism, Islamism, anti-colonialism, and Arabism.
Syria is also important for the people of the world to understand because this event reminds us slowly of all the power of the modern Arab state, its weaknesses, its failures, its identity and its ambitions.
For thousands of years, “Syria” referred to the great country of Syria, or Bilad-el-Sham (“Land of Sham”), which included many parts of the Levant and parts of the Fertile Crescent that are now Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel . , Palestine, and parts of Turkey and Iraq.
It was reduced after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Franco-British royal army that prevented the birth of the monarchy that was established in the elected assembly in 1920. today.
These include: refusing to oppose colonialism and fighting for independence that has not achieved full sovereignty; constant foreign military intervention; attempts to make decisions through dialogue and participation which always end in dictatorship and military rule; real growth in education, health care, infrastructure, and economic growth that eventually stalled and stalled, due to corruption, mismanagement, and lack of accountability; and various groups that often succumbed to sectarian wars, influenced by external forces.
Today, many Arabs and other citizens throughout our region follow the Syrian revolution with hope and interest. We all want Syria to become a modern, self-governing Arab state, recognized by its citizens, as well as a democratic and independent state.
It is not lost on any of us that the current leadership of Syria comes from the Islamic groups that were the strongest in Iraq that were captured by the US and defeated the regime of Bashar al-Assad with the US, Israel, Turkey, and other non-Syrian support. This only adds to our joy for the Syrian people to achieve their greatest goals.
Regional and international authorities working increasingly to influence the new Syrian leadership will use bribery, weapons, and deception to ensure that the emerging new Syria is aligned with them. If the new regimes refuse, they will face foreign and funded efforts to overthrow them, as has happened many times in the past across the region.
In other words, Syria's struggle for dignity and stability today is the end of history but the end of the Arab uprisings for democracy, pluralism, and equal rights for all. As in 1920, Syria today is again testing whether foreign powers can allow its citizens to express themselves, and set an example for the rest of the region. If there is any Arab nation that can achieve this, it is the Syrians, because they have been using this moment for 5,000 years.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect Al Jazeera's influence.