Once Forbidden, Now Celebrated: Banned Books Resurface in Damascus

Books once feared for their power to challenge authority or shed light on suffering now sit openly in Damascus bookstores, no longer traded in whispers after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Amr al-Laham, a 25-year-old student, browsed the shops near Damascus University, relishing a new freedom. “If I had asked about a book just two months ago, I could have disappeared or ended up in prison,” he said. Today, he holds a copy of Al-Banned Booksaabar (The Passage) by Hanan Asad, a poignant account of Aleppo’s war-torn streets.

Last month’s rebel-led offensive toppled Assad’s oppressive regime, ending decades of fear under his family’s iron grip. For Syrians like Amr, a new era is dawning, one where even the books they read no longer put their lives at risk.

“Before, we were afraid of being marked by intelligence services just for buying certain works,” Amr admitted, reflecting on years of surveillance that targeted anyone reading books deemed subversive—whether leftist texts or conservative Islamic theology.

Syria, battered by war since 2011, endured relentless repression under Assad, who inherited his father’s brutal tactics. Stories of torture, suppression, and fear were common, as dissent was crushed with lethal force.

Books Resurrected

Now, titles that were once forbidden are resurfacing in the light of day. On footpaths and in bookstores, previously banned books like The Shell by Mustafa Khalifa—a harrowing memoir of imprisonment in Tadmur prison—and My Aunt’s House by Ahmed Khairi Alomari have found their way to eager readers.

“Prison literature was totally forbidden,” said Abu Yamen, a 50-something bookshop owner. “Before, people didn’t even dare to ask about them—they knew what awaited them.”

Publishers, too, endured scrutiny. One, who asked to remain anonymous, recalled how security forces would routinely demand details about his sales and customers. Even the faintest association with banned works could lead to arrest.

A Culture Once in Shadows

Booksellers like Abdel Rahman Suruji, 62, still remember the fear. He used to sell prohibited texts like the works of Sayyed Qotb—the ideologue behind the Muslim Brotherhood—only to those he trusted. “Students or researchers we knew well,” he said.

He still recalls the day in 2010 when a dozen security agents stormed his shop and seized more than 600 books. “They confiscated everything,” he said.

But now, Suruji’s shelves proudly display works like those of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, a medieval Muslim theologian once banned for his influence on Salafi thought. Damascus residents, returnees from abroad, and visitors from former rebel-held areas are among his new customers.

For Mustafa al-Kani, 25, a student of Islamic theology, this shift is monumental. He came to price a collection of Qotb’s works, something unthinkable before. “During the revolution, we were terrified to even look for these books. We used to read them secretly online,” he said.

“Just quoting Qotb could get you thrown into jail,” he added.

Hope Beyond Fear

While Syria’s future remains uncertain, a fragile freedom has emerged in the wake of Assad’s fall. For now, bookstores in Damascus serve as quiet symbols of resilience, where stories once silenced are finally given a voice.