For thousands of years, Aleppo has brought together multiple social components, from Circassians to Armenians to Kurds to Arabs and many others. Aleppine society did not know sectarian expressions until 2011, with the beginning of the Syrian revolution, and perhaps Syria as a whole was the same. The fallen regime worked to create a deep rift within Syrian society, and we began to feel its results after 8 December 2024.
Most Syrians in general, and Aleppines in particular, consider personal relationships between sects to be essential for living in Aleppo. One cannot be Aleppine without knowing people from the sects, nationalities, and ethnicities of the city. For this reason, one can find a Christian working with a Muslim in a factory, or an Arab partnering with a Kurd in an industrial workshop, or vice versa.
Omar Qalaji, 66 years old, said in statements to “+963” that “since I was born in the al-Asilah neighborhood near Aleppo Citadel, and went with my father to the old city market where we owned a leather shop, our neighbor in the market was a Kurd from Afrin. All the people of the market would gather at his place to play backgammon. Throughout my years working with my father in the city, I never saw discrimination or labeling by ethnicity or nationality. This is the Aleppo we know, and this is how it must remain.”
Qalaji’s words express the views of hundreds of thousands and millions of Syrians. The decision to live together is a fundamental part of the city’s history, which dates back 12,000 years. This decision cannot be violated because this is the nature of Syrians. However, today, with the advance of social media and the growth of the deep rift planted by the former regime and other external parties,
he adds, “we have begun to see a great deal of sectarian incitement, insults against others, and labeling people by their ethnicity, sect, or religion.”
Social media expert Osama al-Ali told “+963” that “many of the accounts that incite hateful sectarianism are run from foreign countries or are linked to foreign states, especially with Syria’s opening to modern technologies, satellite internet, and other tools that help conceal the location of accounts or prevent their monitoring. Although the new government is working to reject this discourse, and this has been clear in the speeches of President Ahmad al-Sharaa and the ministers, there are those who are pushing toward sectarian and ethnic division.”
The path remains open to protecting Syrians from the hateful sectarianism that has been exported to our country. Therefore, a special law must be enacted to criminalize sectarian and ethnic speech, and instead elevate the values of Syrian nationalism, calling for the unification of citizens on a national basis rather than on an ethnic or racial basis. This is the condition of all countries that have emerged from civil wars and regime change. Without such a law, Syrians will not be able to withstand this massive influx of sectarian incitement.
Qalaji told “+963” that “the issuance of such a law could be a lifeline against this incitement and restore harmony among Syrians on national foundations rather than religious or ethnic ones. This would help build a state that protects everyone, but only on the condition that the law is applied to all without discrimination, from the citizen to the highest authority in the country. It must be a law that protects citizens from the danger of psychological and social division.”
Despite the challenges Syria has faced since 2011, many Syrian regions continue to preserve traditions of coexistence among different components.
In Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia, Sunni Arabs have historically coexisted with Kurds, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Circassians in daily life, from markets and schools to workplaces and social and religious occasions.
This coexistence was not merely superficial, but rather an integral part of the social fabric that preserved the stability of cities and their civilizational heritage. Even in recent years, some local and community initiatives in Suwayda, al Hasakah, and other areas have witnessed programs for dialogue and reconciliation among community members to strengthen national unity and reject sectarian discourse, affirming that Syria’s religious and ethnic diversity is not an obstacle, but a social and cultural wealth that must be protected and preserved.
