Page 231 - The Winter of Islam and the Spring to Come

HARUN YAHYA (ADNAN OKTAR)
229

The Hama people,
known for their
strong attachment to
Islam, were savagely
slaughtered in a mas-
sacre that lasted 27
days, led by Syrian
leader Hafez al-
Assad's brother Rifat.

the city of Hama. The sole reason for the destruction of that city was
that Islamic movements were particularly powerful there. Rifaat Assad,
the brother of Hafez and chief of the General Staff, directed a land and
air attack on Hama one February night in 1982. The majority of those
soldiers who declined to take part in the attack were killed on the spot.
The city was left in ruins. As a result of 27 days of slaughter, some
40,000 Muslims lost their lives.
There were many other massacres and killings during Assad's
three decades of dictatorship. Many Syrian Muslims who fled the
Assad killings are still living abroad as refugees. There are approxi-
mately 1 million Syrian Muslims in Saudi Arabia alone.