Securitization as a Tool of Survival : The Deployment of Religious Rhetoric in Bashar al-Asad’s Speeches

Aldoughli, Rahaf Bara'a (2021) Securitization as a Tool of Survival : The Deployment of Religious Rhetoric in Bashar al-Asad’s Speeches. The Middle East Journal, 75 (1). pp. 9-32.

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of Sunni Islam in speeches given by Syrian President Bashar al-Asad between 2014 and 2017. I discuss how religion is used in these speeches as a security tool to consolidate authority, legitimize the Baˈathist regime, and marginalize political dissidents. I attend specifically to the emphasis al-Asad places on convincing religious scholars (ulama) to support state security measures, and to the novel links he constructs between religion and national unity.