Syrian President Ahmad el-Chareh arrives at the UN headquarters in New York on September 23, 2025, for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. AFP archive photo
At first glance, the scene might have seemed unremarkable. During the inauguration of a basketball complex in Damascus, dancers performed a routine to Work It, the hit song by American rapper Missy Elliott known for its explicit lyrics. The sequence lasted only a few minutes. But soon, images of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa watching from the stands triggered a storm. On social media, criticism from Islamist circles was immediate and fierce. Some accused the president of "apostasy" and "betrayal," even posting translations of the song’s lyrics to highlight what they described as a moral decline.What might have passed as a minor misstep in a deeply fractured country instead exposed a deeper rift: the growing divide between the Islamist president and the very base that brought him to power. More from the event...
At first glance, the scene might have seemed unremarkable. During the inauguration of a basketball complex in Damascus, dancers performed a routine to Work It, the hit song by American rapper Missy Elliott known for its explicit lyrics. The sequence lasted only a few minutes. But soon, images of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa watching from the stands triggered a storm. On social media, criticism from Islamist circles was immediate and fierce. Some accused the president of "apostasy" and "betrayal," even posting translations of the song’s lyrics to highlight what they described as a moral decline.What might have passed as a minor misstep in a deeply fractured country instead exposed a deeper rift: the growing divide between the Islamist president and the very base that brought him to power. More from the event...
