Outrage as Syria culture minister appears to call Alawites 'servants or criminals'

Syrian Minister of Culture Mohammed Yassin Saleh is facing growing public outrage after a video went viral this week showing him saying that members of the Alawite community either worked 'honourably' as servants or were criminals.

His remarks, widely condemned as sectarian and classist, have prompted calls for his resignation and sparked cross-sectarian expressions of solidarity.

The date of the video could not be verified but it appeared to be recorded before December 2024, when a rebel military offensive ousted longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who is a member of the Alawite community.

Saleh said: "There are honourable Alawites, and there are criminals. If you're an honourable Alawite, the former regime won't see you. It won't give you any privileges and will leave you crushed with the poor."

He cited an Alawite woman who used to help his mother with housework as evidence of her husband's honesty as a soldier, claiming the regime only favoured those in the community with "a tendency toward criminality".

The comments triggered immediate backlash across Syrian society, including from prominent Sunni writers and artists who issued public apologies to Alawite citizens.

Many called the remarks both offensive and dangerous, accusing Saleh of fuelling the kind of sectarian thinking that has long fractured Syrian society.

Filmmaker and journalist Alaa Amer wrote: "If this culture minister were in any country that respects itself, he’d be on trial today. As a Sunni, I apologise to all my Alawite friends, rich and poor."

Novelist Omar Kaddour called Saleh’s words a mix of "sectarianism and intellectual shallowness", while writer Anas Hamdoun described him as a "tool in a project to destroy culture and replace it with a fascist alternative".

These are not the first controversial remarks by the minister. Previously, he stirred debate when he appeared in a video questioning a Syrian child about Arab philosopher and poet Abu al-Ala al-Maari in a tone some described as mocking, especially given the visible signs of poverty on the child's face and clothing.

Many reminded the minister of the contributions of prominent Alawite writers and intellectuals, including playwrite Saadallah Wannous, poet Badawi al-Jabal, writer and novelist Haidar Haidar, and novelist and literary critic Hani al-Rahib, figures whose work helped shape modern Syrian thought and literature.

Others drew comparisons with Emergency Affairs Minister Raed al-Saleh, who was also the former director of the White Helmets and who is widely respected and seen as a symbol of national unity following his hands-on response to wildfires along the coast, where most Syrian Alawites live.

Saleh's remarks also clash with the transitional government's stated goals of reconciliation and inclusion under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, undermining efforts to rebuild trust across Syria's fractured communities after years of war.

While the Alawite community has often been perceived as politically privileged under the Assad regime, this image conceals deeper socioeconomic realities.

Historically among the poorest and most rural Syrians, many Alawites saw modest improvements through military or public sector employment under the Baath Party. However, that access did not translate into widespread wealth.

Today, especially in the aftermath of the war and the fall of the Assad regime, many Alawite families face growing poverty, displacement, and loss of employment.

Although Alawites are not uniquely the poorest group in Syria, the majority now live in difficult conditions, similar to many other communities affected by the country’s prolonged conflict and economic collapse.

The wealth and power often associated with the group are largely confined to a small elite closely tied to the Assad family. For most Alawites, that connection brought little more than vulnerability, both during the war and now under a post-Assad Syria.