Salih Muslim Muhammad صالح مسلم محمد | |
|---|---|
 Salih Muslim in December 2012 | |
| Chairman of the Democratic Union Party | |
| Assumed office 20 June 2022 Serving with Asya Abdullah (since 2022) | |
| Preceded by | Anwar Muslim alongsideAysha Hisso[1] |
| In office 2010 – September 2017 Serving with Asya Abdullah (since 2012) | |
| Succeeded by | Shahoz Hassan alongsideAysha Hisso[2] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 March 1951 (age 74)[3] |
| Political party | Democratic Union Party (PYD) (2003–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (1998–2003) |
| Spouse | Ayşe Efendi |
| Relations | Mahmoud Muslim (brother) |
| Children | Five (one deceased) |
| Alma mater | Istanbul Technical University (1977) |
| Occupation | Chemical engineer |
| Profession | Politician |
Salih Muslim Muhammad (Kurmanji Kurdish:Salih Muslim Mihemed,Arabic:صالح مسلم محمد,romanized: Ṣāliḥ Muslim Muḥammad) is the co-chairman of theDemocratic Union Party (PYD), the main party of theAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria. As the deputy coordinator of theNational Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, he has been the most prominentKurdish representative for much of theSyrian civil war.[4]
Muslim first became involved with theKurdish nationalist movement during the 1970s when he was studying engineering atIstanbul Technical University after becoming influenced byMustafa Barzani'songoing fight against the Iraqi government, the failure of which spurred him into becoming more active.
In 1998, he joined theKurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDP-S), the Syrian branch of the IraqiKurdish Democratic Party (KDP).[5] He left the KDP-S in 2003 after becoming disillusioned by the party's failure to accomplish its objectives.[6]
In 2003, Muslim joined the newly formedDemocratic Union Party (PYD), becoming a member of its executive council, and was elected as party head in 2010.[6] After he and his wife Ayşe Efendi were imprisoned in Syria, he fled to aPatriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) camp in Iraq in 2010. He returned toQamishli in March 2011, following the beginning of theSyrian Civil War.[5]
Under Muslim's chairmanship, the PYD became the leading political party and actor in the emergence of theAutonomous Administration of North and East Syria. In July 2013, during theKurdish-Turkish peace process, he was invited to Istanbul to negotiate with the Turkish government about the future of Syria,[7] returning on three more occasions for talks between then and October 2014.[8]
In September 2017, the 7th congress of the PYD was held in Northern Syria, where two new co-chairs were elected.[9] Muslim since works as the foreign relations official of theMovement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) coalition of the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.[10]
In this capacity, Muslim has stressed the message that "the Kurdish problem in Turkey and the Kurdish problem in Syria are two separate issues and will be resolved separately. To solve our problem in Syria, we have to sit down and talk with our fellow Syrians, with Arabs, Turkmens and others. Not with Turkey."[11]
Salih was re-elected co-chairman of the PYD alongsideAsya Abdullah on June 20, 2022 during the party's 9th congress.[1]
Muslim, a citizen ofSyria, was born in a Syrian village close toKobani in 1951 to aSunniKurdish family. After an education in Syria, he studied at the Chemical Engineering faculty ofIstanbul Technical University from 1970 until graduating in 1977. After a brief stint inLondon, he worked inSaudi Arabia between 1978 and 1990, and opened an engineering office in 1993 inAleppo.[12]
On 9 October 2013, Salih Muslim's son Shervan, a fighter in thePeople's Protection Units (YPG), was killed west ofTell Abyad during clashes with theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant. He was buried in the family's hometown ofKobanê in a public funeral which thousands of people attended.[13]
According to Muslim himself, he has permission to reside inFinland.[14]
Muslim can speakKurdish,English,Arabic andTurkish.
Muslim is a familiar face in European capitals where he is hosted by senior officials.[11] He is a frequent guest and speaker at European political institutions and events,[12][15][16][17] inter alia in September 2016 invited to address theEuropean Parliament.[18]
Addressing thousands during theNewroz celebration inFrankfurt, Germany, on 18 March 2017, Muslim said that "there is a huge resistance despite all the attacks. Nobody should doubt that the success and victory will be ours." Muslim criticised Germany for banning Kurdish symbols, saying that "Germany should have banned theflags of Turkey and terrorist groups instead of our flags and symbols because we are fighting in the Middle East not for ourselves alone, we are fighting ISIS and terrorism for all humanity. Our resistance is for Europe, for the West and for all humanity."[19]
Between 2012 and 2015, Muslim was Ankara's top interlocutor within the PYD's Syrian Kurdish movement, which was inspired by formerKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leaderAbdullah Ocalan.[11] During an interview withBBC News reporterOrla Guerin in August 2012, Muslim denied any "operational links" to the PKK.[20] Turkey has received Salih Muslim for talks in 2013[21] and in 2014,[22] even entertaining the idea of opening a Rojava representation office inAnkara "if it's suitable with Ankara's policies."[23] However, followingJune 2015 AKP electoral loss in Turkey, largely due to the raise of KurdishHDP party, theSolution process (2013-2015) collapsed in July 2015, drastically changing the course ofAKP relations to the Kurdish issue. According to the pro-administrationDaily Sabah, "As a reconciliation process with the PKK was ongoing between 2012 and 2015, Ankara tried to persuade the PYD to drop its hostile attitude toward Turkey, open cooperation channels and to end its affiliations with the Bashar Assad regime. As the PKK unilaterally resumed armed attacks in July 2015, the PYD and its armed wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG), provided the PKK with militants, explosives, arms and ammunition. Simultaneous armed revolts broke out in almost all towns and cities bordering Syria; whereas terrorists trained in northern Syria staged suicide attacks in Turkish cities."[24] The Turkish government allegedly sought to assassinate Muslim.[25] In late 2016, Turkey issued an arrest warrant for Salih Muslim[12] in a move considered putting Ankara on a collision course with its Western allies.[26] On 14 February 2018, two days after Muslim was placed on the "most wanted terrorists" list by the Turkish Interior Ministry and had a bounty of 4 millionTurkish lira (about $1.5US millions at the time) placed on his head, he held a press conference at the seat ofEuropean Union institutions in Brussels.[27] He was briefly detained at Turkey's request on 25 February 2018 inPrague, the capital of theCzech Republic,[28] but was released 2 days later, drawing angry protests from Turkey.[29] On 17 March 2018, the Czech authorities dismissed Turkey's request.[30]
In a February 2018 interview, Muslim said that "when I look back, I conclude that Turkey was never sincere about wanting to make peace with the Kurds. Had Turkey reached out to the Kurds, worked with the Kurds, it would have become the most powerful country in the Middle East."[11]
