Syrian artists forced to become politicians

The conflict in Syria is forcing artists to stand up and be counted. While some are firm supporters of the Assad regime, others have sided with the rebels.
By Taleb Ibrahim
Syria’s leading comedian Dureid Lahham is best known under his nickname ‘Ghawwar Toshe’, the character he played in several movies and a TV series. While ‘Ghawwar’ was often critical of the system on screen, Lahham has been loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and his men in the current crisis.
Lahham has said that the Syrian army’s task at the moment is not to fight Israel as usual, but rather to preserve domestic peace. And according to him, that is exactly what it is currently doing in Syria’s streets and squares. The famous comedian accuses Arab analysts and thinkers who disagree with him of only caring about their own interests.

Singing for the system
‘I have meat on my shoulders thanks to the generosity of Assad’s Syria,’ said Syrian singer Mayada al-Hennawi in reaction to the events in her country. According to Al-Hennawy, ‘Syria is not at all the way some biased sources describe it.’

Another singer, Norman Asaad, also shares the authority’s point of view on the events: what’s happening is an international conspiracy, aimed at harming Syria both domestically and internationally. Soap opera star Salaf Fawakherji called on her fellow Syrians to support their president and publicly praised the Syrian army for ‘protecting our motherland from gangs’.

No magic wand
Other artists are less outspoken in their support of one side or the other, considering the demands from the street ‘are justified but need time’, or saying that the Syrian government and president have ‘no magic wand’ to reform the country from one day to another. Change, they say, takes generations not years.
One such fence sitter is actress Amal Arafa, who says she is against bloodshed but also against riots. If she felt that demonstrations led to a better life she would join them, but she does not want to walk a path leading to the unknown.

The fallen Adonis
A special case is poet Adonis, born in a Syrian coastal town as Ali Ahmad Said Asbar. Adonis is considered one of the greatest writers and thinkers in the Arab world and is known for his criticism of religion in general and Islam in particular.
The Syrian revolutionary scene rejected Adonis because of his critical views on the revolution. The famous Syrian poet has always been a fierce critic of all forms of tyranny but now claims to support unarmed revolution ‘if it does not come out of mosques’.
Adonis says he wants a revolution that is compatible with the revolutionary tradition he is familiar with: secular and rejecting both the political AND religious establishments. His opinions have enraged extremists, and he has received death threats from both sides in Syria.

On the street with the revolutionaries
On the other side, there are a few artists who have taken the risk of openly siding with the protesters. Actress May Sakaf was arrested when she demanded the release of detainees and an end to emergency law. She has shared their prisons and interrogation sessions.

Her colleague Fadwa Suleiman is one of the most famous faces of the revolution. Of Alawite descent like the president, the well-known actress decided to join the predominantly Sunni demonstrations in Homs. Suleiman rejects the monotone Syria of Assad’s regime, saying the country is multicoloured and that is what the revolutionaries are fighting for. The actress has now fled to Jordan for safety, as a number of other Syrian artists have done.

Another international celebrity, singer Asala, surprised everybody with her outspokenness when she told the world that she was astonished any artist could consider NOT standing with the revolutionaries: ‘Fear does not create artists, and cowardice leads to death.’

While Syrian artists continue to sing and act as well as they can in the current crisis, people’s opinion of them is now dependent on their political behavior rather than on their creative record.