Syrian Government Grants License to Syriac Cultural Association: A Small Step with Big Impact

DARAMSUQ (Damascus)— In a quiet corridor of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour in Daramsuq (Damascus), a decision was signed that carries outsized significance for one of the Middle East’s oldest peoples. On May 29, 2025, decree No. 151 formally authorized the Syriac Cultural Association to operate across all of Syria in cultural and social spheres, empowering it to serve as an official voice for Syriac identity after decades of marginalization. 

For many Syriacs — whose heritage stretches back more than eighteen centuries—this license represents more than administrative paperwork. It is, adherents say, a belated acknowledgment of a people whose contributions to translation, medicine and philosophy once bridged civilizations, yet whose numbers and influence have dwindled amid waves of emigration and the ravages of civil war. 

Founded in April 2008 in the northeastern city of Beth Zalin (Qamishli), the Association—known in Classical Syriac as ܟܢܘܫܬܐ ܡܪܕܘܬܢܝܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܒܣܘܪܝܐ— the Association, from its outset, has sought to safeguard the interests of Syriacs in all their denominations—Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and others—by organizing language workshops, reviving folk arts, promoting athletic and literary talent, and commemorating key national holidays: April 1 (the ancient Mesopotamian New Year) and June 15 (the commemoration of the Sayfo genocide of 1915). Although it has its headquarters in Beth Zalin (Qamishli), the Association maintains active branches in Hasakah, Derik, and Qabre Hewore, with plans to expand further.  

Its programs have ranged from Syriac-script calligraphy courses to interfaith festivals aimed at fostering coexistence and reinforcing stability across the region. The Association now plans targeted programs to strengthen Syriac-language instruction in schools, revive traditional music and script, and offer social services that help families decide to stay rather than emigrate.   

While this license alone will not reverse decades of demographic erosion under the former regime, advocates see it as an opening salvo in a longer campaign to preserve Syriac culture within Syria’s complex mosaic. In an uncertain future, the Syriac Cultural Association’s new legal standing stands as a beacon of resilience for a civilization determined not to be erased.