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Syria was fairly liberal and diverse country before all this started.
by wfeui3 10y ago
Syria was fairly liberal and diverse country before all this started.
- gaius 10y agoAlso check out these old photos of Afghan: http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/06/10/lost-in-time-groovy-afghanistan/ http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/06/10/lost-in-time-groovy...
- jonyt 10y agoReally? I think it's more accurate to say that Syria was a repressive, violent dictatorship before all this started[0]. Since the war started the government has slaughtered more of its citizens than the rebels have. 0 - http://www.refworld.org/docid/4a1fadbcc.html http://www.refworld.org/docid/4a1fadbcc.html
- didgeoridoo 10y agoCountry != Government. Through much of the latter half of the 20th century, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan were relative beacons of liberalism and diversity. Makes the current catastrophe all the more gut-wrenching.
- jonyt 10y agoRelative to what? Do you have citations for this claim?
- didgeoridoo 10y agoRelative to the far more fundamentalist peoples of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. I'm not sure how I could provide a "citation" for a vague and judgment-based claim, other than to encourage you to read up on the history of the region in the 20th century and decide for yourself.
- wfeui3 10y agoSyria was liberal in the sense it had multiple religions, bikini on beach and shorts in mosque. It also had elections, state/religion separation, female politicians...
- raverbashing 10y ago> repressive, violent dictatorship Yes. Because that's what kept extremism in check. Same with Libya and Iraq
- ZanyProgrammer 10y agoThat's like saying Iraq was a tolerant paradise in the 1970s. Sure, but at the expense of a lot of repression, and when the repressive government inevitably falls or the people have enough the results aren't pretty.
- wfeui3 10y agoI do not know how Iraq was in 1970, but Syrian government survived several elections, 6 years of civil war and international sanctions. I guess this 'represive murdering regime' is better than 'islamist paradise' terrorists are pushing.
- gerbal 10y agoHe really means Society. Syrian society was reasonable open, liberal, irreligious, and tolerant of (non-political) minorities. Not as open as European societies, but more open than the Gulf or Iran. Political opponents were oppressed of course.