The View from Damascus…

Last Thursday evening (March 6), I went to Halbouni Mosque, near the historic center of Damascus, for Tarawih prayers. The streets were pitch dark, as the city experiences frequent power cuts at night. When I arrived, I found the mosque packed to capacity, with a congregation mostly made up of young people. There was not even a small space left to pray. Feeling both heartened by the large turnout and disappointed that I couldn’t find a spot, I walked to the Mevlevi Mosque across from the Hejaz Railway station. This charming Ottoman mosque, located away from residential areas, had a much smaller congregation of just three rows. After the first eight rak‘ahs, two rows emptied, and we completed the full 20 rak‘ahs, taking turns with two young students of Islamic knowledge leading the prayer.

As I stepped outside, I saw that all the streets were manned by armed and masked security forces. It was a sight I had not witnessed in Damascus before. Sirens blared from all directions. I greeted the armed guards as I passed them and returned to my hotel in a side street near the Suleimaniyeh Tekke. It wasn’t until I started receiving messages on my phone that I understood what was happening: Attacks had been carried out against the security forces of the new Syrian administration in Latakia, a region with a significant Alawite population. A curfew had been imposed in Latakia and Homs, and Syria’s north-south highway connection had been disrupted. Some of our friends in Aleppo even had to cancel their planned trips to Damascus.

The next day (Friday, March 7), the scene at the Umayyad Mosque was remarkable. The Friday sermon naturally addressed the ongoing developments. The preacher delivered a fiery and impassioned speech, frequently interrupted by chants of "Allahu Akbar." His words were charged with emotion:

"We offered you safety, but you did not understand. We chose forgiveness and tolerance, but you exploited it. We asked you to lay down your weapons, but you refused. We showed magnanimity, and you responded with betrayal. From now on, you will witness the strength and resolve of the state. We will not allow this pure revolution to be hijacked! Do not forget in your prayers the mujahideen who keep watch over their weapons and break their fasts on the battlefield."

The atmosphere inside the mosque was thick with a mix of anger and fervor. After the prayer, demonstrations in support of Ahmed Shara’s administration erupted in every district of Damascus.

Rather than getting lost in the details of recent events, one thing must remain clear: The remnants of the Alawite regime, backed by Iran and Hezbollah from the west, and the Druze, with Israeli support from the south, appear focused on crippling the new Syrian administration. As foreign powers provoke Syria’s minority groups, their goal is clear—preventing the establishment of a stable and balanced government in the post-Baath era.

(As I was writing this, the first reports emerged that the YPG and the central government in Damascus had reached an agreement. The primary factor forcing the YPG, which had previously followed a separatist path, into reconciliation was undoubtedly the suppression of the uprising in Latakia. The second reason was the growing perception that the new U.S. administration could abandon its allies at any moment. The awkward situation in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was placed in front of the cameras at the White House did not go unnoticed by the YPG.)

During my visits to Syria and Damascus since the fall of the Baath regime on December 8, one of the most striking sights was the frantic effort to paint over any remnants of the old era—slogans, flags, pictures, and murals—all covered in a rush overnight. Outwardly, a new chapter was unfolding, but what about people’s hearts and minds? The supporters of Baathism and the Assad regime had not simply vanished. After the general amnesty, how many of those who claimed to have "repented" truly felt remorse for their past actions? From scholars to bureaucrats, intelligence officers to military personnel, Syria was still full of remnants of the old regime. How would they be integrated into the new order? How would a society that had spent 61 years under an oppressive regime be managed in an environment of newfound freedom? These questions kept circling in my mind.

Now, the initial euphoria of the revolution has faded. Real and pressing challenges are emerging on the horizon. For Shara and his team, the true test of governance begins now.

As I flew back to Istanbul via Beirut on Saturday evening, my heart was filled with a complex mix of hope, joy, excitement, fear, and concern for the future of Bilad al-Sham.