Mahmoud AlMuhaini: Al-Sharaa to abandon Islamism for technocracy

The escape of Bashar al-Assad and the entry of Ahmed al-Sharaa into Damascus not only signifies the fall of the al-Assad regime but also the death of the Baathist ideology, which had already collapsed in Iraq. While it had long been nothing more than empty slogans, it has now been definitively buried, and it is unlikely to ever be revived
Over the decades in Syria, there were numerous conflicts between nationalists, regionalists, Nasserists, and various other political factions vying for power. Some of these were sincere and patriotic in their goals, but they all came to an end after President Hafez al-Assad came to power. Over this long period, and until the fall of the regime, the world changed, revealing that these ideologies were no longer suitable for the modern era.
A similar fate befell Egypt. Nasserism flourished with its fiery rhetoric calling for a revolution and the overthrow of “reactionary” governments. However, it suffered a major setback in 1967, after which it lost its allure and faded into irrelevance.
Today, Nasserists speak as though they have just emerged from a museum of the past. A comparable phenomenon has recently occurred with the rise of Sunni and Shia political Islam. Hezbollah’s defeat in Lebanon and Iran’s withdrawal from Syria mark the beginning of the end for this movement. Before that, political Islamist groups demonstrated their failure in governance in Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Gaza, and other places. These ideologies lost their appeal because they became disconnected from reality and the changes occurring within it. Globally, ideologies like Nazism, Fascism, and Communism once prevailed but have since collapsed. In Beijing, they display Mao’s pictures in squares and engrave his sayings on mountain peaks, yet they act contrary to his teachings.
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Al-Sharaa witnessed the death of these global and regional ideologies and forms of governance falling one by one before his eyes. Despite his well-known Islamic background, he adjusted and evolved his perspectives over time. Everything he says and thinks reflects a pragmatic, technocratic mindset more than anything else. It seems al-Sharaa understands that these dead ideologies lost their value for clear reasons. They prioritized politics and culture over economics, failed to comprehend the interconnected and open world we live in, and were consequently rejected. They sought to forcibly impose a singular way of thinking and living on diverse societies, losing the people’s support, plunging into conflicts and wars, and exporting their ideologies abroad, which ultimately led to their downfall and removal from power. This is evident in our region: Saddam Hussein lost his throne after avoidable wars, the Iranians lost their influence after decades of exporting their ideology, the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan and Egypt lost their people after imposing their beliefs by force, and al-Assad fled, leaving behind a torn country and piles of Captagon pills.
It seems al-Sharaa understands that these dead ideologies lost their value for clear reasons. They prioritized politics and culture over economics, failed to comprehend the interconnected and open world we live in, and were consequently rejected.
For these reasons, al-Sharaa thinks realistically. His discourse focuses primarily on the economy, development, rebuilding the devastated country, and refraining from exporting ideologies abroad while improving relations with all parties. This is the correct approach. He also talks about the political process, which requires a long time to mature and succeed, warning that rushing it would lead to its stumbling and fragmentation. A healthy democracy cannot be built on ruins. Hungry people seek bread, not ballot boxes. Al-Sharaa, in contrast, sees successful Asian models (Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea) and Arab examples in the Gulf states, which managed to thrive by applying the most critical lesson: They threw out extremist national and religious ideologies and ushered in development through the front door.
Mamdouh AlMuhaini is the General Manager of Al Arabiya and Al Hadath. The article was originally published by Al Arabiya.
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