Did Iran succeed in breaching the culture and official education in Syria?
In an unprecedented move for Syrian government universities, the Cultural Counsellor of the Iranian Embassy in Syria, in collaboration with the University of Damascus – Persian Language Department, organized a special celebration on the occasion of “Yalda Night” (Shab Yalda), according to the information provided by the Counsellor on its official Facebook page.
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Damascus reported that the Persian Language Department, in collaboration with the Iranian Cultural Counsellor, organized a cultural and scientific event to mark the centenary of the establishment of the University of Damascus. The event focused on “Yalda Day,” where “cultural presentations, poetry, and competitions from participating departments about the occasion” were presented. The Iranian Ambassador, embassy members, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, his deputies, heads and members of the teaching staff in the Persian language departments at the universities of Damascus, Aleppo, and Al-Baath (Homs) attended, along with students and the public.
According to the newspaper “Middle East,” the University of Damascus has not previously witnessed celebratory cultural events for Syrian religious and national holidays, such as Nowruz (celebrated by Kurds), Assyrian New Year, the Alawite Fourth Holiday, al-Ghadir Holiday, the Joy of Allah celebrated by the guides, and Christian holidays like Barbarah, Epiphany, and Lady Day. Syrians and others from neighboring countries observe their traditional rituals on these occasions. The Ba’athist authorities have officially distanced themselves from these events, considering Syria a secular country.
Sources in Damascus, cited by “Middle East,” reported that Iran‘s efforts to penetrate Syrian society are not new but became clearer and broader during Bashar al-Assad’s era. Nevertheless, they remained distant from government educational institutions until Russia imposed the Russian language as a second language in the curricula of basic education stages. This move put Iran in direct competition with Russia, which gained relatively more acceptance of its culture in Syrian society. The Syrian society harbors doctrinal animosity towards Iran due to its insistence on promoting the Shia doctrine.
Iran has managed to create several cultural breaches, although they have remained limited. However, some breaches have left a negative impact, such as the art exhibition organized by the Iranian Cultural Counsellor in collaboration with the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, titled “Khomeini in the Mirror of Syrian Art” in June of the previous year. This exhibition sparked criticism and ridicule within Syrian cultural circles.
