Syria: Blog Interview with Opposition Activist Ammar Abdulhamid · Global Voices
Antoun Issa

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.
American blogger and Syria expert, Joshua Landis, conducted a video interview with exiled leading opposition activist Ammar Abdulhamid on the Syrian unrest.
Speaking on Landis’ blog, Syria Comment, Abdulhamid was questioned on a variety of topics concerning the Syrian revolution, from the dangers of a sectarian breakdown, to the regional implications of a potential collapse in regime.
It is a must-see interview that not only airs an opposition perspective into the protests, but also challenges the faceless opposition to provide answers to the questions many Syrians are asking.
One important question is that of sectarianism, and whether the opposition can safeguard Syria from descending into Lebanon and Iraq-like sectarian conflicts.
Abdulhamid appeared to brush off the threat of sectarianism, not entirely reassuring for concerned viewers on Syria Comment.
Mina:
Sorry Ammar, you are a little bit naive by tryig to explain  that sectarianism is not an issue, the MB are not an issue, things won’t  go as in Iraq. You say: the regime has been manipulating the people  into sectarianism, this is their line, though you admit that there are  corrupt elites from all grounds: Alawites, Sunnites, Christian and  Druzes. My first point is corruption is a world problem.
To come back to sectarianism. Didn’t you know that it’s after victory  that problems start, with the fight for power? Do you think everybody is  as young and politically naive as you are? Why don’t you try to learn  from what is going on in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya?
why-discuss:
Ammar Abdulhamid talks about ‘reconciliation’ a la Mandela but  who is the Syrian Mandela? and ‘no revenge’, he expects that the army  will ‘hopefully’ adhere to the revolution and turn their back to their  previous leaders.
He talks like this is going happen in a click of the finger,  the  transitional period will be short…then after  everything will be slow  but great. It sound like Syria will become Brigadoon
“We are not naive…”  Really?
norman:
any violent transfer of power is going to lead to  sectarian violence and war, Ammar knows that and that is why he is  trying hard to say that it will be different , (( IT WIL BE NOT)), civil  war is at the door, The only chance is for the Baath party and the  regime is to offer passage to free multiparty elections while the army  maintaining civil order and preventing ethnic and religious war.
What i fear is that the opposition goal has changed to getting rid of the regime not free election to See who can win,
Farouk qaddour:
The so-called secular opposition in Syria will be  the first victim of any swift regime change and those people will find  themselves in the streets with no friends except a hypocritical west  that is too busy fighting more important wars or trying to solve their  own domestic,mostly economic problems.the vacuum in Syria following 50  years of albaath domination left the country with no organized  leadership and that opens the door to fundamental groups which will  claim to be the only viable solution to Syria’s problem. The regime is  directly responsible for this horrible situation that can only benefit  organized religion.
One commenter questioned Abdulhamid's commitment to regaining the  occupied Golan Heights from Israel, captured in the 1967 Six Day War:
Sophia:
Golan back but no war with Israel. 12000 druzes and 4 villages dismissed.   Let’s do business with Israel.
No visible emotions on his face during the whole interview but the  only time his eyes get animated was around the question about Iran and  Israel (around minute 46).  No comment on this because I cannot read his  mind but one explanation could be his personal ideological commitment  to this as all people in Arab countries who identify with the west, they  usually don’t want to embrace the what has been a classical Arab cause  (Palestine and occupied Arab land by Israel).  Or his opinion on this is  determined by his sponsorship and he doesn’t want to lose his  financing.  it could also be both.
Lebanese blogger and political analyst, Qifa Nabki, criticised Abdulhamid's claim of a “Syrian exceptionalism” in preventing the country from lapsing into civil sectarian conflict, as opposed to its neighbours:
(1) Joshua Landis & Ammar Abdulhamid at Blogging Heads: This interview is highly worth  watching in its entirety. Landis asks all the relevant questions, and  Abdulhamid — a Syrian dissident exiled in Washington and a leading  opposition activist –provides a very interesting take on several issues,  including: (1) the origins of the protests; (2) the multi-faceted  character of the opposition; (3) what happens the day after the regime  falls; (4) the future of Syria’s relationship with Iran and Israel.
On the question of Syrian sectarianism, Landis challenges Abdulhamid to respond to those who fear that Syria could disintegrate into a  sectarian civil war, like Lebanon during the 70′s and 80′s, or Iraq  after the US invasion. Abdulhamid’s response, to my mind, is not  particularly convincing. He argues that Syria is exceptional; it is  unlike Lebanon and Iraq, and will find a way to withstand a sectarian  conflagration because it is “a country of minorities”. Furthermore, this  exceptionalism is something that the regime itself has always touted.
The logic is easy to pick apart. Lebanon is even more diverse,  minority-wise, than Syria and this did not prevent a sectarian civil  war. Furthermore, it strikes me as problematic to use regime propaganda  to bolster a claim of Syrian exceptionalism. Note that I am not arguing  that Syria is actually a sectarian powder-keg; I just don’t think that Abdulhamid’s argument is very convincing.
As the violence in Syria continues to spread, many uneasy questions remain unanswered. One point that brings all parties in accordance is that Syria has most certainly passed the threshold of no return. The road ahead, however, remains obscure.
This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.