Saudi law and appointment

When Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa chooses Saudi Arabia as his first destination on his foreign trips, he is sending a clear message to the country and abroad. It is not only about Saudi Arabia being a major Arab, Islamic and international economic and political force, but it is also about the new Saudi Arabia that has witnessed in a handful of years a pioneering workshop for reform and openness in the battle for progress. Since the moment he succeeded in toppling the Assad regime, al-Sharaa has acted as someone who is aware of the new balance of power in the region, and who is also aware of the actual interests of the new Syria that he hopes will take shape.

A few weeks were enough for Syria’s image to change. It was no longer a country that expelled its citizens, and the keys to its destiny were no longer residing in the Guide’s office or the Tsar’s drawers. The state of hope reminded me of a statement I had heard before, which suggested that Syria was a sick person who could not be saved.

In September 2015, I went to Berlin to see the conditions of the waves of Syrians who fled there. I was struck by what a young man who had jumped onto one of the “death boats” to resign from his country had to say: “When I arrived in Germany, I felt for the first time my dignity as a human being.” I asked a newcomer on another boat about his situation, and he replied: “Excellent. Three meals a day, sleeping without fear, no Baath Party here, no ISIS.” It pained me that day to see a Syrian rejoice at staying in a German shelter, happy with the three meals, and being away from ISIS and the Sednaya prison system.

I also remembered the day I entered the office of a young man named Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of his term. He said that the economic situation was difficult, the administration was old, and the party was lethargic. He also said that the strength of countries is not measured by their armies, but by the strength of their economies. Early on, Bashar’s regime was afraid to open the window, and the thin thread that could have connected the palace to the people or to each other was cut. The isolation of “Mr. President” deepened. He did not understand the meaning of an American tank uprooting the statue of Saddam Hussein. He did not dwell on being forced to withdraw his forces from Lebanon to the roar of the Lebanese people’s anger in response to the assassination of Rafik Hariri. He was afraid to make the necessary painful decisions, and handed over the keys to his country to the “axis of resistance.”

General Qassem Soleimani convinced the master of the Kremlin of the benefits of saving the Assad regime. Tehran ignored the feelings of the majority of Syrians, and Moscow made the same mistake. The hardline nature of the Syrian opposition worried many countries. Thus, the fall of the regime, which continued to imagine that it would exist “forever,” was postponed. In those days, a young man named Ahmed al-Sharaa was going through experiences of prison, fighting, and the language of hardline Islam. In recent years, al-Sharaa has waited in the “Idlib Statelet.” He held dialogues with the factions, and he held dialogues with the people, and no one imagined that he would one day emerge from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus to turn the page on more than half a century of Assad rule.

Sharaa’s appearance surprised the people of the region and the world. What the new strongman said doubled the desire to know what was going on in his head. Within a few weeks, Sharaa’s image changed from that of “Abu Muhammad al-Jolani.” He said that he wanted a Syria that would accommodate all its components without exclusion. He said that he wanted a Syria of the state, not a Syria of factions. And that he did not want to drag his country into wars and battles of attrition. He wanted to open the door for the participation of Syrians inside and outside the country. He dreams of returning the millions of Syrians whom the former regime had forced to flee to tents in neighboring countries, or to the humiliation of begging for residency in distant countries. When Sharaa’s resounding appearance from Damascus, many feared acts of revenge. But on the contrary, Sharaa played a decisive role in preventing a storm of revenge.

Sharaa’s experience in the past weeks suggested that during the long wait in the “Idlib Republic,” the man had prepared a detailed program to dispel internal and external fears. He surprised his visitors. They felt that the man was making his way with the weapon of realism, aware of the danger of applying rigid prescriptions that could lead the new Syria into isolation or civil war, and prevent the world from extending a helping hand to it. Visitors said that he had the ability to listen and persuade. The ability to be flexible and firm. The ability to accept others, and to avoid insisting on imposing a uniform in a country with diverse ethnic, religious, and sectarian affiliations. Some of them believed that the man knew the region and the world. They presented evidence that he did not rush to fall into the trap of a quick reaction to Israel’s excessively aggressive behavior, despite the evaporation of the Iranian presence on Syrian soil. They also noted that he dealt a fatal blow to the “axis of resistance,” but refrained from celebrating, and reduced the Russian military presence without issuing retaliatory phrases.

Al-Sharaa’s choice of Saudi Arabia as his first destination is an expression of his awareness of Saudi Arabia’s constant interest in keeping Syria an active member of its Arab family, while respecting the will of its people and supporting its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and dream of stability and prosperity. Al-Sharaa’s meeting with the torchbearer of the Saudi renaissance, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is an exceptional appointment that will certainly leave its mark on the position of the new Syria in its Arab family and its international relations.

The Syrian visitor knows Saudi Arabia; he was born in Riyadh and spent his childhood there. He knows the current Saudi Arabia, a force for stability, investment partnerships and prosperity. He also knows the role it played in convincing Western countries to reduce sanctions on Syria in preparation for its collapse. He realizes the extent of assistance that Saudi Arabia can provide to his country in a world that lives on the timing of a man named Donald Trump. He also realizes that regional demands are jostling each other; while he was on his way to Saudi Arabia, Benjamin Netanyahu was heading to the White House, which he chose to reside in during the era of the man of surprises, turns and initiatives. The timing of the Saudi Sharia is important for both countries and for the stability of Syria and the Middle East.

*Quoted from Asharq Al-Awsat