Backlash against Damascus University’s Turkish Language decision

Damascus University announced the opening of a new Turkish Language Department in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the start of the 2025–2026 academic year. The decision will be submitted to the Higher Education Council to complete the legal procedures for official approval.

The decision sparked widespread debate in cultural and educational circles, with observers describing it as a “provocative move that undermines the rights of indigenous communities.” They pointed out that the Syrian Transitional Government ignores the demands of communities for the right to learn in their mother tongues, while allowing the Turkish language to enter Syrian schools and universities.

In this context, ANHA agency conducted interviews with administrators and members of the Kurdish Language Institution and the Education and Teaching Committee in the Democratic Society, who all expressed their firm rejection of the decision.

Enkizk Rashid, a member of the Kurdish Language Institution, stated: “The Transitional Government in Syria prevents members of the communities from learning in their mother tongue, while allowing the Turkish occupying state to impose its language and culture within Syrian educational institutions.”

She described the decision as “provocative and an infringement upon the cultural identity and rights of indigenous communities.”

She added:“This step reflects the continued marginalization of the communities and participation in erasing their culture and history, as part of a policy aimed at assimilating Syria’s diverse identities.”

For her part, the co-chair of the Education and Teaching Committee in the Democratic Society in Aleppo, Zahida Rashid, said:

“Legalizing the teaching of the Turkish language does not represent the hopes and aspirations of Syrian communities, but rather reproduces the Ba’ath regime’s policies that denied recognition of the Kurdish language as an official one.”

She continued: “Every student must hold onto their right to learn in their mother tongue, because language is the essence of identity and culture — giving it up means giving up one’s very existence.”

Meanwhile, Abdul Qader, an administrator at the Martyr Zozan Youssef Institute for Teacher Training, considered the decision “inconsistent with the diverse and pluralistic nature of Syrian society.”

He pointed out that “imposing the Turkish language in education amounts to erasing the identity of native communities and attempting to obliterate their culture.”

Abdul Qader stressed:“Every community has the right to learn in its own mother tongue, not to have a language imposed on it that does not reflect its history or belonging.”

This decision comes at a time when educational and cultural institutions in North and East Syria continue to emphasize the importance of learning in the languages of all communities, as a guarantee for preserving Syria’s shared national identity and cultural diversity.

ANHA