ABSTRACT
The main leadership of the Islamic movement has been provided by overtly political organizations. The strongest and most durable opposition to Syria’s Ba‘th state has taken the form of political Islam, and Syria’s Islamic movement has been distinctively shaped by its recent character as a reaction against Ba‘thism. In early 1964 when the regime, having just come to power, lacked an organized base outside the army, the Ikhwan led violent resistance against the Ba‘th’s monopolization of power. As long as Alawis in the regime acted on behalf of Ba‘thism, opposition to their dominance remained largely limited to the old establishment, but as they abused their power and favored their own kind, resentment of sectarian “minority” rule became a powerful force fueling Islamic opposition. An Islamic economy would encourage private enterprise, investment, and the “natural incentives” of a fair profit, while avoiding excessive concentration of wealth and class conflict.
