Syrian Tahrir Party, a simulation model of Daesh ideology

Sara Rashad

Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami (Tahrir Islamic party) (founded in 1953 by Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani) may have been the first to think of caliphate (succession) in Syria, perhaps even before Daesh and Al-Qaed. Before the demonstrations starts in Syria in 2011, Hizb al-Tahrir said in a statement that it expects the protests of the so-called “Arab Spring” to spread to Syria; thus, it will have the opportunity to establish its dream of establishing the Caliphate state.

The party did not stop showing its ambitions. In 2013, it’s spokesman, Hisham al-Bab, appeared on Al-Jazeera.net to say that the ground had become fertile and ready for the establishment of the Islamic caliphate state.
Although the factions are already preparing themselves for the dream that they have long been dreamed of, the most extreme preparation of “Al-Tahrir” was the distribution of papers in the city of Aleppo, telling people that “the sun of the caliphate will be shining again.”
The papers published by the party are classified by observers as weak and did not keep pace with the Syrian scene, which has reached in 2013 the peak of armed violence. In addition to distributing paper, the party also raise black flags, and call for demonstrations often gather only a limited number.

The party has also called on the elements of Daesh and Al-Qaeda to hand over the areas they control to its administration.
This coincides with religious belief of the party that the establishment of the caliphate is through two steps first military action, which is carried out by armed factions in Syria, and the second is through the politicians.
Researcher on extremist groups, Hisham al-Najjar told al-Marjie that Hizb al-Tahrir understands its limited size wether in Syria or abroad. He pointed out that due to this the party is trying to seize opportunities by using the events, like what happened in the Syrian war.

He pointed out that the party is aware that its movements will not lead to the establishment of the caliphate state, but it only aims to show its presence in the events.
Al-Najjar explained the party rejected the Sochi agreement signed by Russia and Turkey last month, which led to the establishment of a buffer zone at a depth of 15-20 kilometers separating the forces of the Syrian regime and the armed factions as well as transferring their heavy weapons to the north.

The party rejected the agreement despite the approval of most factions, “Tahrir al-Sham authority”. The researcher added that al-Tahrir tried to use this position show that it is the only party that refuse the agreement.

Al-Najjar also said that al-Tahrir remains outside the political game. He added that that it will stop appearing in the media once Syria regains its complete stability.