The particularities of Syrian politics are so removed from everyday life in Brazil, that the Middle Eastern republic may as well be in another galaxy. But in 1964, a sleepy farming town in the Center-West of Brazil became the focal point of Syria’s sectarian struggles when former dictator Adib Bin Hassan Al-Shishakli — exiled in South America — was shot dead in broad daylight.
The perpetrator of the attack was Nawaf Ghazaleh, a Syrian-born member of the Abrahamic Druze faith — a sect that was violently persecuted during Mr. Shishakli’s rule. The assassination of the former leader is remembered today...
