The Reuters story on Sept. 25 headlined “Syria rebels reject opposition coalition, call for Islamic leadership,” solidly confirms once again what a complicated mess it has become in Syria. 

“A group of powerful rebel units have rejected the authority of the Western-backed Syrian opposition leadership abroad and called for it to be reorganized under an Islamic framework,” the article read. “At least 13 rebel factions were said to have endorsed the statement, including the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra and the powerful Islamist battalions Ahrar al-Sham and the Tawheed Brigade.” It added: “These forces call on all military and civilian forces to unite under a clear Islamic framework based on Sharia law (Islamic law), which should be the sole source of legislation.” 

To put it into context, Oytun Orhan, a veteran Middle East researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), told Al-Monitor that it would be best to take a cautious approach to this news. “While these are all significant groups that dominate the fighting opposition against [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad's regime, it’s still premature to claim that Syria is on the path to becoming an Islamic Republic.” He added, “One needs to clarify the definition as to what it is exactly they mean while making references to Islam or Sharia. Are they talking about establishing a state all taking its references from the Quran, or are they calling people to unite around Islam? That said, this development hints that the Islamic-based opposition groups are gaining ground, and others are gradually taking steps toward them. Therefore, it would be best to understand this clearly without underestimating or exaggerating it.”

Yasin Atlioglu, a professor at the international relations department of Nigde University and an expert on Syria who lived there for a couple of years, concurs. “The field has become too complicated to make a sense of these news reports in an instant. It would be best to wait a little more to have a clear view of what this statement really stands for,” he told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview. “There have been, at least, 50 suicide attacks carried out by these groups. How did these jihadists come to Syria? One sincerely needs to question the role that Turkey played in it.”