ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Druze reject Islamic rule and prefer a decentralized government in Syria, a commander from the minority group said on Sunday.
“Religious and Islamic rule has only led the country and its people to war and conflict. This is completely rejected by us,” Sheikh Marwan al-Rizq, a commander in the Suwayda Operations Room told Rudaw.
The Druze are an ethno-religious group found mainly in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
“Every Syrian is our relative. We do not distinguish between Arabs, Assyrians, Christians, Islam, and Shiites. The idea of majority and minority in Syria was imported by the occupier and we reject it. Syrians are friends of all communities,” he added.
In Suwayda, Syria’s southern city that is home to a large Druze community, many people think a decentralized government is the best way to guarantee their rights and those of other minorities across the country.
The people of Suwayda and their leaders have said they prefer a secular, democratic state with the powers separated among different regions of Syria.
Their community has been shaken by recent calls from the new de facto leader in Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, for armed groups to lay down their weapons.
Druze militias on Wednesday forced a military convoy linked to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to return to Damascus without entering Suwayda province.
The HTS, led by Sharaa, spearheaded an offensive by rebel groups a month ago that toppled Bashar al-Assad.
The Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat, al-Hijri has said that disarmament depends on constitutional guarantees.
Sharaa said in a recent interview that it could take them three years to draft a new constitution for the country.
Many Syrians and foreign powers are worried that HTS-authority may impose strict Islamic rule and threaten minority groups such as Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites.