
Books banned under al-Assad now on sale at Damascus shops in Syria
Books recounting torture in Syrian prisons or texts on radical Islamic theology now sit openly in Damascus bookstores, no longer traded in secret after iron-fisted ruler Bashar al-Assad's ouster.
'If I had asked about a (certain) book just two months ago, I could have disappeared or ended up in prison,' said student Amr al-Laham, 25, who was perusing stores near Damascus University.
He has finally found a copy of Al-Maabar (The Passage) by Syrian author Hanan Asad, which recounts the conflict in Aleppo from a crossing point linking the city's opposition-held east with the government-held west, before al-Assad's forces retook complete control in 2016.
Last month, opposition forces captured the northern city in a lightning offensive, going on to take Damascus and toppling al-Assad, ending more than half a century of his family's oppressive rule.
'Before, we were afraid of being marked by the intelligence services' for buying works including those considered leftist or from the ultra-conservative Salafi Muslim movement, Laham said.
While many say the future is uncertain after al-Assad's fall, Syrians for now can breathe more easily, free from the omnipresent security apparatus in a country battered by war since 2011, after al-Assad brutally repressed peaceful anti-government protests.
Syria's myriad security agencies terrorized the population, torturing and killing opponents and denying basic rights such as freedom of expression.
Al-Assad brutally repressed any hint of dissent, and his father, Hafez, before him did the same.
Several books that were previously banned and only available to Syrians if they were pirated online now frequently pop up on footpath displays or inside bookshops.
They include The Shell by Syrian author Mustafa Khalifa, a devastating tale of an atheist who is mistaken for a radical and detained for years inside Syria's infamous Tadmur prison.
Another is My Aunt's House—an expression used by Syrians to refer to prison—by Iraqi author Ahmed Khairi Alomari.
Prison literature 'was totally forbidden,' said a bookshop owner in his fifties, identifying himself as Abu Yamen.
'Before, people didn't even dare to ask—they knew what awaited them,' he told AFP.
Elsewhere, the owner of a high-profile publishing house said that since the 1980s, he had stopped printing all political works except some 'very general (essays) on political thinking that did not deal with a particular region or country.'
Even so, al-Assad's 'security services used to call us in to ask about our work and our sales—who came to see us, what they bought, what people were asking for,' he told AFP, requesting anonymity.
On shelves at the entrance of his Damascus bookshop, Abdel Rahman Suruji displays leather-bound works emblazoned with golden calligraphy of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, a medieval Muslim theologian and important Salafi ideologue.
'All these books were prohibited. We sold them in secret, just to those who we could trust—students we knew or researchers,' said Suruji, 62.
Now, they are in 'high demand,' he said, adding that his new customers include Damascus residents and Syrians who have returned from abroad or are visiting from former opposition bastions in the country's north.
Suruji said that although he learned to tell a real student from an informant, a dozen security agents went through his bookshop from top to bottom in 2010, confiscating 'more than 600 books.'
Mustafa al-Kani, 25, a student of Islamic theology, came to check the price of a collection of Sayyed Qutb's works.
'During the revolution, we were afraid of looking for certain books. We couldn't have them in our possession; we used to read them online,' he said.
'Just publishing a quote from Sayyed Qutb could get you thrown into jail,' he added.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Leaders
8 hours ago
- Leaders
Knesset Vote Puts Netanyahu's Government on Verge of Collapse
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government faces a major challenge as lawmakers will vote Wednesday on a bill to dissolve the parliament (Knesset), reported AFP. The vote comes as the Israeli opposition – consisting mainly of centrist and leftist groups – submitted a bill to dissolve the parliament, which could mark the first step toward a snap election. 'The opposition faction leaders have decided to bring the bill to dissolve the Knesset to a vote in the Knesset plenum today. The decision was made unanimously and is binding on all factions,' opposition leaders said in a statement. They also added that they would freeze their ongoing legislation to focus on 'the overthrow of the government.' Moreover, the ultra-Orthodox parties that are bolstering Netanyahu's government are also threatening to support the dissolution bill. The vote follows a dispute over compulsory military service, amid Israel's ongoing war on Gaza. Netanyahu's far-right government has been seeking to reverse the long-standing exemption from the draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews – a move rejected by ultra-Orthodox parties. Still, if the bill gets a majority of votes on Wednesday, it will require three additional rounds of voting to dissolve the Knesset. This would give Netanyahu's coalition more time to resolve the dispute over conscription. Furthermore, the opposition could pull the bill at the last minute if Netanyahu managed to address the crisis before the vote, scheduled later on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Short link : Post Views: 113 Related Stories


Saudi Gazette
10 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
UK meeting hails Saudi Arabia's pivotal role in supporting humanitarian causes
Saudi Gazette report JERSEY — Senior representatives from donor countries and international humanitarian organizations attended the high-level meeting organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Pooled Fund Working Group (PFWG) in Jersey, the United Kingdom. At the end of the meeting, participants praised Saudi Arabia's pivotal role in supporting humanitarian causes. They highlighted the importance of maintaining this international momentum to ensure sustainable response efforts and amplify their impact on the ground. The meeting served as a key milestone in global efforts to enhance financing mechanisms and response to humanitarian needs. Saudi Representative in the Donor Support Group for OCHA and Assistant Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) for Planning and Development Dr. Aqeel Al-Ghamdi participated in the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, Al-Ghamdi emphasized the importance of enhancing joint action and coordination among donor countries and UN institutions to ensure equitable and effective access to aid, particularly for the most vulnerable groups. He also reiterated Saudi Arabia's commitment, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, to continue supporting global humanitarian efforts, contributing to the protection of lives and the improvement of living conditions in affected communities. Al-Ghamdi pointed out that the Kingdom is one of the leading and largest international donors in the humanitarian field, noting that Saudi Arabia, in recent years, has spearheaded notable humanitarian and development initiatives through KSrelief, which has reached more than 107 countries, implemented in partnership with UN agencies and international organizations.


Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanon Says Two Dead in Israel Strike
An Israeli strike killed a Lebanese father and son Tuesday in a southern village, the Lebanese health ministry and state media said, the latest deaths despite a November ceasefire. A second son was also wounded in the strike in Shebaa, the state-run National News Agency reported. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. "An Israeli enemy drone carried out a strike in the village of Shebaa, killing two people and wounding one," a health ministry statement said, AFP reported. Israel had warned on Friday that it would keep up its strikes on Hezbollah targets across Lebanon despite the condemnation expressed by the Lebanese government after a massive strike on south Beirut the previous night on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Hezbollah said the strikes levelled nine residential blocks. The Israeli military said they targeted underground drone factories. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strikes as a "a flagrant violation" of the November 27 ceasefire agreement, which was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that culminated in two months of full-blown war.