The Assad family ruled Syria under dictatorship for 40 years, formally denouncing the existence of Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmen and many other minorities, despite the rich tapestry of cultures and languages that have always inhabited these lands.In 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, the rule of the Assad Regime weakened in the Kurdish majority northern regions. Out of this conflict, and the Rojava Revolution in 2012, three pillars formed in the regions today governed by the Autonomous Administrations of North and East Syria (AANES) democracy, women’s freedom and ecology. Birthing co-operatives, and a strong communal and women’s economy.

This morning, we are priviledged to welcome, live via phone, Salih Muslim, calling in from in Kobani, Syria, to chat with us about what’s been happening in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.

Salih Muslim Muhammad (Kurmanji Kurdish: Salih Muslim Mihemed, is the former co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main party of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. As the deputy coordinator of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, he was the most prominent Kurdish representative for much of the Syrian Civil War.

He was born in a Syrian village close to Kobani in 1951. After an education in Syria, he studied at the Chemical Engineering faculty of Istanbul Technical University from 1970 until graduating in 1977. After a brief stint in London, he worked in Saudi Arabia between 1978 and 1990, and opened an engineering office in 1993 in Aleppo