Islamists (Syria-Report‪)‬

Syria's Outlawed Muslim Brotherhood Elects New Leader Syria's branch of the pan-Arab Islamist Muslim Brotherhood elected a new leader this month to succeed Ali Sadreddin Bayanouni who retired after completing his third term in office, the London-based daily ASHARQ AL AWSAT reported on Aug. 8. The election of Mohammed Riad Shaqfa, 66, by the group's Consultative Council took place the week before, the Saudi-owned newspaper said, without indicating where the election was held. The new "general supervisor," as he is called, originates from the northern Syrian city of Hama, where on February 2, 1982 the Muslim Brotherhood led a major insurrection, rapidly taking control of the city. The military responded by bombing Hama, whose population was about 250,000 throughout the rest of the month, killing between 10,000 and 30,000 people. The tragedy of Hama marked the defeat of the Muslim Brotherhood and the militant Islamic movement in general as a political force in Syria.