Syria's Temporary Constitution Ensures an Islamist Sunni State

Abstract

Syria’s interim ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa has signed a provisional constitution that cements Sunni Islamist rule, pushing Syria back to square one after years of bloodshed since 2012. Despite promises of inclusivity, the charter mirrors the previous regime, marginalizing Kurds, Druze, Alawites, Christians, Assyrians, Yazidis and other minorities while enforcing Islamic jurisprudence as the primary source of law. The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) and AANES have condemned it as an authoritarian blueprint, drafted by a single faction with no input from Syria’s diverse communities. With European leaders unwilling to fund Islamist structures and regional tensions rising, this constitution risks turning Syria into a Sunni version of Iran’s Islamic Republic or Turkey’s ethnocentric and increasingly theocratic model, ensuring that real change remains an illusion.

Keywords: Kurdish Studies, European Foreign Policy, Middle Eastern Politics, Conflict Resolution, Syria, Authoritarianism, Kurdistan, Regime change, Kurds, Post-War Reconstruction, Self Determination, Constituionalism and Constitutional Law, Ethnic and Religious Minorities, Theocracy, Syrian Conflict, Kurdistana Rojava, Radical Islamist Movements, US Foreign Policy in the Middle East, Middle Eastern Geopolitics