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A Murder Stirs Kurds in Syria

(Christian Science Monitor) Nicholas Blanford - Sheikh Mohammed Mashouq al-Khaznawi, a moderate Islamic cleric who once worked with the Syrian government to temper extremism, had been emerging as one of its most outspoken critics. He advocated Kurdish rights and democracy, galvanizing many of the 1.7 million Kurds against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. "[Syrian intelligence] wrote a report saying he...should be stopped. They said he would start a revolution," says Sheikh Murad Khaznawi, the eldest of Sheikh Mohammed's eight sons. On May 10, the cleric disappeared in Damascus. Three weeks later, he was found dead. His murder sent shock waves through Syria's marginalized Kurdish community, sparking mass demonstrations earlier this month and mobilizing a community that represents the most potent domestic threat to President Assad. "The stability of Syria is in the hands of the Kurds," says Ibrahim Hamidi, correspondent of the Arabic Al Hayat daily. "They are organized, they have an Islamic identity, regional support through the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, international support with some European countries lobbying for them, and political status because of [the Kurdish empowerment in] Iraq."
2005-06-17 00:00:00
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