Yassin al-Haj Saleh, born in 1961, is one of Syria’s foremost intellectuals and a long-standing dissident against the Assad regime. He spent sixteen years in prison for “political reasons,” including time in the maximum-security facility of Tadmur, also known as Palmyra. With the onset of the Syrian Spring, he immediately emerged as an opponent of the regime.
In 2013, his wife, Samira Khalil—a human rights activist working alongside Rezan Zaituneh—was abducted in Douma by Islamist groups after fleeing Damascus, where she was wanted by the regime. Following her abduction, al-Haj Saleh went into hiding. After 21 months, pursued by both the regime and Islamist groups, he managed to escape to Turkey and later to Germany, where he was hosted by the prestigious Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin.
He has never stopped searching for his wife, leveraging his network of contacts. His Letters to Samira are widely regarded as a masterpiece of contemporary Syrian literature. His essay Freedom, published in 2021, has also received international acclaim.
Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a crucial voice on the Syrian crisis. Discussions with him often begin with the plight of Syria’s minorities, with a particular focus on those most significant and currently at risk: Kurds, Alawites, and Christians.
The complex Syrian mosaic includes ethnic minorities such as the Kurds, who make up about 10% of the population, and sectarian groups from various Islamic denominations, including the Alawites (12%) and Christians, whose numbers have now declined to 3-5%.
“Of course, there is concern about ethnic, religious, and sectarian tensions,” Yassin al-Haj Saleh remarks, “and these need to be addressed honestly, with solutions grounded in a vision of equal citizenship and rights for all. However, I must express some skepticism about the predominant Western focus on the fate of minorities. These voices were absent when the Arab Sunni majority—70% of the population—was being massacred, persecuted, and tortured.”
Yassin al-Haj Saleh underscores the genocidal actions of the Assad regime, describing it as a “sectarian, minority regime” that has systematically targeted the Sunni majority for 54 years, from Hafez al-Assad’s coup to the present day. He questions the sincerity and ethics of those who focus solely on minority rights in Syria while reaffirming his belief in equal rights for all—regardless of ethnicity, religion, or lack of religion, as in his own case.
“I am an atheist,” he explains. “I have my background, but I am not a believer. Anyone honest in the West should support us in our struggle for equality. Stop seeing us only as Christians, Muslims, or members of various sects. Please, for once, see Syrians as a people, as a nation.”
He continues: “I urge you to think about what Syria needs—not what serves the West, which is thriving and comfortable. Syria is unstable, insecure, and impoverished. My appeal is to focus on Syria and all Syrians.”
The situation remains tense, particularly on the sensitive Kurdish front, where there is hope for a ceasefire and an agreement to halt Turkey’s advance. However, the issue is far more complex. During Hafez al-Assad’s rule, Kurds were denied passports and prohibited from using their language in the name of Arab nationalism. Yet, these regions are home to more than just the Kurdish population. As Yassin al-Haj Saleh stresses, the real challenge lies in launching a process that guarantees equal rights for all.
The decision by Tehran to repatriate the “Iranian settlers” who had been brought to Syria provides some reassurance. However, the overall situation remains highly fluid, with events unfolding too quickly for a clear understanding. Amidst shifting ideologies, deep anger, fear, and hope, the Syrian crisis remains volatile and difficult to interpret. In this context, the interview revisits one of the most disturbing and dehumanizing issues: the horrors revealed from the regime’s maximum-security prisons, where opponents were crushed in presses and dissolved in acid.
Yassin al-Haj Saleh, a former political prisoner, reflects on the impact of these atrocities on the Syrian people and Europe’s role. “No, I wouldn’t say Europeans didn’t understand,” he says. “I would say they didn’t want to understand. For 14 years, Europeans have shown apathy toward us,” he continues. “Perhaps now they are horrified, but we’ve been speaking out about this all along, even before the uprising. But they wanted someone they could rely on,” he adds. “Europe is Islamophobic and Arabophobic: this colonial mindset still persists. They don’t really care about us, and they wouldn’t have been concerned if Bashar al-Assad had stayed in power. In fact, they were ready to normalize relations with the regime.”
“They never condemned the Iranian or Russian bombings, or the massacres of civilians,” he says sharply. “I would like to hear them admit there has been apathy toward the Syrians, that they ignored us for decades. I believe Europe and the West don’t respect us, and that’s unacceptable. As human beings, we cannot accept that.”
As he speaks, the news keeps unfolding. Managing the inevitable thirst for revenge will not be easy, and focusing solely on pursuing the perpetrators— as the new authorities have promised— will require strong determination in such an emotionally charged moment. Additionally, there is confusion among Assad’s former supporters, who witnessed him flee without leaving even a recorded message for the nation, offering only silence and an exclusive focus on his family.
The conversation inevitably shifts from the horrors of the past to the future and the new government in formation. The concern is widespread: Are they all jihadists, terrorists?
“There are certainly jihadists, just as there are religiously conservative people. But most of them are displaced Syrians who spent years in refugee camps and are now returning to liberate their lands. Among those who were once jihadists, there have been significant changes in recent times. It’s natural to be skeptical—I myself am skeptical—about how deep these changes are, and whether they can truly be considered moderate now. But I believe we need healthy skepticism, not an apathetic and unhealthy one,” he says.
He emphasizes that categorizing everyone the same way would be a serious mistake: “It’s always wrong.”
“I don’t know what the future holds, but Syria is made up of millions of people, and all the different types of Islamists together make up at most a third of the population. It will remain difficult as long as, in the West, they are seen as representing all of Syria.”
“The European silence on the Israeli occupation of Syrian territories – the demilitarized zone along the Golan border – and the ongoing bombings, is embittering.”
Is federalism a possible future solution? “It’s true that we need more autonomy, territorial autonomy, for economic reasons and to better represent the population. However, I wonder if those advocating for federalism fully understand Syria’s demographics and geography. It would be helpful to start by putting a map of Syria on the table to better grasp the situation. All Syrians want a united Syria, with autonomous regions, perhaps supported by what many call ‘positive discrimination’ for areas in need of development, like Jezira. Today, 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line. About 7 million have spent years in refugee camps; many are returning from Turkey and Lebanon, and soon, I imagine, some may also return from Jordan. We need autonomy, yes, but real autonomy, based on geographical criteria rather than ethnic ones. I have my doubts about whether this solution could work in Syria, but there should be no taboos: everything must be discussed.”
Cover photo: Syrian writer and political dissident Yassin al-Haj Saleh in Madrid on April 17, 2018. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
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