Joining the International Coalition against “Terrorism” Is a Betrayal of Principles and Sacrifices, and A Slide of the Country into what Its Enemies Desire
(Translated)
Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 576 - 03/12/2025
By: Ustadh Nasser Sheikh Abdul-Hay*

Following his closed-door meeting with Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, at the White House on the 10th of last month, US President Trump told reporters that he was on good terms with al-Sharaa and confident that he would be able to carry out his duties successfully. The US State Department praised what it described as “remarkable progress” in the behavior of the new Syrian leadership. Meanwhile, Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa confirmed that Syria had recently signed a declaration of political cooperation with the international coalition to defeat ISIS, and that Syria is a partner in the fight against terrorism. He added that President Trump praised Syria's transformation and expressed his support for a possible security arrangement with the Jewish entity. The US Department of War also confirmed that Syria is on its way to joining the international coalition.

US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack announced that President Ahmed al-Sharaa would sign a partnership agreement during his visit, placing Syria within the US-led international coalition. Commenting on Trump’s meeting with al-Sharaa, Barrack tweeted on 13 November, “I, together with Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, witnessed in the Oval Office President al-Sharaa’s commitment to President Trump to join the D-ISIS coalition, which stands as a historic framework marking Syria’s transition from a source of terrorism to a counterterrorism partner - a commitment to rebuild, to cooperate, and to contribute to the stability of an entire region. Damascus will now actively assist us in confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC, Hamas, Hizballah, and other terrorist networks, and will stand as a committed partner in the global effort to secure peace.” The Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department stated that Syria has transformed from a state that was a proxy for the Iranian regime to a state that now cooperates with us in combating terrorism.

The Middle East Institute report, quoting a source in the General Security Directorate, stated that “the recent coordination between Damascus and the coalition leadership included multiple operational agreements, most notably: the exchange of intelligence information between the reconnaissance unit in the Ministry of Interior and the operations rooms of the international coalition, which paves the way for the establishment of more institutional and sustainable security cooperation channels.”

This meeting comes in conjunction with numerous media reports, including one by Reuters on November 6, citing informed sources, about America’s efforts to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus, followed by an expected Syrian-American denial.

The disastrous involvement of the current administration in the international coalition legitimizes the American presence in Syria, absolves the coalition of the crimes it has committed over the past decade, and absolves it of the horrific massacres it began in September 2014 under the pretext of combating terrorism. It also legitimizes any future atrocities it may commit. This is a hateful, crusader alliance hiding behind false and misleading slogans to conceal its true objective: to pressure the Ummah and punish its people for their audacity and defiance of the international order. It targets the revolutionary and jihadist spirit that has taken root in the hearts of the people of Syria and the Muslim World, and their yearning for governance by Islam through a state after decades of humiliation, subjugation, and the crime of ruling by other than all that Allah (swt) has revealed.

One of the most important principles of the Syrian revolution, which has sacrificed two million martyrs, was the liberation from the grip of Western powers and the end of their influence. No sooner had Allah (swt) blessed us with the downfall of Bashar al-Assad than the new administration began to view engagement with America and the West, and openness to them, as the sole source of security, safety, peace, progress, and economic prosperity! The media even focused on the capitalist economic aspect, disregarding the principles, rulings, and conditions of Islam, especially in economic matters and in dealings with non-Muslim countries, particularly those at war with them, foremost among them America, whose weapons drip with our blood in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, and even in Syria, where it supported the defunct Assad regime for fourteen years with all the necessities of life to crush the Syrian revolution and return its people to the clutches of the oppressor.

Furthermore, linking the miserable economic situation to the satisfaction of the West and the lifting of sanctions is absurd and deceptive in order to divert people’s minds from the eternal Qur’anic truth that the cause of misery and wretchedness is the exclusion of Shariah Law of Allah (swt) from ruling governance, life, and the state. Allah (swt) said in Surah Taha,

[فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَىٰ * وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكاً وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَىٰ]

“Whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer. However, whoever turns away from My remembrance will have a life of hardship, and We will raise him up on the Day of Resurrection blind.” [TMQ Surah Taha: 124].

Even worse is justifying this dangerous slide by claiming to achieve potential political, economic, and security gains under the pretext of bringing benefits and warding off harms, based on a flawed understanding of the fundamentals of our religion and the mechanism for dealing with countries in foreign policy.

It is truly astonishing that the stance towards the international coalition has shifted from a crusader alliance waging war against Islam to an ally and partner in combating “extremism and terrorism”—that is, a war on Islam and preventing its return to power! Where are the slogans of loyalty and disavowal that the Shara' and his followers championed before coming to power? Have they not heard the words of Allah (swt),

[قَالَ عَسى رَبُّكم أنْ يُهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكم ويَسْتَخْلِفَكم في الأرْضِ فَيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ]

“Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, so that He may see how you will act” [TMQ Surah al-Araaf: 129]? Or were these slogans merely a ladder to power, only to be forgotten once the inevitable happened?

Allah (swt) says,

[ما يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتابِ وَلا الْمُشْرِكِينَ أَنْ يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ]

“Neither those who disbelieve among the People of the Book nor the mushrikeen wish that any good should be sent down to you from your Lord...” [TMQ Surah Al-Baqarah: 105]. So, should we believe America, the head of disbelief and its spearhead in the war against Islam, or should we believe the word of the One, the All-Powerful, whose support brought us to Damascus victorious? And what about Allah (swt)'s saying,

[وَلَن تَرْضَى عَنكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلاَ النَّصَارَى حَتَّى تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَى وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءهُم بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلاَ نَصِيرٍ]

“Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with you unless you follow their religion. Say, ‘Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the only guidance.’ And if you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper.” [TMQ Surah Al-Baqarah: 120].

The entire Western world has linked the lifting of sanctions on Syria to clear and blatant conditions, foremost among them the new administration’s cooperation in the fight against Islam, and this has become clear to everyone.

The declaration of explicit engagement with America in this hateful crusader alliance is a dangerous trap and a terrible evil whose ill effects will not only affect the current administration, but will also affect everyone who approves of it, or remains silent about it, and ignores its effects and consequences, the most obvious of which is the persecution of everyone who carries the banner of Islam as a way of life, whether from the people of the country or those who came to support them from the sons of the nation of Islam. The organization of the state is nothing but a pretext to mislead public opinion to be satisfied with joining this alliance, in addition to what this engagement will cause in terms of political and economic dependence and the imposition of political plans that affect domestic matters such as restructuring the security services, according to the whims of America, which wants these services to be its tools and its internal eyes to use to serve its plans as it pleases.

Today in Syria we are at a crossroads. Either we return to our Deen, the guidance of our Lord, and the path of our Prophet (saw) and declare our complete disavowal of everything that contradicts our Shariah, or we chase after the mirage of America’s approval, only to fall into the Wrath of Allah (swt) and let the great sacrifices and pure blood that watered the soil of Syria go to waste. Which of the two paths should the people of Syria choose?

It is incumbent upon the sons of the revolution of Ash-Sham and the people of sacrifice to remain true to their pledge by declaring their adherence to the principles of their Deen and their revolution, foremost among which is the implementation of Islam under the Islamic state in order to fulfill the glad tidings of the Prophet (saw) and his saying, «أَلَا إِنَّ عُقْرَ دَارِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الشَّامُ» “Indeed, the heart of the abode of the believers is ash-Sham,” before we all regret it at a time, when crying or wailing will be of no use.

* Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Syria