Journeyman Pictures. Battle for Syrias Courts:The escalating struggle for control of Syrias legal system between moderate revolutionaries and Islamists linked to al-Qaeda. The uprising against Syrias President Bashir Al-Assad sparked a bloody civil war but four years on, the opposition is now at war with itself. There is an escalating struggle between moderates and Islamists linked to al-Qaeda. The Islamists want Sharia justice and in some parts of Syria theyre getting their way. We travel to Saraqib where foreign Islamists control checkpoints and the courts. They even check meat deliveries to the town to see theyre fit for Muslim consumption. Inside the Sharia court we hear the case of four would-be thieves caught trying to steal a car. They are sentenced to public flogging. Sharia judge Sheikh Abdullah explains that punishments are reduced during wartime. The Islamists Jordanian commander here Abu Qudama says I thank the West for not intervening in Syria. This has helped to revive religion in the hearts of the people. But others want the foreigners to leave and a brave few protest against the flogging and the courts. One explains his opposition to the Islamists: In Islam I see smiles, tolerance, love, good deeds, helping others, justice and everything thats beautiful. But they see death and blood.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 12:06:36 +0000