With the dawn of the first day of Muharram and the arrival of the new Hijri year 1448 AH, the Syrian Future Movement extends its warmest congratulations and blessings to the great Syrian people, both within Syria and in refugee camps and the diaspora, as well as to the Arab and Islamic nations.
The Prophet’s migration (Hijra) was a major civilizational turning point, establishing the values of freedom, justice, and citizenship, and marking the transition from a phase of vulnerability and forced displacement to one of building a state and institutions based on rights, coexistence, and the guarantee of human dignity.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the Prophet’s migration embodies, in its essence, the value of “moving towards construction and empowerment.” This is a concept that Syrians need today more than ever during this transitional phase, to shift from a mindset of merely confronting immediate crises to one of sustainablely establishing the “Syria of the future” as a state of law, institutions, and pluralism. The Syrian Future Movement believes that the suffering of millions of Syrians who have endured the bitterness of displacement and forced migration over the past years resonates with the sacrifices of the early Muslims. This makes human and political justice imperative to give absolute priority to the issue of dignified voluntary return, the restitution of displaced persons’ property, and securing stable livelihoods for them as a fundamental condition for the success of any political transition or societal stability.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the “Constitution of Medina,” drafted by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), represents a constitutional and civilizational model ahead of its time in establishing the values of citizenship and pluralism. The document affirmed the principle of equality in rights and duties for all components of society, regardless of their beliefs. The Movement adopts this as an intellectual framework, emphasizing that religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity in Syria is a source of strength and richness for society, not a factor of division.
The Syrian Future Movement affirms that the values of brotherhood and compassion that were evident between the early Muslims and their supporters must be reflected today in their highest form through strengthening social and civic solidarity among Syrians. To confront the consequences of poverty and revive the local economy, and to work together to heal the wounds of war and overcome the divisions of the past through comprehensive national reconciliation and equitable transitional justice.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that drawing lessons from the Prophet’s migration necessitates holding fast to hope and working diligently, and rejecting the rhetoric of despair and inaction. Nations are not built on wishes, but rather on scientific planning, institutionalization, and the combined efforts of Syrian minds and expertise, both inside and outside the country, to chart the course for a new dawn worthy of the sacrifices of this great people.
The Syrian Future Movement puts forward the following recommendations:
- To draft a “social contract and national charter” for the transitional phase, inspired by the values of justice and inclusive citizenship, and guaranteeing equal rights for all Syrian components without discrimination or exclusion.
- To institutionalize the care of returnees (both Ansar and new Muhajireen) by establishing a supreme national body concerned with organizing the return of internally displaced persons and refugees, and providing legal, logistical, and financial support for their integration into the economic and social fabric of the liberated areas.
- Strengthening intellectual and moral identity, and activating the role of religious, educational and intellectual institutions with an enlightened, moderate approach that focuses on spreading the values of tolerance, civil peace, acceptance of others, and combating extremist and alien ideas that have been provoked by years of conflict.
