British Muslim Heritage Centre: Syrian Conflict Conference

Dr Christopher Phillips speaking about the reasons for the current conflict in Syria, arising from "The United States was defeated in 2011, as they didn't get what they wanted from the 2003 Iraq war. The rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia came to surface over Syria. Sunni/Shia rivalries in Iraq were being extrapolated across the region of the Middle East by the media. Before 2004 there wasn't any Jihadism in the Middle East. The war was shaped by the exit of the United States in Iraq. There was a shift from peaceful demonstrations to violence on the false assumption that the US would help the Syrian rebels." Manchester, UK, 17th October 2104.(Photo by Jonathan Nicholson/NurPhoto) (Photo by NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)