Syria: Assad’s axis of evil

A few days ago in northern Aleppo, 14-year-old Mohammad Qataa was shot dead by armed fighters who accused him of blasphemy. The Free Syria Army denied any connection to the savage act, calling it an act of ‘terrorism’ committed by rebels linked to al-Qaeda.

This is not the first time that a Syrian civilian has been accused of insulting Islam. On March 21 the prominent Sufi scholar Sheikh Muhammad al-Bouti was assassinated inside a mosque in Damascus because of his views about the violence in Syria. The FSA has denied these attacks and so has the Assad regime.

So who are these rebels shooting people and chopping off heads in the name of Islam? Some could be the very individuals that many in the west would like to arm. Although William Hague promises that weapons will be sent to moderate opposition forces, what criteria will Western intelligence use to make differentiations? Will it be the length of a man’s beard, or the number of prayers a person says each day?

As a nation, Syria was always known to wear Islam lightly.