The Syrian revolution that erupted in 2011 is not only an uprising against a totalitarian regime but also a renaissance movement to restore the original civilized nature of a nation with a glorious past.
The fact that this revolution is still ongoing to this day, despite the hundreds of thousands who were detained, injured, or killed along with millions being internally and externally displaced, is an achievement in itself.
They [Syrians] are still determined to break free of the ruler’s premeditated heinous scheme to keep them under his control driven by what he believes to be his earthly right to do so
Dr. George Tuma
Syrians continue to believe that the restoration of freedom and dignity must be achieved at all costs. They are still determined to break free of the ruler’s premeditated heinous scheme to keep them under his control driven by what he believes to be his earthly right to do so.
The Syrian revolution came against a very old misconception that makes the mind static enabling the ruler to govern his people without giving freedom to individuals and instead moving them like puppets according to his whims.
The biggest success of the revolution to date is the reawakening of the Syrian collective mind
Dr. George Tuma
The biggest success of the revolution to date is the reawakening of the Syrian collective mind — as was the case in all Arab Spring peoples — and freeing it from a centuries-old cage that existed as a result of political/intellectual precursors that caused the birth of extreme criteria for sacred texts that correspond to the wishful thinking of the ruler. These criteria took root over time, creating the so-called “standard mind” parameters which functioned as a tool for measuring intellectual output. Eventually, these standards became absolute because they were formulated with a divine methodology.
With time, this led to the erosion of the process of modernity and development as a contemporary thought that guaranteed the preservation of individual freedom and instead suppressed creativity in all aspects of life.
The Syrian revolutionaries believe that freedom in the life of the individual and society strengthens and supports creative capabilities that lead to advancement
Dr. George Tuma
Therefore, it became very easy for these domesticated societies to accept the “standard mind”, and to submit to centuries of spontaneous and innate consent brought about by the pretext of prohibiting breaking with the rulers. To be fair, it is noted that the conscious segment of society, which distanced itself from the practice of standard reason, struggled to oppose the domesticated mind in various forms and resisted the attempt of the rulers to promote it.
The Syrian revolutionaries believe that freedom in the life of the individual and society strengthens and supports creative capabilities that lead to advancement, thus returning them to the originality that allows for true and effective modernity which naturally evolves with historical and civilizational authenticity. Thus, in the cyclical fashion of life, modernity itself becomes an engine for promoting the advancement of intellectual freedom and individual creativity in society.
We should not brag about the glories of our history but be inspired by the essence of its premises and values
Dr. George Tuma
The originality that I mean here is not just going back to history, but rather an adherence to the civilizational pattern from which we derive the knowledge that facilitates the fulfillment of the civilizational aspirations that brought glory to the past, led to the present, and will propel us into the future. In this sense, history is nothing but an integrated and comprehensive cognitive-cultural-social heritage that must be considered a driving force for further prosperity and progress. We should not brag about the glories of our history but be inspired by the essence of its premises and values.
Those who believe in the Syrian revolution make the present, its responsibilities, and its challenges, a conscious process to achieve our best existence without moving away from our past. They are cautious about civilizational alienation, especially since nearly eight million Syrians have become scattered across all continents. They try to avoid the loss of their subjective and cultural identity and preserve their distinct Syrian originality, while at the same time trying to formulate conscious connections with the various societies they currently live in.
