Shane Farrell

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood produced a charter Sunday calling for a civil state and professing its commitment to democracy and equality, among other things. It has been well received by many opposition supporters, who view it as a sign that the Brotherhood—which is the largest component of the main opposition body, the Syrian National Council (SNC)—is a moderate organization. However, concerns are not completely assuaged, as some worry not about what is within the charter, but about what is left out.
 
“There is no mention of a separation between religion and the state within the charter,” said one prominent Syrian activist based in Beirut. “This is why I maintain some reservations about the document.” Despite this, the activist, who preferred not to be named for his personal security, believes the charter is a “positive step.”
 
But Maan Adbel Salam, another prominent Syrian activist, said that the Muslim Brotherhood did not envisage an Islamic state and stressed that it mentioned secularism in a similar charter as far back as 2001, the Draft National Code for Honour for Political Action. “The difference,” he added, “is the current situation [inside Syria]. It is important to give a clear message to people about the position of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
 
As such, the timing of the charter is also important because it came out just ahead of the Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul on April 1, in which representatives of 60 nations will meet to discuss the situation in the country. The Syrian opposition has faced widespread criticism in recent months for lack of unity and for failing to present a clear picture of what a post-Assad Syria would look like. The Brotherhood charter can, therefore, be seen in some ways as a means to address this.
 
Basel Hafar, head of the Istanbul office of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, said that the timing of the charter ahead of the conference was merely a coincidence, but a welcome one. The Brotherhood, he told NOW Lebanon, has been working on reassuring minorities of its position since anti-regime protests began a year ago, and its efforts culminated with this document.
 
It is greatly supported by Ausama Monajed, a leading member of the SNC, who said “[The charter] comes at a time when many were raising skepticism about the future of Syria with regard to minority rights, reconciliation or retaliation, rule of civil law versus religious law, and so forth. It certainly put clear answers to these questions.”
 
Among its many stipulations, the charter calls for equality between sexes, perhaps a surprise to many who earmarked the Brotherhood as an organization inherently discriminatory toward women. When asked whether the Brotherhood would accept a woman president, Haffar replied: “That is something for the future, but there’s nothing in the [literature] of the Muslim Brotherhood or their suggestions today that says that this is not possible.”
 
For Hazem al-Amin, Al-Hayat correspondent and expert on Islamists, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood is following the stance adopted by its Tunisian and Moroccan counterparts, which is to say a more moderate line than the Egyptian Brotherhood. Moreover, he shares Monajed’s view that the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is the most progressive in the region.

As for how other Muslim Brotherhood branches reacted to the charter, Hafar said they were supportive and were consulted on the contents of the document. “It is known that the Muslim Brotherhood in general is bonded by a relationship based on consultation. This charter was already proposed to many different parties inside the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood as well as Islamists in the region several days before the charter was published,” he said. “When the announcement about the charter came out, it was already accepted by all the different parties on that subject.”
 
The Syrian National Council, according to Monajed, is also largely supportive of the move, although he acknowledged that “some SNC members are skeptical and claim that the charter is ‘too good to be true.’”

With the Assad regime stubbornly clinging to power, it is too early to determine whether the Brotherhood’s lofty words will be followed by actions. Nonetheless, for those fearing that a post-Assad Syria will tumble into an Islamic state, the charter is a step in the right direction.
 
Luna Safwan contributed reporting