{"id":121636,"date":"2025-06-03T17:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=121636"},"modified":"2025-06-03T07:41:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T05:41:32","slug":"03-00-110","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=121636","title":{"rendered":"The Islamist Crescent: A New Syrian Danger"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>The Islamist Crescent: A New Syrian Danger<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

Amine Ayoub<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS\/Stephanie Lecocq\/Pool<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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The dramatic fall of the Assad regime in Syria has undeniably reshaped the Middle East, yet the emerging power dynamics, particularly the alignment between Saudi Arabia and\u00a0Turkey,\u00a0warrant\u00a0profound scrutiny from those committed to American and Israeli security. While superficially presented as a united front against Iranian influence, this new Sunni axis carries a dangerous undercurrent of Islamism and regional ambition that could\u00a0ultimately undermine, rather than serve, the long-term interests of Washington and Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For too long, Syria under Bashar al-Assad served as a critical conduit for Iran\u2019s destabilizing agenda, facilitating arms transfers to Hezbollah and projecting Tehran\u2019s power across the Levant. The removal of this linchpin is, on the surface, a strategic victory. However, the nature of the new Syrian government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa \u2014 a figure Israeli officials continue to view with deep suspicion due to his past as a former Al-Qaeda-linked commander \u2014 raises immediate red flags. This is not merely a change of guard; it is a shift that introduces a new set of complex challenges, particularly given Turkey\u2019s historical support for the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization deemed a terror group by Saudi Arabia and many other regional states.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Israel\u2019s strategic calculus in Syria has always been clear: to degrade Iran\u2019s military presence, prevent Hezbollah from acquiring advanced weaponry, and maintain operational freedom in Syrian airspace. Crucially, Israel has historically thought it best to have a decentralized, weak, and fragmented Syria, with reports that it has actively worked against the resurgence of a robust central authority. This preference stems from a pragmatic understanding that a strong, unified Syria, especially one under the tutelage of an ambitious regional power like Turkey, could pose much more of a threat than the Assad regime ever did. Indeed, Israeli defense officials privately express concern at Turkey\u2019s assertive moves, accusing Ankara of attempting to transform post-war Syria into a Turkish protectorate under Islamist tutelage. This concern is not unfounded; Turkey\u2019s ambitious, arguably expansionist, objectives \u2014 and its perceived undue dominance in Arab lands \u2014 are viewed by Israel as warily as Iran\u2019s previous influence.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The notion that an \u201cOttoman Crescent\u201d is now replacing the \u201cShiite Crescent\u201d should not be celebrated as a net positive. While it may diminish Iranian power, it introduces a new form of regional hegemony, one driven by an ideology that has historically been antithetical to Western values and stability. The European Union\u2019s recent imposition of sanctions on Turkish-backed Syrian army commanders for human rights abuses, including arbitrary killings and torture, further underscores the problematic nature of some elements within this new Syrian landscape. The fact that al-Sharaa has allowed such individuals to\u00a0operate\u00a0with impunity and even promoted them to high-ranking positions should give Washington pause.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From an American perspective, while the Trump administration has pragmatically engaged with the new Syrian government, lifting sanctions and urging normalization with Israel, this engagement must be tempered with extreme caution. The core American interests in the Middle East \u2014 counterterrorism, containment of Iran, and regional stability \u2014 are not served by empowering Islamist-leaning factions or by enabling a regional power, like Turkey, whose actions have sometimes undermined the broader fight against ISIS. Washington must demand that Damascus demonstrate a genuine commitment to taking over the counter-ISIS mission and managing detention facilities, and unequivocally insist that Turkey cease actions that risk an ISIS resurgence.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The argument that Saudi Arabia and Turkey, despite their own complex internal dynamics, are simply pragmatic actors countering Iran overlooks the ideological underpinnings that concern many conservatives. Turkey\u2019s ruling party, rooted in political Islam, and its historical ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, present a fundamental challenge to the vision of a stable, secular, and pro-Western Middle East. While Saudi Arabia has designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, its alignment with Turkey in Syria, and its own internal human rights record, means that this \u201cnew front\u201d is far from a clean solution.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Saudi-Turkey alignment in Syria is a double-edged sword. While it may indeed serve to counter Iran\u2019s immediate regional ambitions, it simultaneously risks empowering actors whose long-term objectives and ideological leanings are deeply problematic for American, Israeli, and Western interests. Washington and Jerusalem must approach this new dynamic with extreme vigilance, prioritizing the containment of all forms of radicalism \u2014 whether Shiite or Sunni \u2014 and ensuring that any strategic gains against Iran do not inadvertently pave the way for a new, equally dangerous, Islamist crescent to rise in the heart of the Levant.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Amine Ayoub<\/strong>, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X:\u00a0<\/span>@amineayoubx<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Islamist Crescent: A New Syrian Danger Amine Ayoub Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS\/Stephanie Lecocq\/Pool The dramatic fall of the Assad regime in Syria has undeniably reshaped the Middle East, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121636"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121654,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121636\/revisions\/121654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}