"We are calling for a civil democratic nation. They call for an Islamic state," he said. "The U.S. and the European Union didn't help us, and that created an increase in Islamic radicalism. ...

"Up until now we can control the situation," Gayed warned. "But later on, we may not be able to contain it."

Gayed argued his council's experiment in rebel justice is a more tolerant alternative to the Islamic courts that Nusra Front has reportedly been establishing in Aleppo and in other rebel controlled towns.

The United Courts Council is working to expand its law-and-order model to other communities in the largely rebel-held north.

It is a desperate strategy, council members admitted, aimed at preventing Syria from descending further into chaos