Biografi Abu Muhammad Hasan al-Kharrat

Abu Muhammad Hassan al-Harat (Arabic: حسن الخراط 1861, 25 December 1925) was the chief commander of the Syrian rebels during the Great Syrian Revolt against the French Mandate. Its main area of ​​operations is Damascus and its suburb of Guta. He died in battle and was considered a hero of the Syrian people.

As a kabadai (local youth leader) in the al-Shagar district of Damascus, al-Harat is linked to Naseeb al-Bakri, a nationalist from one of the region's most powerful families. At the invitation of al-Bakri, al-Harat joined the rebellion in August 1925 and formed a militant group from al-Shahar and other parts of the region. He led the rebel campaign in Damascus, briefly defeating the French high commissioner Maurice Saray before the French bombardment.

In late 1925, relations between al-Harat and other rebel leaders became increasingly strained, especially Said al-As and Ramadan al-Shalash, as they were accused of desecrating villages or harming local people. Al-Harrat is still active in Ghouta, where it was lost in a French ambush. The rebellion was put down in 1927, but he retained his reputation as a martyr of the Syrian uprising against French rule.

Early life and career

Al-Harat was born to a Sunni Muslim family in Damascus in 1861 during Ottoman rule in Syria. He worked as a night watchman in the city's Al Shaghar district and as a park ranger in the area. Damascus was captured by Arab rebels during World War I in October 1918. Following this, the Arab Club, an Arab nationalist organization, was formed in the city to rally support for the rebels. The club supported rebel leader Amir Faisal, who formed the first government. Al-Harrat became an extension of the Arab Club and established links with Faisal in Al-Shahar. Faisal's government fell in July 1920 when his troops were defeated by the French at the Battle of Meysalun. Thereafter, France controlled Syria in accordance with its League of Nations mandate.

In the early days of French rule, al-Harat became the kabadai (plural: kabadiyat) of ash-Shagar, the traditional leader of the region's local community. Kabadayats are unofficially tasked with rectifying and defending the honor of the region from extrajudicial local laws or encroachments by kabadayats from other regions. He is popularly called a gentleman, known for his strength and patronage of minorities and the poor. According to historian Philip S. Khoury, Qabadai was considered "the bearer of Arab traditions and customs, the guardian of folk culture". Khoury states that al-Harrat was "perhaps the most respected and beloved Kabadi of his time". Kabadayat generally had no formal education, and historian Michael Provence suggests that al-Harrat was clearly illiterate. Kabadiyats were usually in contact with the ruling urban elite and retained political support in their regions. Al-Harat is in alliance with the politician and Zamindar of Damascus, Naseeb al-Bakri. The al-Bakri family is the most powerful family in al-Shagor, and al-Harat was the family's chief liaison and law enforcement officer in the region.

Commander of the Great Syrian Revolt

In mid-1925, the Druze Sheikh Sultan Pasha al-Atrash launched an uprising against French rule in the mountains south of Jabal el-Druz. When al-Atrash's forces won a decisive victory over the French Syrian army, the Syrian nationalist forces were encouraged and the uprising spread north to the suburbs of Damascus and other areas. Al-Bakri became the main intermediary between al-Atrash and the rebel movements gathered in Damascus and Ghouta. Ghouta is the plain surrounding Damascus, and its parks and waterways provide the rebels with a high ground and a base to hold Damascus. In August, al-Bakri asked al-Harat to join the ascent. According to Provence, al-Harrat was the "perfect" person for the job, a position after "a local young man who stands out from the region, is well connected and known for his position." The warriors he led were known as Isabat al-Shawaghira (Al-Shagar Group). Taking their name from the Al-Harrat region, this group consisted of twenty qabadayats and their military supplies came from the rest of Damascus and nearby villages. Through an alliance with a Sufi religious leader, al-Harrat brought an Islamic holy war into a largely secular uprising that came as a surprise to some participants.
Ghouta rebels led by Druze sheikh Izz al-Din al-Halabi (fifth from left), 1925 Al-Harat rebels operate mainly in Ghouta.

Al-Harat launched a guerrilla campaign in September, targeting French forces stationed east and south of Ghouta. His reputation grew when he led a night raid against the French in Damascus, where he attacked patrols and took soldiers hostage. Al-Harrat and his group burned down all the buildings occupied by the French in al-Shaghar, the Saruj bazaar and Jazmatia. In the first week of October, about 60 French policemen were sent to Ghouta to fight al-Harat and its militants. The police stationed themselves at the house of Al-Malihar Mukhtar (the head of the village). In the afternoon, the rebels attacked the residence, killing a policeman and arresting others; After that, all the prisoners returned home safe and sound.

On October 12, French troops, with tank support, withdrawal and air support, began an operation to encircle and eliminate al-Kharat rebels in az-Zur-Ban. Al-Harat troops face French deployment through Al-Malihi farmers. Taking up position among the trees, the rebels opened fire on the French soldiers with rifles. The French troops, unable to repulse the rebels, retreated.

When the French retreated to al-Maliha, they captured the village and set it on fire. French intelligence officials authorized joint action against al-Malikhi in retaliation for last week's rebel arrests and police abuse; France claimed that Al-Harrat, son of Al-Malihi, informed the soldiers about the French presence in the village. Although the French forces were unable to directly attack al-Harrat and his forces, they killed about 100 civilians in the village of Ghouta. Their bodies were taken to Damascus, and sixteen of those whom the French called brigands were placed there.

Battle of Damascus and Ghouta Campaign

Shocked by the actions of the French army in Ghouta, al-Bakri planned to capture the palace in Damascus, where the French troops were defeated, and the palace in Ajma, where the French high commissioner in Syria, General Maurice Saray, was located. October. 17–18 (Sarahil's headquarters were usually located in Beirut). . The High Commissioner acted as administrator for all of Syria through France and had absolute power. The rebel forces operating in Damascus at the time included Isabat al-Harat and al-Midan, as well as a mixed force of Druze fighters and rebels from the Ghouta area. To make up for the rebels' lack of manpower, al-Bakri sent a letter to Sultan al-Atrash asking for reinforcements. Al-Atrash persuaded him to launch a campaign to invade Hawran, but then sent all of his troops to Damascus to support the rebels and the businesses located there. Al-Bakri decided to continue the operation until a response was received from Al-Atrash.

On October 18, al-Harrat led forty rebels from the ancient cemetery adjoining the southern gate of Damascus to al-Shahor, announcing that the Druzes had come to liberate the city from French occupation. Crowds of settlers enthusiastically greeted the rebels, some of them armed. Al-Harrat forces overran the police in the area, driving out their garrison. They were joined by Ramadan al-Shalash, a rebel commander from Deir ez-Zor, and twenty of his Bedouin warriors. The combined forces advanced towards the Hamidiya market and captured the Azam Palace, but Sarail was present, leaving Hawran to hold a meeting in the city of Daraa. The rebels seized the palace and set it on fire. La Provence says that the capture of the palace without Sarail "had no strategic effect" but was a highly symbolic gesture for the rebels, as the Azam Palace "served as a historical center of economic and political power in Damascus, which is now occupied by the French and completely unstable".

When al-Harrat captured Azam's palace, al-Bakri and 200 rebels led by him marched on the city, followed by an increasing number of civilians. After sealing off the old city to prevent enemy troops from entering, al-Harrat ordered the execution of all those associated with the French army. About 180 French soldiers were killed. Sarail ordered a bombardment and aerial bombardment of the city, which lasted two days and claimed the lives of about 1,500 people. Conflict and fighting broke out across the region, mosques and churches were closed, French troops were redeployed, and hundreds of key Syrian National Movement figures were arrested, including al-Harrat's son Fakhri. Fakhri was taken prisoner on October 22 during a night raid by rebels against the French, who by then had recaptured Damascus. Al-Harat offered him his victory in return, but was refused.

The rebels left Damascus after a meeting between French army commander Maurice Hamlin and a delegation of the Damascus elite. After the meeting, the French did not want to stop bombing on 24 October for 100,000 Turkish gold liras. Reparations were paid by the French, but the bombardment was not continued by order of the French government in Paris. He was fired on October 30 amid international condemnation of the Syrian bombing of Damascus and growing criticism in France of his mismanagement of the uprising. He turned to the politician Henri de Jouvenel, who arrived in Syria in December. On November 22, al-Harrat led 700 rebels in a battle with some 500 French troops near Damascus. Al-Harrat's troops suffered "heavy" defeats from the French, but only suffered heavy casualties: thirty killed and forty wounded, according to Reuters. On December 5, al-Harat was one of the commanders of 2,000 soldiers who identified rebels from various backgrounds who attacked the French army barracks in al-Qadam, south of Damascus. France suffered heavy losses, but rebel activity continued.

Death and succession

Al-Harat was killed during an ambush by French troops in Ghouta on December 25, 1925. Kadaye al-Shaghar and Mahmud Hadam al-Shrijja succeeded him as commander of Isabat al-Shawaghir. Al-Harrat's troops continued to fight the French until the uprising ended in 1927, although historian Thomas Philip says that al-Harrat's faction disappeared after his death. In January 1926, al-Harat's son Fakhri was executed and publicly hanged along with two other rebels in Marjeh Square in Damascus. France had previously encouraged Fakhry to convince his father to attack his rival, but Fakhry refused.

Abd al-Rahman Shahbandar, an influential Syrian nationalist leader, called al-Harat "a big role" in the war against the French in Ghouta and Damascus. Historian Daniel Nipp writes that al-Harat is "the most recognizable" of all the Damascus-based rebel leaders, while other rebel leaders attribute al-Harat's promotion and praise to the efforts of the Syrian Committee. A Cairo-based Palestinian organization to which al-Bakri belongs. Al-Harrat and his son Fakhri are now considered "heroic martyrs" by the Syrian people for their nationalist efforts and their deaths in the struggle for Syrian independence from France.

Source Indonesian Wikipedia

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