Minbar al-Sham al-Islami

Writing for the Jamestown Foundation, Stephen Ulph reports on the latest issue of a Syrian jihadist publication, interpreting it as a sign that the movement it represents is on the decline in Syria. As evidence, he cites the fact it is only six pages long, whereas others have been closer to twenty pages, and its contents, which revolve around opposition to secular forces in Syria and notes on the continuing regime crackdown on Islamist militants. I suppose he's write, though I'm not sure it means anything in the long run. Islamic militancy is tough to suppress partly because it is a movement rather than an organization, and if this group is suppressed, another will simply take its place as long as the ideology continues to have appeal.