An extinguished star: Parnia Abbasi, young Iranian poet, murdered by Israel

Fausto Giudice, Tlaxcala , 16/6/2025

One of the missiles dropped on Iran by Israel on the night of June 12/13 hit a residential building in western Tehran, the Orchid Complex on Sattar Khan Street. The target was Professor Abdulhamid Minoushehr, a nuclear scientist teaching at Beheshti University. The missile destroyed the third, fourth and fifth floors of the building. Among the “collateral” victims was the entire Abbasi family: Parnia, 23, her brother Parham, 16, and their parents Parviz, a retired teacher, and Massoumeh, a retired bank employee. Parnia taught English, worked at Bank Melli and was a poet.

The Extinguished Star   I wept for the both for you and for me   you blow at the stars, my tears   in your world the freedom of light in mine The chase of shadows   you and I will come to an end somewhere the most beautiful poem in the world falls quiet   you begin somewhere to cry the murmur of life   but I will end I burn I’ll be that extinguished star In your sky like smoke   Translated by Ghazal Mosadeq

ستاره‌ی خاموش   برای هر دو گریستم   برای تو   و خودم   ستاره‌های اشکم را   در آسمانت فوت می‌کنی   در دنیای تو   رهایی نور   در دنیای من   بازی سایه‌ها   در جایی   من و تو تمام می‌شویم   زیباترین شعر جهان   لال می‌شود   در جایی   تو شروع می‌شوی   نجوای زندگی را   فریاد می‌کنی   در هزار جا   من به پایان می‌رسم   می‌سوزم   می‌شوم ستاره‌ای خاموش   که در آسمانت   دود می‌شود.

 

This poem was published by the poetry magazine Vazn-e Donya [Weight of the World] in an issue devoted to “Generation Z poets”, the result of a writing workshop. Excerpts from a magazine interview with the author:

“I look at everything in my life in a way that allows me to write about it”

Parnia Abbasi: “Whenever I write something, I always show it to my mother, to my friends. I ask those around me what they think. I love seeing how people react when they read my poems, their facial expressions, their response, it’s fascinating to me. Honestly, this has become a huge part of my life. I look at everything that happens to me as something I might be able to write down, to express the feeling I had in that moment through poetry. In that sense, writing brings me peace. Even if it is just a little every night. Many of these poems I never submit or publish anywhere, but when I read them myself, it feels like those feelings are alive again inside me, and that’s deeply meaningful to me.

When I joined the poetry workshop, I was busy with work and university at the same time, but honestly, the workshop mattered far more to me than school or anything else. I would get excited beforehand, preparing something to say. Getting to know poets, seeking them out—that meant more to me than most other things in life. And it still does.”

Iran’s Pivotal Role in the Emerging New World Order

Mostafa Ghahremani – June 14, 2025

The disgraceful aggression of the Israeli regime against our homeland, Iran, must be understood and assessed within the framework of an organized attempt to establish and impose a new order in West Asia — and, more broadly, in the global system.

The primary goal of this regime in launching such aggression is to preserve and solidify its regional hegemony. Iran, as the only truly independent and natural state in this region, remains the sole strategic obstacle to the expansionist ambitions of Israel and its Western allies.

To achieve this objective, projects such as creating instability, promoting chaos, and ultimately attempting to alter Iran’s governing structure are being pursued, step by step, to pave the way for the country’s fragmentation.

This war will have a decisive impact not only on the regional dynamics of West Asia but also on the broader global order that is currently taking shape.

The United States and NATO, by giving a green light to Israel, have committed a major strategic mistake. They believe that the outcome of this war could play a pivotal role in shifting the balance of power between the Eastern and Western blocs in West Asia.

The Western rulers  still see Iran — at best — merely as a “bridge to victory” in its bid to dominate the Eurasian heartland and contain the rise of a new power in the East.

They fail to realize that today’s Iran is the product of the crucible of the past 45 years — not the shackled Iran of World War II, whose ruler (Reza Shah Pahlavi) could be exiled to Mauritius (by the British, 1941) with a single letter.

This Iran neither wants to be nor can be merely a corridor for the geopolitical ambitions of global powers.

MOSTAFA GHAHREMANINuclear Deterrence Is Also Our Inalienable Right

Mostafa Ghahremani, 13/6/2025

The author is an Iranian-born German surgeon.

The peaceful use of nuclear energy is not the only inalienable right we claim. In a region marked by persistent military tensions and security instability—where the Israeli regime, with its nuclear arsenal, stands as the main source of aggression and unrest—developing deterrent capabilities is a matter of national sovereignty and strategic survival.

As long as this regime—accused of war crimes and backed by powerful extra-regional actors—continues to undermine the foundations of peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region, the pursuit of credible deterrence mechanisms becomes a security imperative and geopolitical necessity.

In the absence of a comprehensive regional disarmament agreement, any unilateral renunciation of this effective deterrent option would be a grave strategic error.

Without adequate and optimized defensive and deterrent capabilities, Iran risks being reduced to a defenceless target, fragmented and exploited by regional and global rivals.

The "American Goat" and the "Persian Garden"!

The United States and Trump must give up the fantasy that their inspectors could interfere with or make decisions about our peaceful nuclear program on Iranian soil.

We will most certainly not yield even a single inch of our sovereign rights.

Just as Ayatollah Khomeini once stood up against the disgraceful Capitulation Law — which granted special privileges to American soldiers in our country — so too today, the "Iranian forest" is certainly not empty of lions!

We will never allow the American "goat" to become the gardener of the Persian garden.

HAARETZArmed Gaza Militia Rivaling Hamas Hands Out Aid in Israeli-controlled Zone

Analysis of satellite images and videos shows the Abu Shabab militia operating near Rafah along Gaza's main north-south route. Its armed members man checkpoints and distribute aid amid allegations that Netanyahu's government is arming ISIS-affiliated militias

Nir Hasson Rawan Suleiman Avi Scharf Jonathan Lis
Haaretz, June 5, 2025

Satellite images and videos posted online in recent weeks show that a new armed Palestinian militia has expanded its presence in southern Gaza, operating inside an area under the direct control of the Israel Defense Forces.Last month, Haaretz revealed the activities of a group calling itself the "Anti-Terror Service," operating in eastern Rafah. The group is reportedly led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a Rafah resident from a Bedouin family, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity and the looting of humanitarian aid late last year.

Sources in Gaza claim the group consists of roughly 100 armed men who operate with the tacit approval of the IDF. When asked for comment last week, an IDF spokesperson declined to respond to these claims.

The Abu Shabab militia operates east of destroyed Rafah, between the Morag and Philadelphi routes.Credit: Photo: Planet Labs PBC

In recent weeks, Abu Shabab launched two Facebook pages where he publishes anti-Hamas and anti-Palestinian Authority messages while promoting his militia's efforts to provide security and distribute aid to civilians.

Videos shared on these pages show his fighters wearing new uniforms, helmets, and vests emblazoned with insignias that include the Palestinian flag. Abu Shabab also shared the original Haaretz report about his group.

Some videos show the militia stopping and inspecting convoys from the Red Cross and the UN, guarding the Salah al-Din road, Gaza's main north-south route, and conducting armed formation drills.

In mid-April, four militia members were killed by an explosive device planted by Hamas. Although Hamas initially claimed the attack targeted an undercover Israeli unit, it later emerged that the casualties were members of Abu Shabab's group.

Yasser Abu Shabab next to a truck carrying hundreds of sacks of flour distributed to local residents, in a video he posted on his Facebook account this week

In a video posted this week, Abu Shabab claimed the four were killed while clearing homes in Rafah in preparation for the return of displaced residents. The video also described the deceased as former security officers or Palestinian Authority employees.

On Tuesday, Abu Shabab released another video showing his forces setting up a tent camp and unloading food from a truck. The accompanying message stated that "the popular forces have returned to eastern Rafah under the umbrella of Palestinian legitimacy, led by commander Yasser Abu Shabab."

Displaced Palestinians were invited to join the camp to receive food, shelter, and protection. Phone numbers were provided for coordination. The video also showed the distribution of hundreds of sacks of flour and food packages.

One of the senior members of the Abu Shabab militia, holding a shortened M16 rifle, alongside Red Cross personnel east of Rafah, two weeks ago.

Haaretz identified the tent camp's location in satellite imagery from Planet Labs, showing 16 tents under construction in a zone long controlled directly by the IDF – between the east-west Morag and Philadelphi routes, about five kilometers northeast of the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Previous efforts by Palestinian journalists and online activists to geolocate Abu Shabab's militia videos confirmed that they were also filmed in this same area (marked in red on the attached map).

UN maps from late 2023 designated the zone as "hazardous" due to frequent looting of aid convoys. In a past interview with The Washington Post, Abu Shabab admitted to looting some of the aid in order to feed local families.

The IDF declined to comment on the militia's activity in Gaza and referred Haaretz to the Shin Bet, which also refused to respond.

On Wednesday, Israeli lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman, a former defense minister, claimed that Israel has supplied weapons to ISIS-affiliated Gazan criminal gangs.

In an interview with Kan Bet radio, Lieberman said, "Israel gave assault rifles and small arms to crime families in Gaza on Netanyahu's orders. I doubt it went through the Security Cabinet. No one can guarantee these weapons won't eventually be turned against Israel."

Since the start of the war, there have been several reports suggesting that Netanyahu and senior IDF officials have considered transferring local governance in Gaza to large clans or families as a counterweight to Hamas.

In response to Lieberman's allegations, Netanyahu's office said: "Israel is working to defeat Hamas through various means, as recommended by all heads of the security establishment."

The two pages of Yaser Abu Shabab, who describes himself as ‘Commander-in-Chief of the Popular Forces’, created on Facebook/Meta with a small dose of artificial intelligence.
The private one : 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575907420429

The official one:

https://www.facebook.com/Popularforces2024

GIDEON LEVYGermany’s Enslavement to Its Past Kept It Silent on Gaza for Far Too Long

Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 29/5/2025

Germany has betrayed the memory of the Holocaust and its lessons. A country that saw its highest task as not to forget has forgotten. A country that told itself that it would never remain silent is silent. A country that once said "Never Again," and now: "again," with arms, with funding, with silence. There is no country that should be better than Germany at "discerning nauseating processes." Every German knows much more about them than Yair Golan. Here in Israel they are in full swing, yet Germany has not yet recognized them for what they are. It was only recently that it woke up too late and to too little effect.

When Germany sees the Flag March in Jerusalem, it must see Kristallnacht. If it does not see the similarities, it is betraying the memory of the Holocaust. When it looks at Gaza, it must see the concentration camps and ghettos that it built. When it sees hungry Gazans, it must see the wretched survivors of the camps. When it hears the fascist talk of Israeli ministers and other public figures about killing and population transfer, about there being "no innocents" and about killing babies, it must hear the chilling voices from its past, who said the same in German.

It has no right to be silent. It must carry the flag of European resistance to what is happening in the Strip. Yet it continues to lag behind the rest of Europe, however uncomfortably, not only because of its past but also because of its indirect responsibility for the Nakba, which probably would not have happened without the Holocaust. Germany also owes a partial moral debt to the Palestinian people.

The Israeli occupation would not have happened without support from the United States and Germany. Throughout this period, Germany was considered Israel’s second-best friend. It was inclusive and unconditional. Now Germany will pay for its long years of severe self-censorship, during which it was forbidden to criticize Israel, the sacred sacrifice.

Any and all criticism of Israel was labeled antisemitism. The just struggle for Palestinian rights was criminalized. A country where a major media empire still requires its journalists to vow never to cast doubt on Israel’s right to exist as a condition for employment cannot claim to honor freedom of expression. And if Israel’s current policies endanger its existence, shouldn’t they be entitled to criticize it?

In Germany it is difficult, if not impossible, to criticize Israel, whatever it does. This is not friendship, this is enslavement to a past and it must end in the face of what is happening in Gaza. The "special relationship" cannot include a seal of approval for war crimes. Germany has no right to ignore the International Criminal Court, which was established in response to its crimes, by debating when to extend an invitation to an Israeli prime minister who is wanted for war crimes. It has no right to repeat the cliches of the past and place flowers in Yad Vashem, a 90-minute drive from Khan Yunis.

Inas Abu Maamar, 36, leans over the body of her niece Saly, 5. She was killed along with nine family members when an Israeli rocket struck their home in Khan Yunis. This image by Mohammed Salem for Reuters was awarded first prize in the 2024 World Press Photo competition.

Germany now faces its toughest moral test since the Holocaust. A few weeks after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, Germany was the one to lead the sanctions drive against Russia. Twenty months after the invasion of Gaza, Germany has still not taken any steps against Israel, apart from paying the same lip service as other European countries.

Germany must change, not despite its past but because of it. It is not enough that Chancellor Friedrich Merz says it is no longer possible to justify bombing Gaza. He must take measures to help stop it. It is not enough that Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says that Germany will not allow itself to be "put in a position where we have to show forced solidarity."

It is time for Germany to express solidarity with the victim, to free itself from the shackles of the past that alienate it from the lessons of the Holocaust. Germany cannot continue to sit idly by and make do with tepid condemnations. Given how terrible the situation is in Gaza, this is silence; Germany’s disgraceful silence.

BULAT OKUDZHAVAOur Tenth Amphibious Battalion Victory Day

Translated by  John Catalinotto 

Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (1924-1997) was a Soviet singer-songwriter of Georgian origin, one of the founders of the Russian genre called "author's song" (avtorskaya pesnya). He wrote some 200 songs, a mixture of Russian poetry and folk traditions and the French chansonnier style, represented by such Okudzhava contemporaries as Georges Brassens.
Although his songs were never overtly political (in contrast to those of his fellow bards), the freshness and independence of Okudzhava's art represented a subtle challenge to the Soviet cultural authorities, who for many years refused to give official sanction to his songs.

   

 

The birds aren't singing here,

The trees aren't growing
And only we, shoulder to shoulder
Are growing here in the earth.
The earth lit up is spinning,
Smoke covers  our homeland.
And thus, we need a victory,
One for all. We're ready to pay any price!

(Chorus) A fiery death awaits us
Yet that can't stop us.
Cast doubt away
Journey into night
Separately
Our tenth
Amphibious Batallion.
Our tenth
Amphibious battalion.

As soon as the battle ceases
Another order comes
The postman will go crazy
Looking for us.
Let red rockets fly,
Fire off the machine guns.
And thus, we need a victory,
One for all. We're ready to pay any price!

(Chorus) A fiery death awaits us
Yet that can't stop us.
Cast doubt away
Journey into night
Separately
Our tenth
Amphibious Batallion.
Our tenth
Amphibious battalion.

From Kursk and Orel
The war has brought us
Up to the doors of our enemy.
That's how it is, brother…
Someday we'll remember it
And we won't believe it ourselves,
But now we need a victory,
One for all. We're ready to pay any price!

(Chorus) A fiery death awaits us
Yet that can't stop us.
Cast doubt away
Journey into night
Separately
Our tenth
Amphibious Batallion.
Our tenth
Amphibious battalion.

Min. 36:00

HAYTHAM MANNAManifesto against jihadist fascism

Haytham Manna, 3/4/2025
Original: بيان ضد الفاشية الجهادية
Translated by Tlaxcala

This is the first chapter of a forthcoming book

The “Military Operations Command” led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham entered Damascus on December 8, 2024 at the end of the least significant military battle in its history in terms of material and human losses. It was clear that Hamas and Hezbollah’s loss of their battles in Gaza and Lebanon and Trump’s success in the US presidential election had created a new regional and international situation in which Assad Jr. no longer had a place. Erdogan and Fidan decided to put an end to the idea of a sovereign Syrian state by installing the most extremist, fanatical and alien faction of Syrian society in power over all Syrians. The masked men entered the Syrian capital to “liberate” the country from the tyranny and corruption of a family that had turned Syria into a slave farm. On the day of the victory wedding “celebration”, most Syrians didn’t stop at the sight of the bride, Syria, being raped in broad daylight.

Beard trimming, by Hassan Bleibel

- On December 8, 2024, elite forces made up mainly of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham took control of key points in Damascus: the House of Radio and Television, the Central Bank, the city’s main traffic circles, the presidential palace and the main police stations. They set up checkpoints. Most of these men were masked and wore outfits with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham logo.

- A campaign of liquidation and bloodletting of non-Sunni state institutions soon began, and the term “al-Fulol” (residues, remnants of the old regime) became the key word for the enemies of the new authority in this group’s conception of the conflict in Syria, namely a struggle against “an Alawite regime that jurists have unanimously described as apostate”. The first decision was to apply Ibn Taymiyyah’s fatwa to the letter: “It is not permissible for anyone to help them remain in the ranks of soldiers and servants, and it is not permissible for anyone to remain silent about carrying out what God and His Messenger have ordered.”

- The transfer of power took place very quickly: the HTS  government in Idlib was transferred in its entirety to Damascus to restructure state institutions throughout the country according to the “successful Idlib model” (Hakan Fidan). In Syria’s smallest province, 11 prisons had been built to control security! With the organization and installation of “jihadist immigrants” in the homes of half the province’s inhabitants, who became refugees and displaced persons, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham succeeded in controlling the security situation.

- The Military Operations Command has secured the living conditions of its militiamen in the confiscated homes of officers and non-commissioned officers, and the command has issued a ruling that members of the deposed regime’s army and police should remain in their homes and then be summoned individually to decide their fate. We received a non-exhaustive list of the names of 13,000 soldiers and officers held in inhuman conditions in eight prisons* .

- From the outset, attacks on Alawites as such began randomly and irregularly, but systematically due to the need to exclude anyone belonging to this sect from public educational, health, livelihood, military and security institutions, in accordance with Ibn Taymiyyah’s fatwa. The new security forces have encouraged what they call “private law”, which means that a Sunni citizen who has been wronged or who has lost a martyr in his family can assert his rights with the nearest Alawite neighbor to his home or neighborhood. At checkpoints manned by the new authorities, it has become not uncommon to be asked, “Are you Alawite or Sunni?” There were provocations against Christians in their neighborhoods, which were limited after European reactions.

- Public sector workers’ files were collected. The decision to dismiss over 28% of civil servants has been taken, a figure confirmed by the relevant ministries.

- Employees of the security services, the police and the Syrian army were summoned, arrested and prosecuted, with or without settlement. During the first month, the salaries of public sector employees in various sectors were not paid.

- Al-Sharaa issued a decree granting the highest ranks in the “New Army” (composed in part of foreign jihadists, mainly from Central Asia: Uighurs, Uzbeks, Turkestanis and others) to 49 Syrians and non-Syrians, who became generals, brigadiers and colonels with a note and paper signed by him. A week later, the construction of the new army units, led by Jordanian-Turkish-Egyptian jihadists, was completed. Thousands of dissident officers, despite belonging to the Sunni sect, were not recalled, and the opinion on this had long ago been clearly expressed by Anas Khattab, who was appointed Director of General Intelligence and then Minister of the Interior: “It is not permissible to join groups and armies that belong to the doctrine of patriotism, because they are heretical groups, and their fight is not waged for God, but for the homeland, and whoever is killed for the homeland cannot be called a martyr, because martyrdom is a purely religious status, not a human medal of honor that people submit to their erroneous philosophies and ideas” (Anas Khattab, Ruling on Affiliation with Patriotic Groups and Armies).

- It became clear that the new team wanted to monopolize control of the intelligence services, internal security and the army before tackling any other issue. As a result, Sunni affiliation, religious upbringing and a willingness to defend “true Islam” became conditions of employment in the police and security services.

- Since the establishment of the first de facto government in Idlib, the HTS ‘s aim has been total control of trade unions, collective action and the various forms of civil society. The seven governments in Idlib have confiscated the most important projects born of civil and popular initiatives and placed them under their control. So far, it seems clear that the process of transferring this dystopian model to Damascus is well underway.

- On January 29, 2025, the “Victory Conference” was held, which, based on the principle that those who “liberate” decide, dissolved the army, security and police institutions, as well as negotiating bodies, parties and trade union groups... In its first and final session, the Victory Military Conference is given the powers of ahl al hal wa al aqed أهل الحل والعقد , “the people of the solution and the contract” and appoints Ahmad al-haraa as President of the Republic, with the power to form a constitutional council, approve constitutional principles and form a transitional government.

- On March 6, a small group of former military personnel take security personnel hostage. Ahmed al-Sharaa declares general mobilization against the rebels, calls for jihad are launched in many mosques and all latent sectarian instincts are mobilized. Some fifteen armed factions, mainly made up of foreign jihadists, stormed the Syrian coastal area (Sahel), chanting “Death to the Alawites”.

- Over the next four days, 25 massacres were documented, 811 videos were verified, and 2,246 victims were identified. We also have a list of 2,100 missing Alawite civilians. 42 victims of other religious affiliations have also been recorded, killed for their solidarity with the civilians or for trying to hide them. In addition, almost 30,000 people are still displaced or refugees in northern Lebanon.

- The Sahel is on the brink of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with 97% of the population living below the poverty line, over 10,000 documented cases of illegal arrests and forced disappearances, and a wave of mass layoffs of around 2,000 civil servants in the health and education sectors.

- On March 12, 2025, the Syrian presidency announced, in a presidential decree issued by Ahmad al-Sharaa* , the formation of a National Security Council composed exclusively of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham officials. This council, made up of a group of people whose hands are stained with Syrian blood, is tasked with coordinating and managing the country’s policies.

- We are approaching the end of the fourth month since HTS entered Damascus, and no political decisions have been taken regarding the catastrophic economic situation in which all the inhabitants of HTS-controlled areas live.

- A puppet transition government was appointed by the President on March 30, 2025, for an indefinite period. In this government, by way of thanks, al-Joulani plans to appoint an Al Jazeera employee as Minister of Culture and an intern from the Doha Institute headed by Azmi Bishara as Minister of Education.

- The Grand Mufti of the Republic and the Fatwa Council were appointed by a majority known for its jihadist ideological “purity” and for considering it a religious duty to cleanse the country of misguided sects, secularists, democrats and patriots. According to Sheikh Nabulsi, one of his tasks is to monitor laws and legislation and their compatibility with Sharia law.

Much of the worn-out and tired political class is still talking about the new prince’s new clothes, the discovery of his brilliant potential that had remained buried for 14 years, and his young team that will restore the Levant to its Umayyad glory, while the new authority is erecting all the pillars for the construction of a sectarian totalitarian authority that lives by stoking hate speech between different segments of society and displaying racism and religious discrimination in all its new structures.

For truth and history’s sake, the new rulers have not veiled their opinions and positions, but have been more open and clear in their vision of state-building. When we raised the need for a new Syrian national army a few years ago, the first person to respond was “General” Anas Khattab, Commander of General Intelligence and current Minister of the Interior, who shamelessly replied in his essay entitled “Ruling on affiliation to patriotic groups and armies”:

“Islam bases loyalty and disloyalty on religion, fighting in the name of religion and promoting its word.

The sons of the same homeland are loyal to each other, whatever their religion, for the Muslim is the brother of the Christian, the brother of the Jew, the brother of the atheist, the brother of the apostate, there is no difference between them, and none is favored over the other, for they are all sons of the same homeland.

Islam clearly and explicitly states that {believers are brothers}, {believing men and women are brothers to each other}, and {the Muslim is the brother of the Muslim}.

Patriotism makes members of the same nation equal in rights and duties - regardless of their different religions, so that a Christian, a Jew, an atheist and an apostate have the same rights as a Muslim!

For example, in patriotism, it’s a general right for all citizens - whatever their religion - even if they’re atheists or apostates, whereas in Islam, it’s only allowed for Muslims, and it’s only allowed for those who are only Muslims”.

He added: “Patriotism is a philosophical doctrine that contradicts the religion of Islam, so it is not permissible to believe in it and affiliate with it, whether in truth or to deceive the enemy, although the judgment is not the same in both cases, for the former is governed by disbelief, and the latter by prohibition.”

Khattab clearly states that he will not build a Syrian national military institution, as this would mean equality between Muslims and non-Muslims, predetermining the color, sect and creed of the new army.

Yesterday, the inhabitants of the border town of Nawa faced, shirtless, the Israeli aggression, which has not ceased since December 8, 2024. 9 martyrs fell in this confrontation with the Israeli enemy...

We don’t know whether Abu Qasra, Khattab, Al-Sharaa and Atoun will praise the Hauran martyrs by referring to them as such, are they not the ones who said over and over again for 14 years: “Whoever is killed for the homeland cannot be called a martyr, because martyrdom is a purely religious status, not a human medal of honor that people submit to their mistaken philosophies and ideas”...

Day after day, it becomes clear to Syrian men and women that the HTS model that prevails today does not work, and that the infernal idea with which Syrians are intimidated and lured: “Us or the deluge” will turn into a curse for its owners...

Human societies are familiar with the phenomenon of individual suicide, but they have never agreed, even under the domination of the worst forms of tyranny, to commit collective suicide for the benefit of their oppressors.

Notes

*“Sectarian cleansing as a policy of governance,” Report by the Human Rights and Humanitarian Monitoring Committee (Syria), April 24, 2025

Chapter 2

Chapter 3