Fiorella In Moscow

| The current reality in occupied Syria is becoming increasingly disturbing. What is emerging is not simply a political transition or a security crisis, but a struggle over Syria’s religious identity, cultural character, institutions, and social fabric. Under the Internationally wanted terrorist Julani-led authorities, Syria appears increasingly exposed to the influence of Turkey, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, america, and israeli entity, while Israeli forces continue to occupy and penetrate parts of southern Syria.

From attacks against the Popular Mobilization Forces and the kidnapping of an Iraqi driver from the Nineveh Plain to Israeli incursions in Quneitra, Syria’s security environment has become deeply unstable. At the same time, reports of targeted killings, disappearances, attacks against minorities, torture in detention facilities, and attacks against figures considered rivals or opponents of the new authorities point toward a country where law, security, and accountability remain dangerously weak.

The religious transformation is particularly alarming. In Latakia, an overwhelmingly Alawite province, a Turkish-based Salafi organization has reportedly moved to establish a mosque inside Latakia University, while plans have also been announced for a College of Sharia. Reports of Salafi clerics already operating inside the university and approaching Alawite students through religious outreach raise serious questions about whether Syria’s educational institutions are being turned into instruments of ideological transformation. The contrast is especially striking when university buildings, dormitories, and the needs of displaced Syrians remain unresolved.

The situation surrounding Syria’s minorities is equally painful. Reports of the killing of Christian Nader Tannous in Homs, the alleged torture of Abdul Salam Akko in Hama Central Prison, and repeated reports of disappearances and attacks demonstrate the growing insecurity faced by ordinary Syrians. No community should have to wonder whether its religious identity, physical safety, or cultural existence is becoming negotiable under the new order.

Even the holy shrine of Sayyida Zaynab (S) is reportedly facing attempts at ideological and administrative interference. Allegations that foreign liberal and Zionist-linked networks are seeking access to the shrine, its archives, treasury, and administration raise a fundamental question: who will determine the future identity of Syria’s sacred places, the Syrian people themselves or foreign networks operating through political and religious influence?

The Sayyida Zaynab (A) shrine in Damascus has now become another important point of concern in the broader struggle over Syria’s religious and cultural identity. The issue is not simply the physical preservation of the shrine. It also concerns who will influence its administration, archives, religious-tourism policies, surrounding institutions, and ultimately the ideological character of one of the most important Shi’a holy sites in Syria.

One organization that has publicly become involved in this process is UMAA, the Universal Muslim Association of America. UMAA’s own project describes its objective as supporting the renewal of the Sayyida Zaynab district, facilitating religious tourism, coordinating with Syrian ministries, addressing security and infrastructure concerns, and pursuing energy, healthcare, and other projects around the shrine. UMAA also publicly describes itself as a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit with ECOSOC status at the United Nations. Separately, reporting published in December 2025 said that UMAA had held consultations with Syrian officials concerning the restoration and rehabilitation of the shrine, including discussions with current and former U.S. State Department officials.

At the same time, Noor Zaidi, an assistant professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has become directly involved in the preservation and digitization of the shrine’s historical archives.

@enemywatch

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