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The Western Syria Alliance warns of a systematic ideological project aimed at reshaping religious consciousness in Syria and promoting extremist doctrine through state institutions and cultural platforms.
Published
February 8, 2026
Read Time
8 min read
Author
Dr. Sarah Al-Ali
We at the Western Syria Alliance (WSA) have repeatedly warned, on multiple occasions, of the grave danger posed by the actions of the de facto authority in Syria.
Our warnings were not limited to crimes of killing, repression, forced displacement, and demographic engineering targeting minorities; they extended to an even deeper and longer-term threat: the reengineering of religious consciousness, the establishment of a takfiri doctrine as the ideological reference of the state, and the indoctrination of future generations upon it.
What we are witnessing today is neither a transient deviation nor isolated religious interpretations. It is a systematic ideological project aimed at dismantling the historical, moderate Sunni creed and replacing it with an extremist doctrine derived from the takfiri thought of Ibn Taymiyyah and from the literature of al-Qaeda and transnational jihadism.
This project was exposed with striking clarity at the Damascus Book Fair on February 5, 2026, where an entire pavilion was devoted to the works of Ibn Taymiyyah, and long lines of young people were seen competing to obtain these publications.
This demand was neither coincidental nor the result of innocent cultural interest. It is the outcome of a deliberate and organized effort carried out by the de facto authority through education, media, and religious institutions — aimed at reshaping the religious consciousness of an entire generation and transforming the Sunni majority from a centrist, tolerant belief system into an exclusionary takfiri doctrine that views the "other" as an infidel and legitimizes their killing as "jihad."
This policy lays the groundwork for what we have previously warned against: the creation of a solid jihadist infrastructure and a transnational ideological army that does not recognize the nation-state, is not confined to Syrian geography, and, if fully realized, will resemble a sweeping flood that no force will be able to stop. Neighboring countries in particular would be at risk, as they are classified within this ideology as "lands of disbelief" where the blood of their populations is deemed permissible.
For those who doubt or attempt to justify what is taking place, the definitive evidence exposing the falsity of Ahmad al-Sharaas (Abu Mohammad al-Jolanis) claims of severing ties with al-Qaeda ideology was publicly present at the same book fair.
Two books glorifying al-Qaeda thought were openly displayed and promoted:
This is the exhibition personally inaugurated by al-Sharaa (al-Jolani) himself. And this is the "culture" being presented to new generations.
This reality is now being deliberately overlooked by the West, and by Americans in particular, in exchange for promises of investment, oil, and gas.
Yet the fundamental question remains:
What value do all these funds and investments hold if Syria is transformed into an incubator for successive generations of extremists?
And what is the worth of oil when terrorism becomes a state doctrine, taught and promoted as an official ideology — an ideology that, by its very nature, recognizes no borders, does not stop at Syria, and expands wherever it can?
Ignoring this trajectory is not merely a political mistake; it is a gamble with the security of the region and the world.
Western Syria Alliance (WSA) February 8, 2026
