Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0360/03607.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 24KB | 444 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03607}
$Pretitle{247}
$Title{Syria
Government}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of Syria, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Syria, Washington DC}
$Subject{syria
syria's
oil
syrian
percent
arab
nation's
population
government
arabic}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     Syria
Book:        Facts about Syria
Author:      Embassy of Syria, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of Syria, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Government

     The constitution of Syria, written in 1973, establishes the nation as a
socialist state in which the government controls the economy. Citizens over 18
elect a president who must be a Muslim and who is nominated by the Baath
party-the nation's official political organization. The president, who serves
a seven-year term, has wide powers, which include naming a cabinet, commanding
the army, and dissolving the legislature.

     Syria's legislature, or people's council, has 195 members. Elected to
terms of four years, legislators meet three times each year to debate
government policy and to enact laws. Some members must be from a group that
the constitution describes as "workers and peasants." This provision attempts
to ensure widespread representation of the Syrian population.

     A high judicial council, of which the nation's president is the head,
appoints judges to Syria's courts. The top judicial level is the court of
cassation, which hears final appeals from lower courts. The mid-range
judiciary is made up of provincial courts of appeal. On the local level are
courts of first instance, which handle minor offenses. Islamic religious
courts interpret sharia-Islamic law-in cases involving family matters.

     Syria is divided into 14 provinces, one of which is Damascus. The
national government appoints a governor for each province who is then assisted
by a provincial council. A number of officials from the central government
join each local council to help administer the province and to maintain a
strong link with the capital.

3) The People

     More than 12 million people live in Syria, which is growing rapidly in
population. Its present rate of increase-3.8 percent-suggests that the number
of Syrians could double in 18 years. Another indication of the nation's
growth-as well as of improved health conditions-is the large proportion of
young Syrians. Nearly 50 percent of the population are under the age of 15.

     A long-standing problem for Syria is the disunity among its citizens.
People tend to identify strongly with a religious sect or an ethnic community,
and historically these groups have opposed one another. Thus, at a given time,
being a Kurd or a Druze may overshadow being a Syrian. The strength of these
specific loyalties has hampered national unity throughout the twentieth
century.

Ethnic Groups

     Most Syrians share an Arab heritage and speak Arabic, the nation's
official language. Although Arabs dwell throughout the country, about half
live in cities, where they often speak French in addition to Arabic. Most of
the remaining Arab population are farmers and shepherds in the mountains and
plains. Bedouin, who form a small percentage of Syria's Arabs, make their
homes, at least for part of the year, in the desert.

     Many urban Arabs participate in both traditional and modern lifestyles.
Syrian cities usually are centered around an old commercial and residential
section, which may predate the Greek era. Various suqs (markets) display
crafts, foods, and other decades. Following their traditional roles, most
rural Arab men farm, and most women raise children and have some farming
duties. Because of recent improvements in transportation, villagers can travel
to goods in a traditional way. Beyond the old city, however, are modern
buildings, including businesses and homes that use the up-to-date technology
found in urban areas worldwife. The Syrian government and local industries are
the largest employers of city-dwelling Arabs, and Arab women have a prominent
place in the urban work force.

     Most of the Bedouin are nomads, herding their livestock through the
Syrian Desert on a seasonal search for water and food. They share this nomadic
lifestyle with Bedouin who migrate between Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and
Jordan. Some members of this group have sought a more settled lifestyle in
recent years.

     Highly regarded by other Arabs because of their reputation for courage
and loyalty, traditional Bedouin live in large, woven tents. Each tent
represents a family, and a group of families makes up a clan. Bedouin form
strong family ties and are known for their hospitality in the desert's
difficult environment.

NON-ARAB MINORITIES

     About 10 percent of the total Syrian population belong to non-Arab ethnic
groups-mainly to Kurdish, Armenian, and Turkoman communities. The Kurds, who
make up 6 percent, inhabit the northeastern corner of Syria, near Iraq and
Turkey. A Sunni Islamic people, the Kurds have preserved their distinct
culture by living in remote areas. The Syrian Kurds are only a small part of
the Middle East's Kurdish population. Several million more inhabit the region
where Iraq, Turkey, and Syria meet.

     Ancestors of Syria's Armenians fled Turkey in the early twentieth century
to escape Turkish oppression. Forming about 3 percent of Syria's total
population, they live mainly in and around Aleppo. A Christian group, the
Armenians continue to follow their own traditions and to run their own
schools. Most Armenians reside in cities and are often traders or artisans.

     Syria's small population of Turkomans originated in central Asia. Once a
nomadic people, the group new herds livestock in Al-Jarzira and farms small
plots near Aleppo. Although they speak Turkic, many Turkomans also use
Arabic. In addition, Turkomans are Sunni Muslims and share religious beliefs
with Syria's Arab Sunnis.

Religion

ISLAM

     About 85 percent of Syria's population follow the Islamic faith. Begun in
the seventh century by the prophet Muhammad, Islam has two main sects-the
Sunnis and the Shiites. They both support the central practices of the faith.
In Syria, as in most of the Arab world, the Sunnis are the largest group,
making up about 72 percent of the nation's Islamic population. Sunnis
dominated political activity for decades,

     The number of Shiites in Syria is small. Both Sunni and Shiite Muslims
are encouraged to fulfill certain religious duties. Believers pray to Allah
(the Arabic word for God) five times daily facing in the direction of Mecca,
Saudi Arabia, where Muhammad was born. They are called to prayer by muezzins
(criers), who chant from minarets (towers). Muslims fast from sunrise to
sunset during the holy month of Ramadan and are encouraged to give donations
to the poor. Muslims try to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime.

MINORITY RELIGIONS

     Christians, who account for about 10 percent of the Syrian religious
population, belong to many sects. The largest Christian groups are Greek
Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, and Greek Catholic. Other
Christians include Maronites, Nestorians, Chaldeans, Roman Catholics, and
Protestants.

     The Druze in Syria make up about 3 percent of the religious population
and live mostly in the southwestern district of Jabal al-Arab. They are a
tightly knit, fiercely independent, and secretive group. Originating as a
branch of Shiite Islam in the eleventh century, the Druze do not consider
themselves part of the Muslim population. They derive their name from a mystic
named Ismail al-Darazi. Al-Darazi was a follower of Al-Hakim.

Language and Literature

     Nearly all Syrians speak Arabic, the nation's official language and the
main tongue of the entire Arab world. Scholars note three stages in the
development of Arabic. The Koran, Islam's book of sacred writings, is written
in classical Arabic.

     Almost any educated Arabic-speaker can understand modern standard
Arabic, a later literary language. Within Syria, a separate dialect called
S