Intellectuals call for constitutional recognition of Kurdish language in Syria

Intellectuals believe that recognizing Kurdish as an official language in Syria’s new constitution would strengthen equal citizenship and consolidate cultural pluralism, amid ongoing discussions about cultural and national rights and the form of the new Syrian state.

Abdul Wahab Birani, a member of the Intellectuals’ Union, said that official recognition of the Kurdish language is one of the key issues within the framework of the integration process between the transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, and that administrative and economic integration cannot be separated from the issue of language.

Birani noted that Decree No. 13 constituted a step toward recognizing the Kurdish language, but argued that enshrining this recognition in the Syrian constitution, with Kurdish recognized as an official language alongside Arabic, would be the most important step.

He stressed that Kurdish is the language spoken and written by the Kurdish community in Syria, and that school curricula and primary, preparatory, and secondary education certificates have been taught in Kurdish over the past 15 years.

He explained that the Ministry of Education’s recognition of preparatory and secondary school certificates issued in Kurdish represents an important step.

He stressed the need to expand this recognition and constitutionally establish Kurdish alongside Arabic as an official language in the country.

He added that constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language means recognizing the culture, heritage, and folklore of the Kurdish community, and that linguistic and cultural diversity enriches Syrian society rather than posing a threat to its unity.

He concluded by calling for official recognition of the Kurdish language in Syria’s new constitution.

Poet Hozan Karkundi, for his part, said that recognition of the Kurdish language was one of the key provisions of the agreement between the transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces.

He called for Kurdish to be recognized and enshrined as an official language in the Syrian constitution, stressing that issuing a separate decree concerning the language is not sufficient.

Karkundi emphasized that every community in Syria has the right to speak, learn, and write in its mother tongue and to preserve its culture, art, and literature.

He called for the Kurdish language to be adopted in schools, universities, and institutions.

He stressed that the fundamental demand is for Kurdish to receive constitutional recognition in Syria’s new constitution and to be adopted as an official language in schools, universities, and institutions, in addition to being used in public life.

For his part, Muhammad Bashir, a member of the Intellectuals’ Union, considered the current phase an opportunity to move toward a multilingual and multicultural Syria, and said that constitutional recognition of the Kurdish language is a fundamental demand for Kurds.

Bashir added that the Kurdish people had endured the effects of linguistic and cultural policies for many decades aimed at erasing their identity, through policies of “Turkification, and Arabization” that affected the use of the Kurdish language.

He stressed that the Kurdish language is deeply rooted in the history of the region, dating back thousands of years, and that it represents identity, history, and existence.

He pointed out that generations of Kurds have studied their mother tongue in recent years and built their futures upon it.

He stressed the importance of enshrining recognition of the Kurdish language in Syria’s new constitution as an official language, guaranteeing Kurdish citizens the right to use it in education, institutions, and public life in a way that reflects Syria’s cultural and linguistic diversity. He also emphasized the importance of protecting the language and guaranteeing future generations the right to use it.

ANHA