New Lines An open letter in solidarity with political prisoners in Iran, published in The Guardian on Aug. 20 and signed by academics and writers from multiple countries, quickly generated a wave of vitriolic condemnations. Those reactions in turn evoked bewilderment and sorrow among many of those following the matter. As one of the signatories…
Syria, a quarter-century after 9/11
A quarter of a century after al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Syria is now ruled by a leadership that emerged from the al-Nusra Front, an international Salafi-jihadist formation long associated with al-Qaeda. Several prominent figures now in power in Damascus fought U.S. forces in Iraq. Among them is Syria's transitional president, Ahmed…
Between Amjad Youssef and Samir Kaakeh
aljumhuriya One day before the arrest of Amjad Youssef, perpetrator of the April 2013 Tadamon massacre, Syrian state media broadcast images of transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa in Douma, standing hand in hand with Samir Kaakeh, the religious authority of Jaysh al-Islam. Kaakeh is accused of abducting, forcibly disappearing, and possibly killing Samira al-Khalil, Razan Zaitouneh,…
The Unruly History That Weighs on the New Syria
New Lines Magazine The unforeseen and unforeseeable end of the Assad era, almost a year ago, presented Syria with a momentous new beginning. It’s not hard to imagine how 54 years of family rule — more than half the history of the country as a modern political entity — weighed heavily on Syrians, almost breaking…
A history of violence
The Ordeal of the Syrian Nation-State Today
New Lines Magazine Syria is unstable because it is not possible for it to be stable in its current form. This is because it is trying to walk on one leg only — a security-focused, confessional one — in a society that is diverse and plural. In practice, this means standing in place unsteadily, before…
Genocide in Syria, Gaza, and Beyond: An interview with Yassin al-Haj Saleh
The art of despair
Eurozine Esprit: You became a writer during your time in prison in Syria from 1980 to 1996. And your experience of prison enables you to analyse contemporary Syria and the world. How do you understand the centrality of the prison question in the Middle East? And how did you react to the opening of Sednaya…
The Alawite Massacres and the Future of Syria
karamshaar.com Like all honeymoons, the “Syrian revolutionary honeymoon”—in the words of Asef Bayat—was destined to end eventually. For nearly three months, many people were happy and in a celebratory mood after the fall of the Assad family regime, which had ruled the country for 54 suffocating years. But the end of the honeymoon came in…
The Syrian Conflict Is Not Yet Over
aljumhuriya Has the Syrian revolution triumphed with the fall of the Assad regime? Is what we have witnessed since last December a successful revolution – albeit after a long, tortuous path? This question carries cognitive significance, since it demands a detailed understanding of the almost 14 years which passed in Syria between the outbreak of…