Middle East 4 ChangeLessons of the Syrian Revolution for Iranians
Frieda Afari,
Alliance of Middle East Socialists from Radio Zamaneh.
An analysis of Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al Shami. Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War, Pluto Press, 2016, from an Iranian perspective:
Five years after the Syrian Revolution, many Iranians are still wondering why a popular revolution which demanded democracy, justice and equality turned into a holocaust of the Syrian people. Why was Bashar al-Assad’s fascistic regime able to remain in power? Why and how did sectarianism and religious fundamentalism grow? How did ISIS arise? What is the role of the Iranian government in bringing about the current disaster? What can be done to possibly reverse the current course of events?
This book is a well-documented account that can answer these questions in a satisfactory way. Robin Yassin-Kassab, a media commentator on Syria and author of the acclaimed novel, The Road from Damascus, and Leila Al-Shami, a blogger who has worked with human rights movements in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East have written a work that offers a great deal of first-hand material, displays detailed knowledge of the Syrian struggle for social justice, and candidly discusses the weaknesses and limitations of the Syrian revolution.