The entrance of the Mezzeh campus at the University of Damascus, May 18, 2025. (Credit: Clara Hage/OLJ)
In the Mezzeh university city, Qais* waits under the scorching sun for his practical medicine lesson to begin. Nearby, construction workers labor on a new building in the heart of campus. A mosque is rising across from an empty pedestal where a statue of Hafez al-Assad stood until just a few months ago. Students toppled it on the day the regime fell — Dec. 8.Under the former president, Mezzeh — a branch of Damascus University — had only a small prayer room. It was tucked near the toilets, filled with putrid odors, and closely monitored by the moukhabarat, Syria’s intelligence service. Behind the regime’s secular façade, the Assad clan feared Islamist movements might gain ground on campus.“I think it’s a good thing they’re building a mosque, given the past repression,” Qais said. “Maybe I’d have preferred it not to be so central… but...
In the Mezzeh university city, Qais* waits under the scorching sun for his practical medicine lesson to begin. Nearby, construction workers labor on a new building in the heart of campus. A mosque is rising across from an empty pedestal where a statue of Hafez al-Assad stood until just a few months ago. Students toppled it on the day the regime fell — Dec. 8.Under the former president, Mezzeh — a branch of Damascus University — had only a small prayer room. It was tucked near the toilets, filled with putrid odors, and closely monitored by the moukhabarat, Syria’s intelligence service. Behind the regime’s secular façade, the Assad clan feared Islamist movements might gain ground on campus.“I think it’s a good thing they’re building a mosque, given the past repression,” Qais said. “Maybe I’d have preferred it not to...