Syria’s culture minister, Mohammed Yassin Saleh, is facing nationwide outrage after a newly surfaced video shows him saying members of the Alawite community were either “honourable servants” or criminals rewarded by the former Assad regime.
The undated footage — apparently recorded before President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024 — circulated widely on social media this week. In it, Saleh claims that only Alawites “with a tendency toward criminality” benefited under Assad while “honourable” Alawites remained impoverished, citing a woman who once helped his mother with housework as proof.
The remarks drew swift condemnation across sectarian lines. Prominent Sunni writers, filmmakers and artists posted public apologies to Alawites, accusing the minister of stoking sectarianism. “If this culture minister were in any country that respects itself, he’d be on trial today,” filmmaker Alaa Amer wrote.
Novelist Omar Kaddour called the comments a blend of “sectarianism and intellectual shallowness,” while author Anas Hamdoun said Saleh was “destroying culture and replacing it with a fascist alternative.” Critics also reminded the minister of acclaimed Alawite intellectuals such as playwright Saadallah Wannous and poet Badawi al-Jabal.
Saleh, appointed after last year’s rebel advance, has not publicly responded. His words clash with transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s pledge to promote reconciliation following years of civil war.
Though Assad’s rule fostered a perception of Alawite privilege, analysts note that only a small elite tied to the former president gained wealth, while most Alawites now endure the same post-war poverty and displacement affecting other Syrian communities.
