Syria 1st-Hand: The Factions Within the Insurgency (Abdulhamid)
Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 7:14Fighters of the Martyrs Brigades in Idlib Province
Pragmatists like Abu Khalid used to rely on their own resources and support from local communities, but are now receiving some funding from Saudi sources as well. Saudi authorities have historically had deep differences with the Muslim Brotherhood --- they look with gloom and dismay on its rise to power in Tunisia and Egypt --- and are uncomfortable with the group's attempt to control the Syrian rebellion as well as its cozy relations with their rivals in Qatar.
The result is a deepening divide between Islamists and pragmatists. And there are even splits within the Islamist camp: The Salafists are far more traditional and populist than members of the Brotherhood, who often come across to ordinary Syrians as too Westernized and elitist.