The Japan Times - Anti-Assad music star makes triumphant return to Syria

Thousands of fans welcomed the 57-year-old, known mononymously as Assala, at a venue in the Syrian capital where she bowed and opened the show with songs hailing the Syrian people.

"Souls of my heart, I missed you," she repeatedly said to endless cheers on Thursday night.

"My loves, my people, I swear, until this moment I could not believe that I am among you. I want to tell you how much I dreamt of this."

There was a heavy security presence for the concert, after some religious conservatives launched a campaign calling for its cancellation.

Half of the show's proceeds will be donated to charity.

Syria's new Islamist authorities, who overthrew Assad in 2024, have welcomed Assala. Culture Minister Mohammed Yassine Saleh has dubbed her "the daughter of Damascus".

Joining her on stage, he said her return was that of "every honest Syrian and every free person".

- 'Moving forward' -

Assala was among the first artists to express support for the peaceful anti-Assad protests that erupted in 2011, refusing to partake in events supporting his government.

She was booted from the Syrian artists' union for her stance and was the target of media campaigns.

She went into exile, living in Cairo with her family and playing shows in various Arab countries.

The bloody repression of the protests led to a 13-year civil war that killed more than half-a-million people.

At Assala's show, small Syrian flags rippled in time with the music, with many in the crowd unable to hold back their tears.

"I never thought this day would come. It's like a beautiful dream," concert-goer Sawsan Wadha, 56, said.

"We are very happy that our country is moving forward," added 40-year-old Lynn Nahas.

On her new record, "The Syrian Album", Assala covers folk songs from all 14 of Syria's provinces as an homage to her country's cultural diversity.

She sings for the cities scarred by war, but also for the coastline in mourning after last year's killing of hundreds of members of Assad's Alawite minority, and for Druze-majority Sweida, which also saw sectarian violence.

- Recovery through art -

Assala's piercing, powerful voice rang out as she made her way through the album's tracks at Thursday's concert.

She also performed fan favourites like "Samehtak" and "Sandooq", with the jubilant, tearful crowd singing along.

Assala and her family only returned to Damascus this week. An antiques dealer in the capital returned the oud, or Oriental lute, that had belonged to her father, a celebrated musician.

Conservative Muslim figures had expressed criticism in the run-up to the concert.

Egyptian preacher Hani Dahab, who lives in Syria, launched a social media campaign with the slogan "Cancel the Sinful Concerts". He accused the culture ministry of seeking to "give society a secular character".

Syrian Salafi preacher Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi condemned what he called a "concert of music and debauchery", while a group of preachers in Damascus called on the culture minister to take into account "the religious identity of society".

While not addressing the critics directly, Assala said at the show that "recovery will only happen with art and music".

Syria has seen a cultural boom since 2025, but also the rise of preachers and conservative religious movements in public spaces and at universities, raising fears of restrictions on freedom.

Farah Al-Atassi, political advisor to the government, said poetry, language and thought were "an integral part of Syrian identity".

"This is the Syria that we know and that will endure," she told AFP.

K.Yamaguchi--JT