If anything positive comes out of the Syrian civil war, it could be the new government formed in the northeast part of the country. It’s based on equal rights for minorities and religious freedom.
This new government runs from the Tigris to the Euphrates rivers.
“We have a political system that was based on a social contract between all the groups; Arabs, Kurds, Syriac Christians and this social contract they articulated it how they wanted to live together as diverse ethnicities and diverse religions,” Bassam Isak, President of the Syrian Democratic Council, said in an interview.
“I don’t think ever any political system exists in the Middle East to guarantee religious freedom. You go back hundreds and thousands of years. This has not happened,” Ishak said.
The leaders of this government see a common bond with America.
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“Much of our aspiration, actually, is in line with American Revolution. We don’t want a country where citizenship and rights are based on ethnic identities or religious identity. We want all Syrians to be equal. We believe they were all created by God equal and to be free,” Ishak said.
Farhad Jasim worships in the Church of the Brethren in Kobani, Syria
They also find inspiration in the Bible where the prophet Isaiah wrote of a holy highway from Assyria – part of modern-day Syria – through Israel and Egypt.
“This is actually our dream is that our – that the highway that the crescent will be the Isaiah crescent, Lord willing, because it’s a crescent of love, of peace and prosperity and according to Isaiah when this Isaiah crescent is established. It will be a blessing for the whole earth. So we are really yearning for that Isaiah crescent,” Ishak explained.
Yet he says they need protection so this dream of democracy can stay alive. Ishak says he wants to tell President Donald Trump the existence of Christians there hangs in the balance given surrounding threats.
Trump has supported US military involvement that has made the area safe for such a government but, as Americans tire of involvement in foreign lands, wants to draw down the military in Syria.
