Following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian analyst Muhammad 'Issa, which aired on Al-Dunya TV on July 30, 2012.

Muhammad 'Issa: [...] I say to all my brothers in the Syrian Arab Republic: This is the battle of the world, the battle of the century. This is the battle for the establishment of the Syrian Empire, and you must be ready to pay the price. The establishment of the Syrian Empire comes at a price...

Interviewer: I'd like to object to the word "empire," because only countries of a certain type talk about the return of their empire.

Muhammad 'Issa: "Empire" does not necessarily mean aggression against others. An empire is a powerful state with regional and international influence. An empire can be ethical. Why not?

Interviewer: Because historically, empires were built on the blood of peoples.

Muhammad 'Issa: No. The Syrians built 13 empires in the course of history, all of which were ethical. Indeed, it was the Syrian empire that spread all ethics worldwide. All the religions and cultures of the world originated from this empire.

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The white race has been totally defeated by empires formed in the East by the Asian race. Syria's war is not meant merely to bring a strategic defeat upon the West, but also to bring upon it an historical and cultural defeat.

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[Saudi Arabia] is the only country in the world that is named after a person. Historically, it was called Najd and Hejaz. Why is it called Saudi Arabia? Should a country or a religion be named after a person?

Muhammad Abd Al-Wahhab was really called Mack-Ren. He was a Jew from the Turkish city of Bursa, who professed to be a Muslim, an emigrated to Doma, then to Egypt, and from there to [Arabia]. This is the history of the Saud clan. Read it for yourselves.

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