Syria has always played a pivotal role in Middle Eastern affairs, but most Westerners have never had a very clear understanding of the prevailing conditions there. The Islamic Struggle in Syria is a pioneering work that seeks to illuminate some important aspects on contemporary Syrian reality. It focuses on the bitter struggle between the Syrian Islamic Front and the repressive Ba'thist regime of Late Hafiz Asad. Dr. Abd-Allah provides valuable information on the leaders, ideology, and program of the Syrian Islamic Front as well as a history of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria and sketches of some its leaders, including Mustafa as-Sibai, Isam al-Attar, and Marwan Hadid. At the same time, he touches on a number of important topics: the continuing nature of superpower intrigue and intervention in the Middle East, the importance of the sectarian factor in Syrina politics, the origins and antecedents of the Ba'thist regime, the ambiguous role played by Hafiz Asad vis-a-vis Israel and the Palestinian cause, the role Syrian has played in Lebanese affairs, and Syria's relations with other countries in the region.
About the Author Dr. Umar F. Abd-Allah has worked carefully using not only the relevant literature from both Middle Eastern and Western sources but also the testimony of members of the Syrian Islamic Front--without attribution of course. His sympathetic presentation of the Front's program makes this an excellent source for those interested in the resurgence of Islam as an ideological force, in the nature of politics in the Arab world, or in the possible ramfications of superpower intervention in the Middle East. Hamid Algar has contributed both the foreward and the postscript, and these serve to bring the larger scope of Dr. Abd-Allah's work into focus from the perspective of recent events in the region. An appendix containing the complete text of the Proclamation of the Islamic Front completes the work and gives it special documentary value.
