October 1, 2015

Russian airstrike in Syria. (Credit: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)

Today, for the second day in a row, Russian warplanes launched airstrikes in Syria against terrorists and rebel opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia had openly built up troops and military equipment in Syria over the last few weeks, intending to help Assad—a staunch Russian ally—end the 4-year-old civil war in Syria. More than 200,000 people have died in the conflict, and millions have been displaced.

Russia’s entry into the mix only complicated matters, adding yet another factor into an already confused tangle of alliances and interests. Civil war erupted in Syria in 2011 following the failure of pro-democracy protests to change the autocratic regime of President Assad. Rebel groups rose up against Assad, but also against each other. The chaos created a void exploited by such terrorist groups as the Islamic State, which itself had risen from the chaos of war in neighboring Iraq.

The Syrian conflict is also sectarian, pitting rival Shī’ite and Sunni Muslims against each other. Iran and Lebanon, both predominantly Shī’ah, have aided Assad, a Shī`ite Alawite. Most of the rebels are Sunni, the dominant Islamic division in Syria. There are also Kurdish rebels fighting in Syria (Kurds are the area’s largest ethnic minority), as well as rebels with solely political aims to remove Assad from power.

In 2014, the scene became even more muddled as the spread of the Islamic State led the United States and its allies—including many Sunni Middle Eastern states—to take action in Syria as well. U.S. and allied airstrikes have since been hitting Islamic State-controlled areas in both Syria and Iraq. France, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia are among the U.S.-led coalition, which, aside from squashing the Islamic State, wants Assad removed from power.

So, not wanting to be the only nation left out, Russian entered the fray as Assad’s only non-Shī’ah ally. No one minds Russian warplanes hitting terrorist positions, but they have also been hitting anti-Assad rebels regardless of who they are or who is behind them. This includes groups that been trained and supported by the United States. There is a common goal: rid the world of the scourge of the Islamic State. But beyond that, there is little in common.

This was highlighted on Monday, September 28, by the vastly different speeches on the Syrian quagmire given by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama at the United Nations (UN) general assembly. Putin pushed for Assad, and Obama pushed against the Syrian dictator. Russia has more in mind, however, than simply propping up Assad. The ties between Syria and Russia are long standing, and Russia has sold weapons and military equipment to Syria for decades. In addition, a Russian naval base in Syria gives the Russians access to the Mediterranean Sea.

Other World Book article

• Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (a Special report)
• Syria (2012-a Back in time report)
• Syria (2013-a Back in time report)

September 24, 2015

Today, more than 700 people were crushed to death and more than 800 injured in a panicked stampede in Mina, near the Islamic holy city of Mecca. The victims were Muslims attempting to complete the hajj (also spelled hadj), a holy pilgrimage to Mecca that is one of the five pillars (duties) of Islam. The Islamic religion requires every Muslim to make this journey at least once, if possible. For four days each year, about 2 million Muslims converge on Mecca for the hajj, creating staggering congestion problems and, on occasion, horrific accidents. Today’s tragedy was apparently the result of a collision between waves of pilgrims going in opposite directions.

Muslim pilgrims pray at the Kaaba, the holiest shrine of Islam. The Kaaba is an empty cube-shaped building that stands in the center of the Great Mosque in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. According to Islamic law, all adult Muslims must, if possible, make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca during their lifetime. © Aidar Ayazbayev, Dreamstime

The Kaaba, the most sacred shrine of Islam, is in Mecca and is the chief goal of the pilgrimage. Aside from that, pilgrims must stop in Mina for the “stoning of the devil” ritual. Over a three-day period, Muslims cast stones at three large walls, symbolically driving away the devil. The overwhelming crowds are channeled through to each of the walls, creating dangerously cramped conditions. Saudi authorities blamed today’s incident on “undisciplined” pilgrims who did not follow the specified timetables meant to regulate human traffic. Others blamed the deaths on pilgrims’ fatigue and overall “mismanagement.”

Mina has often been the scene of deadly stampedes. The worst hajj-related incident occurred there in 1990, when a stampede killed more than 1,400 people. In another accident in Mecca just two weeks ago—on September 11, 2015—a massive construction crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque, killing more than 100 pilgrims and injuring some 400 others. The collapse was blamed on exceedingly strong winds.

June 30, 2014

The Sunni jihadist militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) declared yesterday that it was establishing a caliphate on the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria. It is to be known simply as “the Islamic State” and will extend from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala province in eastern Iraq. ISIS also proclaimed the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as caliph and “leader for Muslims everywhere.” He will be known as “Caliph Ibrahim.” The caliphate is to be governed under strict Shari`ah law. The rebels demand that all Muslims “pledge allegiance” to the new ruler and “reject democracy and other garbage from the West.”

Experts on Islamic history note that the erasing of old colonial-era boundaries between Syria and Iraq is a powerful statement to Muslims–one that is rich in cultural and historic significance. In the words of ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Muslims have long dreamed of a time when they would “shake off the dust of humiliation and disgrace” and forge a new caliphate out of the chaos and despair of the modern Middle East.

The new caliphate proclaimed by the militant group ISIS includes large sections of northeastern Syria and northern Iraq. (World Book map)

In northern Iraq, the Iraqi military continued yesterday to engage ISIS forces in an offensive to retake the city of Tikrit from the rebels. ISIS seized Tikrit on June 11 as the jihadist army swept across large parts of northwestern Iraq. The heavy fighting has resulted in many casualties on both sides, a BBC correspondent on the ground has reported. According to Human Rights Watch, ISIS destroyed seven Shi`ite places of worship in the predominantly Shi`ite Turkmen city of Tal Afar last week. Tal Afar is about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Mosul.

Additional World Book articles:

• Umayyad caliphate
• Iraq War
• Iraq 2012 (a Back in Time article)
• Iraq 2013 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria 2013 (a Back in Time article)
• Syria: The Roots of a Rebellion (a special report)

September 26, 2012

United States President Barack Obama addressed the opening session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York City on September 25. He stated that the United States will “do what we must” to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Concerns over a nuclear-armed Iran have led the United States and many other countries to impose increasingly severe sanctions on Iran. The Iranian government has insisted that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful uses.

The president condemned the violence that erupted in predominantly Muslim nations over what he described as a “disgusting” anti-Islam video but defended U.S. freedom of speech and the spirit of tolerance that allowed the inflammatory anti-Muslim video to be made. “As president of our country, and commander in chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day,” noted the president. “And I will defend their right to do so.”

The United Nations (UN) General Assemblyis the only major organ of the United Nations in which all members are represented (© Mario Tama, Getty Images)

Speaking before President Obama, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon characterized the civil war in Syria as “a regional calamity with global ramifications.” President Obama was more forthright in his assessment of the situation in Syria, bluntly stating that the Bashar al-Assad regime must go. According to human rights activists, at least 21,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011. An estimated 1 million people have been displaced by the violence.

Additional World Book articles:

• Arab Spring
• Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a Special Report)
• Syria 2011 (a Back in Time article)