I met Minister of Communications Abdul Salam Haykal @amhaykal and the Syrian delegation during their visit to Silicon Valley.
What stayed with me most wasn’t the speeches, though they were inspiring, but a small human moment. He took time to speak kindly with my shy daughter and made her feel comfortable and seen. ❤️
Words can’t fully express how respectful and kind he was.
I also spoke with members of the delegation, and they were all genuinely warm, thoughtful, and kind.
Throughout the evening, he greeted everyone warmly, encouraged conversations, and reminded us that rebuilding a country needs its people everywhere.
For me, it wasn’t political. It was simply a hopeful, human moment.
For years, under Assad, ordinary people could barely approach officials or feel heard. This felt different, more human, more open, more connected to the people.
For the first time in a long time, it feels like we have a government that truly cares about Syria and its people.
Thank you for taking the time to make people feel heard and valued.
Sometimes change doesn’t start with politics. It starts with people. ♥️🇸🇾
@SyMOCAIT
The U.S. is proud to be a part of today's historic trilateral framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
There is more work to be done, but we're taking meaningful steps toward a future of peace, prosperity, and mutual coexistence.
I said these mourning practices have been heavily amplified and politicized by the Iranian regime since 1979. That is not the same as claiming Ashura originated then.
Ashura has been commemorated for centuries. My point is about the modern political use of these rituals by the Iranian regime and its allied groups, not about the historical origins of Ashura itself.
Also, 680 AD and 680 CE refer to the same year. Using “CE” instead of “AD” does not change history.
The West often blames scenes like this on “Islam” as a whole, but that’s inaccurate. These rituals are not part of mainstream Sunni practice, nor are they representative of Islam in general.
They are Shia mourning practices for the Battle of Karbala (680 CE) that have been heavily amplified and politicized by the Iranian regime and its allied militias since 1979. The regime has turned them into tools for sectarian mobilization, using 1,400-year-old events to fuel division and “resistance” ideology.
This politicized sectarianism has contributed to violence and persecution against Sunni communities in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and elsewhere.
Islam as a whole should not be blamed. Real accountability must be directed at the Iranian regime and the political movements that exploit religion for power, deepen sectarian hatred, and prolong regional conflicts.
السورية للطيران :
لأول مرة أرى إعلانًا سوريًا بهذه الاحترافية والإبداع
السادة المسافرون عبر الخطوط السورية
نودوا إعلامكم أننا إلى دمشق
تستطيعون الآن رؤية حارات دمشق القديمة
وغوطة دمشق بيت الأحرار و دار الشهداء
@syrian_airlines
نأمل من الخطوط الجوية أن تواكب أحدث التقنيات في مجال الطيران و أن تقدّم أفضل الخدمات للمسافر��ن .
ننظر إلى مكافحة المخدرات بوصفها برنامجًا وطنيًا تتكامل فيه جهود مؤسسات الدولة والمجتمع. لقد ورثت سورية عن الحقبة البائدة إرثًا ثقيلًا من صناعة المخدرات وترويجها، فكان من أولوياتنا إعلان حرب شاملة على هذه الآفة لتجفيف منابعها وقطع طرق تهريبها ومعالجة آثارها. وفي اليوم الدولي لمكافحة المخدرات، تمدّ سورية يدها إلى دول الإقليم والعالم لبناء شراكة فاعلة تتصدى لهذا الخطر العابر للحدود، وتحمي مجتمعاتنا وأسرنا من سموم المخدرات وأضرارها.
No one is denying that Karbala became a defining moment in Shia theology and identity.
The issue is not remembering history. The issue is when events from 1,400 years ago are used to fuel modern sectarianism, justify violence, or keep ideas of revenge alive against people living today.
An Iranian scholar himself argues that many mourning rituals practiced today, including chest beating, self-flagellation, wearing black, chain beating, barefoot processions, and extended mourning ceremonies, did not originate in early Islam, but in pre-Islamic Persian traditions described in the Shahnameh.
He points out that Islam came from Arabia, and that the second, third, and fourth caliphs were also killed, yet Sunnis did not develop these forms of public mourning rituals. He also connects some of these practices to ancient Persian mourning for figures such as Siyamak, Kayumars, Iraj, and especially Siyavash.
Many Sunnis see this through the experience of Syria and Iraq, where millions of Sunnis have been killed by the Iranian regime and its allied militias, while sectarian narratives and calls for revenge were used to justify violence.
History should teach justice, mercy, and reconciliation, not be used to perpetuate hatred, revenge, and bloodshed in the present.
https://t.co/MfA00sNJYb
Summary of the Speaker’s Argument
The speaker, an Iranian scholar, argues that many of the mourning rituals practiced today — including chest-beating (latm), self-flagellation, wearing black, chain-beating, and extended mourning ceremonies — originated in pre-Islamic Persian traditions rather than in Islam itself.
He notes that Islam came from Arabia and points out that the second, third, and fourth caliphs were killed, yet, Sunnis did not develop these intense public mourning rituals.
He claims ancient Persians held similar ceremonies for legendary figures such as Siyamak, Kayumars, Iraj (son of Fereydun, killed by his brothers Salm and Tur), and especially Siyavash. The Shahnameh describes people wearing black, cutting horses’ manes, throwing dirt on their heads, self-beating, and burning palaces in mourning for Iraj.
He argues the slogan “Ya Tharat al-Hussein” (“O avengers of Hussein”) has parallels in the Shahnameh, and the mourning for Siyavash included the phrase: “If my hand cannot reach the enemy, then I strike myself in revenge.”
He concludes that practices like barefoot mourning processions and self-beating were ancient Persian customs later incorporated into parts of Shia religious tradition.
Summary of the Speaker’s Argument
The speaker, an Iranian scholar, argues that many of the mourning rituals practiced today — including chest-beating (latm), self-flagellation, wearing black, chain-beating, and extended mourning ceremonies — originated in pre-Islamic Persian traditions rather than in Islam itself.
He notes that Islam came from Arabia and points out that the second, third, and fourth caliphs were killed, yet, Sunnis did not develop these intense public mourning rituals.
He claims ancient Persians held similar ceremonies for legendary figures such as Siyamak, Kayumars, Iraj (son of Fereydun, killed by his brothers Salm and Tur), and especially Siyavash. The Shahnameh describes people wearing black, cutting horses’ manes, throwing dirt on their heads, self-beating, and burning palaces in mourning for Iraj.
He argues the slogan “Ya Tharat al-Hussein” (“O avengers of Hussein”) has parallels in the Shahnameh, and the mourning for Siyavash included the phrase: “If my hand cannot reach the enemy, then I strike myself in revenge.”
He concludes that practices like barefoot mourning processions and self-beating were ancient Persian customs later incorporated into parts of Shia religious tradition.
The West often blames scenes like this on “Islam” as a whole, but that’s inaccurate. These rituals are not part of mainstream Sunni practice, nor are they representative of Islam in general.
They are Shia mourning practices for the Battle of Karbala (680 CE) that have been heavily amplified and politicized by the Iranian regime and its allied militias since 1979. The regime has turned them into tools for sectarian mobilization, using 1,400-year-old events to fuel division and “resistance” ideology.
This politicized sectarianism has contributed to violence and persecution against Sunni communities in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and elsewhere.
Islam as a whole should not be blamed. Real accountability must be directed at the Iranian regime and the political movements that exploit religion for power, deepen sectarian hatred, and prolong regional conflicts.
تُسهم الشركات الأمريكية في تعزيز الازدهار والابتكار وتوفير الفرص. وفي 11 يونيو، انضم نائب مساعد وزير الخارجية لشؤون إسرائيل وا��فلسطينيين وبلاد الشام، جاكوب ماكغي، إلى القائم بالأعمال السوري محمد القناطري ومسؤولين سوريين في غرفة التجارة الأمريكية لتسليط الضوء على أدلة جديدة للمستثمرين وتشجيع انخراط القطاع الخاص بشكل مسؤول في سوريا.
وتربط هذه الأدلة الشركات الأمريكية بالفرص الناشئة، بما يعزز المصالح الاقتصادية الأمريكية ويدعم تعافي الاقتصاد السوري.
American businesses help drive prosperity, innovation, and opportunity. On June 11, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs and the Levant Jacob McGee joined Syrian Chargé d'Affaires Mohamad Qanatri and Syrian officials at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to highlight new investor guides and encourage responsible private-sector engagement in Syria. These guides connect U.S. companies with emerging opportunities while advancing American economic interests and supporting Syria's economic recovery.
https://t.co/mmafBYKjmw