The Image of the Martyr in Syrian Performance and Web Activism Edward Ziter

Since the spring of 2011, Syria has been the site of competing performances asserting and contesting the legitimacy of Baath Party rule.1 US press coverage in 2012 has understand- ably focused on the escalating violence that has defied efforts by the Arab League and the UN to quell the fighting: the February Homs offensive that caused the death of hundreds, among them US reporter Marie Colvin; attacks by the Free Syrian Army in and around Damascus; car bombings in Damascus and Aleppo for which no group has taken responsibility; and the mas- sacres in Houla, Quebeir, Douma, and elsewhere. Much less commented on, but necessary to a full understanding of the uprising, has been activists’ use of performance and visual cul- ture to bolster and spread an ethos of creative resistance and the failure of the regime to posit equally compelling performances and images in defense of their continued rule. A spectrum

1. Sameer Hamady provided help with Arabic transcriptions. Any translation errors are my own. When spelling Arabic names, I have used the most common English transliterations. I have simplified my own transliteration by excluding diacritical markings.

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2012); and a video of of video a and 2012); his Facebook memorial every — These strategies are widespread and extensively dissemi- These strategies are 2 i.e., like, comment on, or share comment on, like, i.e., — (Cambridge University Press, 2003) 2003) Press, University Stage (Cambridge Victorian on the Orient The (2012). Using five still images (this is the second), the film depicts depicts film the second), the is (this images still five Using (2012). Playing They’re

For an example of each see the following posted on YouTube: “Who Wants to Kill a Million” (MasasitMati (MasasitMati Million” a Kill to “Who Wants YouTube: on posted following the see each of example an For Revolutionary “Syrian at ouster Asad’s for singing crowds Mati; Masasit troupe, puppet Syrian the by 2011a) al- muzaharat kafranbel, adlib “Sham, at banners Kafranbel the Occupied 2011); (Freedomforeveryone20 Dabke” Bashar threatening poster a holding girl a of image Reuters the 2012); (SHAMSNN al-hor” jaash al daem ahrar war’”civil to Arabiya (Al ‘path Syria on push West’s says “Russia in Israel” of protector “the the president’s 30 March 2011 parliamentary address punctuated with the sounds of farts and burps at “Bashar al al parliamentary2011 farts of sounds the “Bashar with punctuated at burps and address March 30 president’s the 2011). (SORIA7ORA funny” speech asad While much of this activism is raucous and irreverent, its prominence on the web pales com- its prominence on the web irreverent, While much of this activism is raucous and Syrian activists have pursued a wide range of strategies: cartoonish send-ups of state vio- cartoonish send-ups wide range of strategies: have pursued a Syrian activists 2. Edward Ziter is Associate Professor of Theatre History at the Department of Drama at New York York HistoryNew Department at the of Drama at of Theatre is Associate Professor Ziter Edward is author of He University. week. The scope and force of this online martyrology has grown at the same time that death The scope and force of this online week. “every in Syria Al-Zubaidi wrote in May of 2012, As Layla has grown more politically charged. the pop- Untimely death initiates a politicization of funeral is turned into a protest procession.” in the street and actions online. ulace via a feedback loop between actions 1967 to the present. from in Syria on a manuscript about political theatre working and is currently [email protected] Figure 1. (facing page) (facing 1. Figure childhood trauma in its relentless assertion that state violence is crippling a generation. Video by Abou Abou by Video assertion generation. a crippling is violence state that relentless its in trauma childhood collective) Naddara (Courtesy Abou the of Naddara. nated online. Common protest songs are heard in every corner of the country; as Syrian author protest songs are heard in every corner Common nated online. (in that is our public forum” same song, “Millions of Syrians chanting the Abbas explains, Hasan As of and circulated on the web. Such performances are regularly uploaded Al-Zubaidi 2012). featured 95 videos of differ channel alone (Shibika sham al-ikhbaria) YouTube one 2 July 2012, This same song appears in other per Leave Bashar!” “Come on, the song ent crowds chanting other oppositional songs on digital as when a Syrian activist recorded it and formance actions, surreptitiously videotaped guards then in a government finance building, recorders that he hid 2011). (SyrianExile1 YouTube to and uploaded the spectacle chanting, rushing to silence the in video depicting the president YouTube One are extensively shared. Such oppositional videos of cartoon ducks had registered over 1,075,000 views raptures as he surfs the internet for videos as of 2 July 2012 (SyrianFilms 2012). representing the most somber and serious fig- pared to the outpouring of images and videos staggering number of civilian This is hardly surprising given the ure of the uprising: the martyr. as of 29 May with estimates ranging from 9,183 to 14,072 deaths since the start of the uprising, far beyond the record- online representations of martyrs extend However, 2012 (Khera 2012). to include a host of complex meditations on the idea ing of names and circumstances of death and of political actions invoking martyrdom, documentation Online memorials, of martyrdom. effects of death at the hands of one’s government con- powerful short films exploring the social More than and widely engaged. expansive, tribute to an online martyrology that is emotional, well over Ali al-Khateeb in government detention, Hamza a year after the death of 13-year-old 100,000 people interact with

lence, carnivalesque inversions in which the downtrodden eject the mighty, the recasting of the the recasting eject the mighty, in which the downtrodden inversions carnivalesque lence, and the incessant mock- of (rather than defender against) colonialism, state as an instrument his circle. ing of the president and of performances and web activism is in part responsible for the remarkable durability of the for the remarkable is in part responsible and web activism of performances tele- state monopoly of and a virtual despite brutal oppression now in its second year uprising, on ideas employs or comments on activism that I will focus Specifically, print media. vision and of martyrdom. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

118 Edward Ziter liturgy” (toadoptPaulConnerton’ssuggestivephrase swarming thepresidentandchantingtheirsupportatconclusion repeat theritual. The identicalceremonies (al-Fatiha) forthesoulsofmartyrs. Then on6May theygatheragainatthesamelocationand ident thenlaysawreathbeforeaneternalflameandreadsthe firstsevenversesoftheQuran cials (invariablythisincludesthechiefofstaffPalestinian Liberation Army). The pres- the presidentreceivesflowersfromchildrenofrecentmartyrs, andhegreetsnationaloffi- of theUnknownSoldier. They listenasthenationalanthemplays, theyreviewanhonorguard, cal ceremoniesthatmarkeach. On6October, militaryleadersgreetthepresidentat Tomb ongoing warofliberation, andthelinkbetweenthesedatesisreinforcedbyvirtuallyidenti- a seriesofnationalvictoriesconcludingwiththeOctober War. forces fromSyriain1946(17 April, EvacuationDay). The executionsof1916wereansweredby Baath Partytopowerin1963(8March, RevolutionDay), andin April theevacuationofFrench power in1970(16November, CorrectiveMovementDay), theMarchcoupthatbrought between, SyrianscommemoratetheNovemberintrapartycoupthatbroughtHafezal-Assadto partial victoryagainstIsraelin1973tothepurportedbirthofSyriannationalism1916. In spring enlistSyriansinasteadymarchbackthroughtimefromthe Arab world’sredemptive of nationalistleaders(Martyrs’Day). The fivecivicholidaysthatoccurbetweenthefalland and on6Maytheyremembertheirmartyrstheanniversaryof1916Ottoman on 6OctoberSyriansmarktheanniversaryof War (OctoberLiberation War Day) tyr isaman, woman, orchildwhohasfallenindefiance, ratherthansupport, ofthestate. they havealsoappropriatedakeypillarofitslegitimacy. According totheopposition, themar to themartyrsofuprising, oppositiongroupshavenotonlyunderscoredregimeviolence, tyrdom withservicetothestateinanelaborateperformanceoflegitimacy. Indrawingattention 1994. The ceremonyhasbeencentralinaBaathPartyprojecttoconflatetheconceptofmar Unknown SoldieratMountQassiounoutsideDamascusafterthatcenotaphwascompletedin tion ofthosewhohavefallenforthenation. This ceremonyhastakenplaceatthe Tomb ofthe Martyrs’ Day. Everyspringsincethen, theSyrianpresidenthaslaidawreathincommemora- In 1974, theyearafterOctober War againstIsrael, PresidentHafezal-Assaddeclared6May Martyrs’ Day be whole;1973restored Arab prideifnotterritory. The presidentcompletesthecircle. Hafez day beasovereignnation, thesoldiersofOctober War diedthatSyriamightinthefuture Imperialism withsacrificetocombatZionism. Justas the nationalistsdiedthatSyriamightone fying statepower, aprojectthatgrewparticularlyfocusedunderHafezal-Assad. castigate power. Indoingso, theyinterveneinaprojectofshapingnationalidentityandsolidi- subvert stateceremoniesandrhetoricwhentheyholdupthemartyrtoinspireresistance martyr asadefenderofthestate. Consciouslyornot(moreoftentheformer), uprisingactivists understood inthecontextofalongstandingBaathPartyprojectenshriningsecularized in present-daySyriabyboththosewhoopposeandsupportthegovernmentisbest specific historiesthatgivesuchdeathsforceforeachcommunity. Theinvocationofmartyrdom wide boxofficesuccessofmovieslikeSavingPrivate Ryan [1998])butthatisnottodiscountthe 3. According tothiscalendar, 6OctoberandMaybeginconcludethefirstchapter inan Martyrs’ DayconcludesaSyrianceremonialcalendarthatrunsfromthefalltospring; In anyculture, dyingforacauseispowerfulandemotionalconcept(considertheworld- as a sacred event, and one toanother which sacredpoints forward event, that of 30 January 1933” (1989:43). fate of those who fell in it is to be interpreted not as a senseless death but a sacrificial death. It is to be understood writes: “The political fiasco is in this way re-interpreted as neithermortal a defeat nor meaningless nor futile. The provided me with a compelling model for understanding the Syrian calendar of commemorations. Connerton Connerton’s analysis of Nazi commemoration of the failed 1923 Putsch and Hitler’s seizure of power in 1933 — right downtothejoyfuldescendantsofmartyrs 3 ) thatunitessacrificetocombatOttoman — complete a “calendrical execution - - The Image of the Martyr 119 - the former being much more theatrical and detailed. The state has and detailed. being much more theatrical the former —

it regularly features the same footage aired by the state news services. Through its own by the state news services. it regularly features the same footage aired

4 See for example: “Syrian Political Scientist Calls Upon Iran to Mobilize Shiites in Saudi Arabia” Arabia” Saudi in Shiites Mobilize to Iran Upon Calls Scientist Political “Syrian example: for See Syria to Ambassador U.S. the ‘With Barbecue to Threatens Leader Tribal “Syrian 2011a); (MEMRITVVideos Arm and Finance Should Syria Shlash: Leader Salt’ Without or Tribal “Syrian and 2012); (MEMRITVVideos ” 2011b). (MEMRITVVideos Rebellions” Saudi and Qatar, Bahrain, It is no small thing, then, to note that the state is losing ownership of the concept of mar is losing ownership note that the state to then, thing, It is no small The news coverage for Martyrs’ Day 2011 differed markedly from the coverage in 2012. differed markedly from the coverage in 2012. The news coverage for Martyrs’ Day 2011 hesitation in the Syrian national news outlets showed no 6 May 2011, On Martyrs’ Day, 4. al-Assad lead the nation to war in 1973, created both holidays, and first performed the cere- first performed the and holidays, created both in 1973, the nation to war al-Assad lead death after his father’s the role of officiate al-Assad inherited Bashar persist today. monies that in 2000. and allied television stations, the Syrian state has attempted to block out the idea of opposi- the Syrian state has attempted to block out the idea and allied television stations, and the reserving that term for those who defend the rule of Bashar al-Assad tional martyrs, Baath Party. reflecting and widely disseminated, celebratory, The 2011 coverage was much more extended, and quickly extinguished and the state’s belief confidence that the uprising could be contained Up until associated with resistance to the regime. that the idea of martyrdom was not widely had failed in their efforts to organize protests in the March of that year opposition organizers large protest in Syria occurred on The first and Egyptian revolutions. Tunisian aftermath of the of school children in Daraa for spraying anti- 18 March 2011 in response to the incarceration The state responded with administrative changes and the regime slogans on their school wall. in his first address to the nation since the demonstra- On 30 March, promise of minor reforms. pro- the president described the uprising as a foreign conspiracy and mentioned tions began, promised unspecified support for the agricultural sector, posals for a new anticorruption agency, Laws (The Emergency since 1963 (Assad 2011). and a review of the Emergency Laws in place have preserved immunity from prosecution for but authorities April of 2011, were repealed in and punishment have sharply escalated since then as Arbitrary detention the security services. Coordination Committees of Syria.) documented on a daily basis by the Local state and the state as the vehicle through which a presenting the martyr as the buttress of the The state news broadcast stories for that eve- grateful nation proclaimed its love of the martyr. “The Death of the Unknown Soldier,” Tomb to the Visit “The President’s ning were entitled: “Martyrs’ Fall in Wounded,” Visit the “Army Officers Army Officer and Police in Homs,” of an “Syrians on Day,” “The History of Martyrs’ Defense of the Homeland during Recent Events,” Their Respects on Pay Artists “Syrian and the Street Reflect on the Meaning of Martyrs’ Day,” the president’s participation in the annual wreath- documenting The lead story, Martyrs’ Day.” from the chil- included footage of the president receiving bouquets of flowers laying ceremony, listed dren of martyrs and then showed him shaking hands with 37 officials as the newsreader tyrdom. This loss is evident in the differences in how the state news services reported Martyrs’ services reported Martyrs’ how the state news in the differences in This loss is evident tyrdom. and in 2012 Day in 2011 powerful tools for disseminating imagery and ideas. It owns two terrestrial stations and a sat- It owns imagery and ideas. powerful tools for disseminating sector to enter the media industry. the state began to allow the private In 2001, ellite station. satellite news network funded “private” is a broadcasting in June 2011, which began Ikhbaria, of the uprising Ikhbaria has In its representation (Ghorbannejad 2011). from the state treasury Jihadists organized the protests that foreign powers and militant stuck to the state’s assertion by is owned Al-Dunia, station, Another private satellite civilian deaths. and are responsible for Ten “Mr. known within Syria as who is widely Rami Makhlouf, al-Assad, the cousin of Bashar that MakhloufPercent”; the perception in have insured him a 10 percent stake ’s connections Al-Dunia has aired capitalism. has made him the poster child of crony every national industry Arab Syrian opposition and calls for violent reprisals against the some of the most strident US for its support of the opposi- and has lambasted the the opposition, nations that support tion; Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

120 Edward Ziter “freedom” (in Arabic). The imagesrepeatedsimilar scenesthatviewershadseen threemonths flags andbanners;finally alow-angleshotofloneprotesterholdingupsignthatreads Hama whenthatcityrevolted against BaathPartyrule);agroupofprotestersallageswith Daraa, a Tragedy Repeated” (in 1982theSyrianmilitarykilledtensofthousandscivilians in by flag paintedonbothcheeks;a group ofyoungmen, thecentralfiguredrapedin screen behindthem:agroupofprotestingveiledwomen, thecentralfigurewithSyrian actions inDaraa. As theannouncersintroduced the segment, stillimagesappearedonthegreen that SyriawascelebratingMartyrs’Day, buttheydid carryapieceoncrowdsprotestingstate Arab satellitetelevision. The Al Jazeerareport for6May2011madenomentionofthefact the region(NileSatand Arabsat) stoppedcarryingSyrian broadcasts(SANA2012). ceeded inblockingSyriansatellitestations;attheLeague’srequest thetwosatelliteoperatorsin vent SyriansfromaccessingGulf-financedsatellitestations, the ArabLeaguehasrecentlysuc- to accesstheirwebpagesthroughproxyservers. While theSyriangovernmenthasfailedtopre- Arabiya, viewershavebeenabletoaccessthestationsby tuningintodifferentfrequencies, and state hastakentojammingthesignalsofsatellitenewsproviders suchas Al Jazeeraand Al had verylittlecontrolovertherangeofrepresentationsavailabletoSyrians. While theSyrian available to Arab customersasofJune2011(SatelliteMarketsandResearch2011), thestatehas time, norairforthatmatter, foranyotherversionofreality. However, with538satellitestations age withadifferentvoiceover. The Syrianstateaspirestoamediascapeinwhichthereisnoair TV’s coverageofthepresident’svisitto Tomb oftheUnknownSoldierusedidenticalfoot- state versionofeventsandthestate’scompleteownershipideamartyrdom. Al-Dunia and therepeateduseofword “martyr” throughoutthesegments ple childrenmakingessentiallythesamestatement, theirchantspromisingcontinuedsacrifice, the future. Sacrificeforthestate message wasclear:Patrioticcitizenscontinuetodieprotectthenation, andwilldosointo ations onthestatement “Daddy diedindefenseofthehomeland” (HananNoura2011). The as “recent events”)featuredinterviewswithseveralsmallchildren, allofwhomrepeatedvari- ents. The segmentonthesoldierswhodiedputtingdowncurrentunrest(describedsimply ourselves foryou, Bashar.” They aspire, itwouldseem, torepeatthesacrifice madebytheirpar ident, offeringkissesandroses, andthenchanting: “With oursoulsandbloodwesacrifice all oftheirnames. The segmentconcludedwithmorechildrenofmartyrssurroundingthepres- Arab News Agency photograph by Edward Ziter) Syria. Broadcast 6 May 2011. (Screenshot of Syrian martyrs. Tomb of the Unknown Solider, Qassioun, being greeted by the children of recent Syrian Figure 2. SANA news report on President Assad — The Syrianstatehashadvirtuallynosuccessinfluencingthe way theyarerepresentedon The repetitivenatureofthefootage a Syrianflag, withanother manholdingupasignthatreads(in Arabic) “FromHamato — specifically PresidentBashar — the remarkablylongsequenceofhandshakes, multi- upload by Edward Ziter) Broadcast 6 May 2011. (Screenshot of YouTube demonstration of Syrian in support uprising. Figure 3. Al Jazeera reporting on Jordanian — is sacrificeforthenation. — assert withfinalitythe — and flanked - - The Image of the Martyr 121 hence hence — If the Syrian state’s cele 5 qualities that would normally make such qualities that would normally make such — seemed to announce their artificiality when contrasted with the grainy, contrasted with the grainy, seemed to announce their artificiality when —

The Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria put civilian deaths at 13,625 on 10 July 2012 (CDVS 2012). Syria put civilian deaths at 13,625 on 10 Violations in Documentation of The Center for In the global marketplace such densely meaningful images travel quickly. The aforemen- quickly. such densely meaningful images travel In the global marketplace Of course the opposition’s ability to circulate its version of events, especially early in the especially early its version of events, Of course the opposition’s ability to circulate It should be noted that the Syrian state relinquished its complete control of the visual field It should be noted that the Syrian state relinquished its complete control of the visual 5.

tioned photograph of the young man draped in a Syrian flag was immediately reproduced in a was immediately reproduced in the young man draped in a Syrian flag tioned photograph of the image was cropped though 6 May 2011, that same day, uploaded TimesCast Times New York “From Hama to translation, its English sign more prominent, to make the other protester’s on the strength of the reported TimesCast The below. appearing Repeated,” Tragedy a Daraa, on the Hama Massacre the past brutality of the regime (focusing described uprising, earlier, though at the time it was Egyptian flags that the young men waved and wore and that men waved and flags that the young the time it was Egyptian though at earlier, shot in Syria. these photos were not However, women. the cheeks of the young appeared on as going so far entering the country, journalists from government has prohibited The Syrian the she tried to enter when Parvaz, Dorothy Al Jazeera reporter, American Iranian to detain an the of Jordanians from Al Jazeera aired footage Instead, her Iranian passport. country using protesters of Daraa. in solidarity with the border chanting Al-Ramtha on the Syrian town of left Syrian flag was superimposed on the top throughout the entire segment a small However, from Syria (mr11doublez suggesting that viewers were seeing a report corner of the frame, to metonymy: an associated event was Al Jazeera resorted images, Short on compelling 2011). in nearby Jordan was con- larger event; a solidarity protest substituted for the unrepresentable the Syrian uprising. scripted to serve for the sign), and concluded with speculation on the regime’s strategies and apparent confidence. confidence. and concluded with speculation on the regime’s strategies and apparent the sign), Arab Day celebration provided by the Syrian This last segment used images of the Martyrs’ Following foot- Agency (SANA) but without explaining what event was taking place. News appeared the SANA images of the Hama Massacre, age of protest and the preceding discussion The photos’ careful composition almost surreal. images compelling jerky, and obviously amateur footage of protesting crowds in Jassem and Idlib. Without any any Without of protesting crowds in Jassem and Idlib. and obviously amateur footage jerky, before the SANA images seem bizarre: leader and adoring children explanation of the context, represen- like the over-the-top a military guard, an imposing monument or surrounded by the 6 In short, TV humor in the US. late-night tations that made Kim Jong Il a source for a global is a striking example of the success of protesters in influencing TimesCast May 2011 mediascape (TimesCast 2011). It is is telling. is first and foremost a function of the compelling nature of the story it uprising, protests despite gathering for weekly of the protesters, hard not to be amazed by the persistence 13,000 by mid-July 2012. a civilian death toll estimated at well over bration of Martyrs’ Day has little traction in the global mediascape it is because that state bration of Martyrs’ Day has little traction true that the mediascape is it is also However, has been so busy of late with creating martyrs. has had to fight for visibility at the same time that crowded with atrocities and the opposition the flow of information both out of and within the state has made a concerted effort to disrupt in getting the story out and circulating it within Syria is The success of the opposition Syria. of information but evidence of a widespread cre- not only a function of the decentralized flow ativity in the crafting of performances and images that dwarfs the state’s abilities. while the state threatened to Alan George explains, As before Bashar al-Assad came to power. Ultimately a program for doing so never materialized. confiscate satellite dishes as late as 1994, in 2000. the state conceded and drafted legislation governing the legal import of receiver dishes fax machines This was a significant concession for a state that had outlawed the importation of this reversal was evidence of either the difficulty of banning the As George notes, up until 1993. profits sale of satellite dishes or the fact that well-connected businessmen stood to earn huge Agency estimates that The Central Intelligence Now, from legalizing importation (2003:135). Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

122 Edward Ziter are onethatappears tobeastudioportraitof Hamza beforeabrightlycolored background, cal cartoons;andagreatmany drawings. However, thetwoimagesthathavecirculatedmost photomontages photos ofthedeadbothgrisly and inrepose;photosofprotesters, especiallychildprotesters; pages in Arabic, English, andFrench, wherepeoplehavepostedtens ofthousandsphotos: Flamand 2011). By3July 2012thepagehadover533,000likes. There are additionalFacebook According to Al Jazeera, withindaysthepagehad morethan60,000followers(Macleodand are allthechildmartyrHamza Ali al-Khateeb” (Kolna al-shaheedal-tiflHamza Alial-Khateeb). of a13-year-old boyallegedlybythegovernmentforces. Hamza Ali al-Khateebdisappeared most galvanizingeventsearlyintheuprisingwasabduction, torture, death, andmutilation cided withitsstart regime’s historyandidentity. The appropriationofmartyrdomhasbeencentralinthisproject. the uprising, buttheuseoftropescalibratedtorecallsuccessfulrevoltsandstrikeat to theusers’listsoffriends. However, itisnotsimplythevolumeofimagerythathassustained 523,000 likesasof3July2012, meaningthatalinkwithmaterialfromthepagehadbeensent and clearlytheirviewersaresharingmaterial, too: The SyrianRevolution2011pagehadover 122,046 videosandboastednearly32millionviews. There areatleastasmanyFacebookpages of 3July2012, thelargest, Shibikashamal-ikhbaria(GreaterSyriaNewsNetwork), featured ery. There areatleastadozen YouTube channelsdevoted todocumentingtheuprising. As rupting phoneservice, strategiestheypursueinrestiveneighborhoods(Preston2011b). There islittlethestatecandotocontrolinternetshortofturningoffelectricityordis- can receivefootagethroughuntraceablecellphoneservicesanduploaditonsatellitemodems. by Mayof2011, wellover37percentofthepopulation(Preston2011b). Oppositionactivists proxy serversoutsidethecountryasFacebookmembershipinSyriaclimbedtoroughly580,000 fact, anecdotalreportssuggestthatmanywhowishtoaccessoppositionwebsitesdosothrough greater tolerance the serviceinmidstofEgyptianrevolutionallowedregimetoprojectanimage rity servicestoolstomonitoractivitytheyhadbeenincapableofstopping. Moreover, restoring When SyrialiftedthebanonFacebookand YouTube inFebruary2011, itsimplygavethesecu- first lady Asmaal-AssadmaintainedaFacebookpagewithover2,500friends(Duffett2010). site didsothroughproxyservers. As theChristianScienceMonitorreportedin2010, evenSyrian trol theinternet. Though SyriabannedFacebookin2007, anyonewhowishedtoaccessthe roughly two-thirdsofSyrianhomeshaveasatellitedish. The statehassimilarlyfailedtocon- Edward Ziter) (Facebook screenshot by Hamza Ali al-Khateeb. Figure 4. Photograph of The carefulcultivationoftheideaandimagemartyruprisingvirtuallycoin- With littlestatecontroloverthemediascape, activistshavebeenabletoflooditwithimag- — — some elevatingthemartyrand others mockinggovernmentfigures;politi- — an ultimatelyunsuccessfulinoculationagainstthedemocracymovement. In and here “virtually” modifiesboththetimingandmanner. One of the by Edward Ziter) Khateeb. (Screenshot of Al Jazeera web image Figure 5. Pencil drawing of Hamza Ali al- Facebook page,Facebook “We activists createdthe tration. On27May tion thatincludedcas- Arabic revealedmutila- online withnarrationin Graphic videoposted death (Stack2011). speak ofthechild’s that thefamilynever according toactivists, on thecondition, his familyon24 May corpse wasreturnedto rally inDaraa. His gunmen brokeupa on 29 April 2011when The Image of the Martyr 123 - - as if laying a wreath. —

The opposition has pointedly employed forms of commemoration in defiance of state- The opposition has pointedly employed forms of commemoration in defiance of This use of social media is modeled on similar uses in the successful Egyptian revolu- is modeled on similar uses in the successful This use of social media contributes to the emo- which is central to any ceremony or ritual, The idea of repetition, sanctioned commemorations. In advance of the state’s 6 May Martyrs’ Day commemorations, of the state’s 6 May Martyrs’ Day commemorations, In advance sanctioned commemorations. “Martyrs’ April protests the Local Coordination Committees of Syria named the planned 1 had died in the unrest of the previous weeks (Duncan in honor of the more than 70 who Day” “Martyrs’ organized “Syrian Revolution 2011” and the Facebook page Therolf 2011), and Lebanon 2011). April in honor of the dead (AFP/NOW a series of rallies beginning 5 Week,” to the official celebrations that would take place activists added a new reference In doing so, had fallen challenging the state now ghosted of the Unknown Soldier: those who Tomb at the Individuals have also taken the commemoration of those who had fallen defending the state. August of 2011, in Writing on the job of wresting the idea of martyrdom from the state. protest- where hundreds had already died, Anthony Shadid noted that throughout Homs, “scrawling their names on buildings, ers have renamed streets where the causalities once lived, Normally the state reserves the power of institutionalizing his- (Shadid 2011b). and signs” walls, these By scrawling the name of an unofficial martyr, tory through the naming of public space. ing children. Based solely on the frequency of re-postings, such images lack the force of a child- lack the force of such images the frequency of re-postings, Based solely on ing children. martyr. like drawing of a child are all Khaled “We Facebook page Ali al-Khateeb page clearly evokes the The Hamza tion. by Egyptian security agents was brutally beaten to death activist, a young internet Said, Said.” Said” are all Khaled “We the Facebook page five days of his death, Within on 6 June 2010. Also appearing his battered face. cellphone images taken at the morgue of showing appeared, videos YouTube as well as photos of Said with the image of his corpse, were videos contrasting when he tried to swallow a plastic assertion that Said choked to death contesting the authorities’ Abidine Ben President Zine El Tunisian After the ouster of 2011a). bag of marijuana (Preston a second page) invited Egyptians Facebook page (as well as Khaled Said” are all “We the Ali, In of the Egyptian revolution. protest that is credited as the beginning to a 25 January 2011 the Syrian page, Facebook Ali al-Khateeb” are all the child martyr Hamza “We addition to the Mohammad Bouazizi, vendor, Tunisian is intended to evoke the channel SyrBouazizi YouTube at the hands of police sparked the protests that over whose self-immolation after humiliation Tripoli, as Libyan rebels closed in on August 2011, On 21 government. Tunisia’s turned your flew away, “Gadaffi uploaded footage of crowds in Homs chanting, “Souria2011archives” with every Friday protest, every posting, With (Souria2011archives 2011). turn is next Bashar” repeat a drama that wins freedom and dignity. We activists announce: considerable danger and that are disseminated tional force of protests that persist despite their wreath in laying The state asserts, mediascape. throughout the world despite a cluttered with the martyrs of that all Syrians make common cause of the Unknown Soldier, Tomb at the and with such Such events repeat throughout history of Liberation. War 1916 and the October to repeating the commemorated actions gestures successive generations commit themselves week after gather to march after Friday prayers, When tens of thousands when called to do so. they similarly commit themselves to a strug- despite the enormous civilian death toll, week, They make common cause with the first martyrdom. gle shot through with repeated gestures of of 15 children in Daraa on 15 March 2011, four activists killed while protesting the detention YouTube with any of the dead depicted in the thousands of and Ali al-Khateeb, and with Hamza individu- On thousands of occasions, Such repetitions extend even to online activities. videos. and posted them to manipulated these images, als in and out of Syria have downloaded images, Ali al-Khateeb” are all the child martyr Hamza “We and another that is a pencil reproduction of the same portrait with a Syrian flag substituting flag substituting portrait with a Syrian of the same that is a pencil reproduction and another described it was image, reproduced the latter Al Jazeera When swirl of colors. for the photo’s with its absence the pencil drawing, case, or not that was the Whether drawing.” “child’s as a claims The state simplicity and innocence. projects eyes, or detail and its oversized of shading and ador flowers, flames, eternal cenotaphs, such claims with and then reifies purity of purpose Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

124 Edward Ziter 2012a). side amilitaryintelligencecompound, killing55andwoundingnearly400(MacFarquhar However, amuchmoredeadlysuicideattackfollowed on10Maywhentwocarsexplodedout- news agency, thebombingonlyinjuredthreeandwas notasuicideattack(in Al Jazeera2012). performance ofmartyrdom:theemergencemartyrdomoperations. According tothestate on 24 April 2012, acarbombwasdetonatednear themosque. center (evidenceofthestate’sgraftorincompetence), and theresistantcrowd. Morerecently, joins themosque(anincreasinglyunconvincingcelebrationof thestate’ssacrifices), thebusiness pointedly excludingthestate(UgaritNews2011). Intentionally ornot, theframingofshot Yalbugha BusinessCenterinthebackground. “God, Syria, andfreedomonly!” theychant, with thesilverdomeofMosqueMartyrBaselal-Assad andtheconcreteshellof larger. A YouTube videoofa25 April 2011demonstrationshowscrowdsfillingthesquare, ing one’sfaith, family, country, orideals. SubsequentprotestsatMarjehSquarehave beenmuch dent inthecreationofmartyrBasel, asifrushingtoaskitripwastheequivalentofdefend- for liberation. The state’sclaimtotheexclusiverightnamemartyrismostflagrantlyevi- to thestate’spromiseholdmemory(ratherthanlivingbodies)ofthosewhofought they couldapproachtheministry(AlJazeera2011). The petitionservedasasubtlerejoinder release ofpoliticalprisonersbutplainclothesindividualsbeatanddetainedtheprotestersbefore Al Jazeera. OrganizersintendedtopresenttheMinisterofInteriorwithapetitionfor tion atMarjehSquarefor16March2011, theseconddemonstrationinDamascusaccordingto renamed afterthemartyrBaselal-Assad. (Pipes 1996:29). Damascus’sinternationalairport, schools, andnumerouscitysquareswere not justonwalls, carsandinstoresbutalsoonsuchartifactsasdishes, clothingandwatches” “Over ayearlater, themourningremainedfrenzied. Picturesremainedubiquitous, appearing Pipes 1996:29). The deathledtoalongperiodofnationalmourning. As onescholarnotes: Damascus airportat80mphinanearlymorningfogonrouteforaskivacation(Schmidt1994; dential successortohisfatherbutdiedin1994aftercrashingMercedeswhiledrivingthe the structurememorializesolderbrotherofBasharal-Assad. Baselwastheintendedpresi- been renamedforafamous “martyr.” NowofficiallytheMosqueofMartyrBaselal-Assad, plex remainsanemptyshellafteryearsofstalledconstruction. Likethesquare, themosquehas and businesscomplex. The mosqueisserviceablebutincompleteandthelargebusinesscom- mosque thatoccupiedthesiteuntilitwasdemolishedin1975tomakewayforanew protests andbombings. Facingthesquareis Yalbugha Mosquenamedforthe13th-century sible forsecurityforcesandprisons. Notsurprisingly, Marjehhasthroughouttheuprisingseen Mandate period. ItisalsothelocationofMinistryInterior, thedepartmentrespon- Ottomans executedSyriannotablesin1916andtheFrenchrevolutionariesduring cially knownasMartyrs’Square, thoughitsoldernameismorecommonlyused. There the deaths ofthousandsSyriansrevoltingagainstBaathPartyrule. 2012). Symbolically, thedeathof Yusuf al-Azmainananticolonialiststruggleisjoinedtothe attention tothethen9,000martyrsofrevolutionandculpabilitystate(adsmasyaf protesters surroundedthestatueof Yusuf al-Azmaat Azma Squareholdingsignsthatdrew superior forcesin1920, ratherthansubmittotheFrenchmandate. OnMartyrs’Dayin2012, Minister of War whodiedleadingabandofpoorlyarmedsoldiersandciviliansagainstvastly often evokelayersofthepast. Azma SquareindowntownDamascusisnamedfortheSyrian individuals subvertstatenarrativesandlegitimatetheirownlivedhistories. Suchappropriations

6. The MarjehSquarecarbombingdrawsattentiontoadisturbing developmentintheSyrian The organizersoftheFacebookpage “The SyrianRevolution2011” calledforademonstra- Perhaps nositeinDamascusissodensewithhistoricalsignificanceasMarjehSquare, offi- of “martyrdom operations” ( The Syrian state paper, 6 Itwasatleastthesixthinstance ofasuicidebombinginSyriasincethestart Al-Baath, referred to the drivers as “suicide bombers,” its more eschewing typical language Jaridat al-Baath 2012). The Image of the Martyr 125 - activists or lack of action or lack of action a fact that was a fact that — —

As the images of martyrs have circulated through the Syrian mediascape, various As the images of martyrs have circulated through the Syrian mediascape, On Martyrs’ Day 2012, state news outlets provided more muted representations of the cere- state news outlets provided more muted On Martyrs’ Day 2012, it raised on recent martyrs and their families, While the 2012 broadcast reduced its emphasis necessary to demonstrate that royalty is the embodiment of eternal crime” (1956:118). Camus (1956:118). necessary to demonstrate that royalty is the embodiment of eternal crime” have refashioned them, creating more pointed and lasting critiques. In addition to cutting and lasting critiques. creating more pointed have refashioned them, Both the state and the activist divest the martyr of specifically religious meaning (whether that Both the state and the activist divest the martyr of specifically religious meaning and redemp- be the Islamic concept of submission to God or the Christian concepts of sacrifice I For the party regular, tion) and imbue the martyr with new forms of secular transcendence. name of national liberation reified in the regime; for the martyr dies in the have argued here, dies for a freedom that can only come into exis- the martyr performance and web activists, popular sovereignty gains metaphysical pro- process, In the tence once the regime has fallen. “In order to prove that the people are themselves the embodiment of eternal truth it portions. is but in 18th-century France as in present day of course refers to the execution of Louis XVI, a Satan who has usurped the divine right of the revolutionaries depict a battle against Syria, When martyrs are evoked the idea of transcendence is near. people. Transcendence made evident at the very start of the revolt. The beginning of the Syrian uprising is sometimes uprising is sometimes beginning of the Syrian The the revolt. at the very start of made evident that The act repeats Akseh. Ali Hasan self-immolation of January 2011 with the cited as 26 at of a few months by within the span one that had been copied and Bouazizi, of Mohammad government actions countries who protested Arab people in least 13 other it remains to uprising, so central in representations of the martyrdom With (Rosenberg 2011). There continue to escalate. martyrdom will emerge should the violence be seen what forms of but for the suicide bombings, claims and accusations of responsibility have been conflicting to this point is more striking violence the rarity of such attacks given the scale of government effect. than their devastating opposition’s representations of a blood-thirsty In the face of the year. monies than the previous and the growing death cable news, and elaboration of such depictions on the repetition regime, of filming the children of recent mar the state may have thought better toll in the Syrian army, to sacrifice their lives for him. president and chanting their willingness tyrs rushing to kiss the only including brief such scenes, wreath-laying ceremony excluded Footage of the presidential broadcast Nor did SANA in sober conversation. footage of the president and a few youths the 2012 Equally salient, it had the previous year. interviews with the children of the dead as On 6 May soldiers who had died in the previous year. news broadcast did not list the number of While year. state television news declared that 80 soldiers had died during the previous 2011, an army a figure for total army casualties since then, the Syrian government has not reported recently asserted that on average 15 soldiers are general running a Damascene military hospital 2012). killed every day in the capital alone (Amos for martyrs at By including a two-minute segment on a service the specter of a violent future. the broadcast emphasized support for the regime in George in Damascus, the Cathedral of St. in a post- implicitly referencing concerns for minority rights and safety minority communities, punc- lead the service, a vocal supporter of the regime, Bishop Luca al-Khoury, Assad Syria. viewers would be aware that the Television tuating his homily with quotes by the president. as a mortal threat to the Christian minority: on Orthodox Church had depicted the conflict antigovern- the Syrian Orthodox Church charged that during the siege of Homs, 23 March, from their homes in a project of ethnic cleans- ment militias systematically expelled Christians has found it difficult to present the martyr as a figure of While the state ing (McDonnell 2012). fears of a future of national disintegration rife with it has succeeded in fanning national unity, Christian dead. uprising. It is a measure of Syrian opposition groups’ faith in the power of performance that of performance that faith in the power opposition groups’ It is a measure of Syrian uprising. of self-destruction willing to copy acts have shown themselves individuals Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

126 Edward Ziter Days createdelectionpostersfeaturing photographsofindividualskilledbytheregimein tims ofstateviolence. For example, ontheeveofDecember2011localelections, Freedom 182 videosgeneratingover338,000 views. Muchoftheirworkdrawsattentiontothe vic- cal oftheregimeandcallingfor popularresistance. 2012,As of21 June thegrouphadposted nel theydocumentpoliticalactionsandcirculateanimatedshorts andphotomontagescriti- a “Syrian groupforpeacefulstruggleandnonviolentcivil resistance.” Ontheir YouTube chan- actions andwebpieces. FreedomDaysdescribesitself on itsFacebookand YouTube pagesas nization FreedomDaysstrikesatoneofpoetictranscendence inthevastmajorityoftheir has beensecuredbythebloodofpeople. beneath thestagewhiletyrantstrutsabove. The powertoclaimone’splaceintheopenair martyrs ofSyria, ForallSyrians, Freedomiscoming.” There isnolongeranyreasontocrouch of Khalidiah[theneighborhoodinHomssubjectedtoextensive governmentattacks], Forthe him, allmakingthepeacesign. Inlieuofcredits, theseriesendswithwords “For thesouls pulls itoff, revealinghisfinger, thesolesupportofpuppethead. Theotherpuppeteersjoin to theresistancesong “Come On, LeaveBashar.” Hegraspsthepuppetinhislefthandand where youbelong” (MasasitMati2012). The puppeteerrefusesandinsteadmakesBishoudance in yourplace, tobreatheforyou, toeatforyou, tomakedecisionsforyou, sogobackdownto the puppeteeragreedtothis: “You agreedtoletmespeakforyou, totakeoverforyou, toexist puppeteer callshimback: “I amdonecarryingtheburdenofyou.” The puppetcomplainsthat the audiencethatworldhasabandonedthem. Hefinishesandisabouttoleavewhenthe promises nevertoleave “even ifthebloodreachessummitofMountQasioun,” andreminds taunts theaudienceinaspeechwhichhemixesupnamesofmartyrsandpopsingers, peteer confrontshiscreation(“MasasitMati-Top GoonEpisode13Lastdaysinhell”). Bishou from thestage. Demands forpeacefulchangespringfromthesiteofmassacresanddrivepuppettyrant as handsmakingthepeacesignshootupfromwhereactorshadfallen(MasasitMati2011b). a SyrianrapsongcallingforrevolutiondrownsoutBishou’slaughter. The puppetiswithdrawn “it’s overbecausealltheSyriansaregone.” Inthemomentofhisvictorypuppetfreezesas Bishou askshowmanySyriansareleft, andonbeinginformedthatthey’reallgone, herejoices: machine gunssoundandanactorconvulsesfallsbelowtheframeuntiltherearenone. whose facesarewrappedinkafiyas, standbehindthepuppet. With everylineofhisspeech, describing hisregimeas “sadistic” andpromisingtobecomeGodratherthanstepdown. Actors, Bishou makesaspeechpromisingchange, withaseriesofslipsthetonguethathavehim Punch andJudy, acompletelyearnestandseriousUbuRoi. In “Top GoonEpisode9Reforms” of Assad’s paramilitaryforces), astheyterrorizecitizenstonoeffect. Itisakindofmessianic Bishou (adiminutiveofBashar)alongwithhissecurityhead, Shabiha(theunofficialname Their 13-episodeserieson YouTube, Top Goon, usesfingerpuppetstodepictacomicallyinept detail asequenceofresistanceandoppression. a neededtransformation, ratherthanbeingstudiedasoneofmanydocumentsthattogether mances. The clocksarestopped. The imageofthemartyrisheldupasatalismanthateffects (1969:262). The ceaselessflowfrompasttopresentisarrestedintheserevolutionaryperfor of historyexplodeischaracteristictherevolutionaryclassesatmomenttheiraction” As Walter Benjaminremarked, “The awarenessthattheyareabouttomakethecontinuum the gatethroughwhichendlesslydeferredfreedomwillfinallyforceitswayintopresent. successful resolutionoftheconflictindefiancefactsonground;martyrbecomes through acacophonyoftragedy, someoftheseworksusethefiguremartyrtoimaginea

7. Masasit Mati’sworkshiftsabruptlybetweenironyandearnestness. Bycontrast, theorga- The fullpayofffortheconceitofapuppettyrantcomesinfinalepisodewhenpup- Perhaps thegroupthatismostunguardedlyoptimisticpuppettroupe, MasasitMati. The group’s name refers to the straw for drinking mate, a common drink in Syria. - 7

The Image of the Martyr 127 - Figure 9. Nomination of martyrsof for Nomination 9. Figure surrounding the and Damascus in freedom (2012). Rakin al-Din” countryside.“Free (Screen- collective. Days Freedom by Video Edward Ziter) by upload YouTube of shot -

The group repeated the action and similarly documented it for the May 2012 parliamen The group repeated the action and similarly Freedom Days action, “surprise election” In the lieu of the Party’s candidates. The group then posted them throughout Damascus. The two- throughout Damascus. The group then posted them lieu of the Party’s candidates. is a series of close-ups of “Surprise election of martyrs for freedom!” and-a-half-minute video by Lisa Gerrard’s soar accompanied in lobbies and on exterior walls, hands pasting the posters Figure 6, 7, & 8. Top Goon, Episode 13: “Last days in hell,” the final episode of season one. (Left) Bishou taunts the the taunts Bishou (Left) one. of season episode final the hell,” in days “Last 13: Episode Goon, Top 8. & 7, 6, Figure “I Bishou: tells puppeteer The martyrsof names the (Center) up singers. pop and mixes he which in speech a in audience Bishou’s join puppeteers other The (Right) finger. his from puppet the removes and you” of carryingdone am burden the courtesy of Ziter; Edward by upload YouTube of (Screenshot Mati. Masasit by Video sign. peace the making all puppeteer, Mati) Masasit ing track, “Now We Are Free” (2000). The video ends with a tracking shot from a car window The video ends with a tracking (2000). Are Free” We “Now ing track, Party posters pasted over official and walls, showing the oppositional posters on storefronts (FreedomDaysSyria 2011). (Freedom- this time extending the project to the villages surrounding Damascus tary election, listed the Each time an individual glued a poster to a wall a caption below DaysSyria 2012). it was the first for pointed action in 2012, It was a particularly “free.” neighborhood or village as ending the Baath Party’s monopoly over polit- election following a new constitution supposedly activists point to a logic of sov- In the face of the state’s claims of constitutional reform, ical life. consent. ereignty grounded in violence rather than for a mar Like the individual who renames a street “election of martyrs” in the those who participated tyr, by inscrib- liberated their streets and neighborhoods anding the names of the dead across state markers iconography. “dialectical constructs what Benjamin refers to as Such images are connected to Benjamin’s images.” because they understanding of revolutionary time, “what- substitute a dialectical relation between the in lieu of a temporal and con- “now” to the has-been” “It’s not tinuous relation between past and present. or that what is past casts its light on what is present, image what is present its light on what is past; rather, is that wherein what has been comes together in a flash “anni- Historical materialism has 1999:462). (Benjamin with the now to form a constellation” In substituting the (460). “actualization” substituting hilated within itself the idea of progress” in revealing the state as the entity monopolizing the face of the martyr for the party regular, takes on Freedom Days 1994:310), Weber legal power to exercise lethal force (to invoke Max While groups such as Local Coordination Committees the role of historian of the revolution. Freedom Days cracks open this of Syria create scrupulous timelines of violence (lccsyria.org), To dreams. narrative of resistance and oppression with images imbued with the prescience of with regard to that image, that the historian takes up, “It is at this moment return to Benjamin: (464). the task of dream interpretation” Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

128 Edward Ziter Naddara collective) Video by Abou Naddara. of the Abou (Courtesy flag waves as a band plays the national anthem. Figure 10. lence of theeveryday, thegroupunearthsimpulseto resistandimaginesafuturefreeofvio- lighting, recordingspontaneouseventsratherthanplanned-outscenarios. Fromthematerial the filmsof Vertov, thevideosof AbuDadarraareshotwithportablecamerasusingnatural Movie Camera, “a filmweholddear,” accordingtogroupmembers (AbouNaddara2012b). Like liberal Arab thought, thecollective’snamealsoevokesfilmbyDziga Vertov, Manwitha editions werepopularinEgyptacrossclasses. Inadditiontoevokinga19th-centuryhistoryof journal, alsoAbouNaddara, wasoutlawedforitsliberalandrevolutionarycontentbutsmuggled the pseudonymof19th-centuryEgyptianplaywrightandjournalist, Yacub Sanu. Sanu’s Della Ratta2011). The name, Abou Naddara(whichtranslatesas “the manwithglasses”), is “as atributeandcontributiontothestreetprotests,” accordingtoan AlJazeera.com article(in plation. The grouphaspostedashortvideoonits Vimeo channeleveryweeksinceMay2011 under siegebyitsowngovernment. The workisopen-ended, demandingcontinuedcontem- uses ironyanddarkhumortorevealaresidueofviolencelingeringintheeverydaySyria End ofBroadcastbythedocumentaryfilmcollective AbouNaddara. Thisremarkablegroup rupt regime. sound ofstatic, uncoupled fromthetelevisionimage, transformsintothedying gaspofacor tions havedecidedtohonorthe soulsofthemartyrsandalignthemselveswithpeople. The end ofthebroadcastdaybutone thatforeshadowstheendofregimenowstateinstitu - vision hasgonedark. Abou Naddaragroundstheirvideoinadoubleentendre. Itisliterallythe text endsthetelevisionswitches tostatic, andthesoundofstaticcontinuesevenafter thetele- and Television announcesageneralstrikeuntiltheregimefalls” (Abou Naddara2011c). As the the martyrs, andinsupportofthepeople’slegitimatedemands, theGeneralauthorityforRadio text scrollsacrossthescreen: “In theinterestofpublic good, forthehonorofsouls and whitephotographofUmmayadSquare, hometothe Syrian Television Building, as Arabic wind whileabrassbandplaystheSyriananthem. The televisionimageswitchestoanoldblack The televisionimageindicatesthatitistheendofbroadcast day;aSyrianflagflapsinthe 2011,21 October showsatelevisionscreenindarkinterior, tiltedslightlyfromthecamera. state institutionswouldriseupagainstthegovernment. The video, whichwaspostedon End ofBroadcastpositsthefantasticpossibilitythat, swayedbythesacrifices ofthe The fantastic, whichisaprominentfeatureof “surprise election,” dominatestheshortfilm — regardless ofhowremovedthatfuturemightfeelfromthecurrent situation. End of Broadcast (2011). The Syrian Naddara collective) Vimeo upload by Edward Ziter; of the Abou courtesy regime falls.” Video by Abou Naddara. (Screenshot of and Television announces a general strike until the legitimate demands, the General authority for Radio of the people’s and in support souls of the martyrs, interest of the public good, for the honor of the Figure 11. End of Broadcast (2011). “In the people, - The Image of the Martyr 129 - as Fairouz sings: — reveal much of the twin strat- reveal much —

some fashioned from scrap wood and cardboard — “life as it is” and “life caught unaware” “life caught and “life as it is” —

The footage in both films feels accidental and surreptitious. The distance between the cam- and surreptitious. The footage in both films feels accidental , a common Arabic female name Arabic a common , Abou Naddara posted a film titled Rima August 2011 On 5 posted 10 months later on 22 June 2012 is relentless in its asser , Playing They’re By contrast, tion that state violence is crippling a generation (Abou Naddara 2012c). The film, which is less The film, (Abou Naddara 2012c). tion that state violence is crippling a generation which are accompa- depicts childhood trauma and death in five still images, than a minute long, The first image Are Playing.” “The Children song, nied by the opening lines from the Fairouz shows boys with toy guns a smil- The second image shows sky they play.” “The children are playing / under the blue holding a his right arm amputated at the shoulder and his left hand ing child in a hospital bed, run without “They’re lost in their beautiful games / they store-bought toy gun as Fairouz sings: images of bombed the viewer sees two are playing,” “They As Fairouz repeats the line, tiring.” and a single microscope in the other are the only maps of the world in one Torn out interiors. The film ends with an image of simple wooden indications of place (a school? a university?). The film not only planted in recently turned earth. visible on one, “474” the number markers, among the hundreds of dead suggested by mourns the death of children (who are presumably of violence on all the children who play commando the number 474) but the effects of a year that video asserts, the It is a marker of our poverty, with homemade guns in bombed out streets. a piece of scrap wood will mark his grave. a toy gun consoles a disfigured child and era and figure in Rima and the framing of shots that keep her partially obscured would all seem Only the close-up of the hand tending the to suggest that the subject has been caught unaware. The kite in the gravesite suggests some communication between subject and camera operator. Whether or not the woman was background is the accidental event that gives the film its logic. The photographs of the a film about untimely death. the kite necessitated mourning a child, can imagine the photographer One feel equally candid and accidental. Playing boys in They’re The photograph of the smiling happening upon children playing and snatching the first image. As such toy. boy in the hospital bed looks like a family snapshot of a child beaming over a new Based on the massively expanded Syrian of the time. Abou Naddara project is emblematic the the country is busily filming and photographing the one could conclude that half mediascape, though that is not quite in Syria, “life unaware” The web is full of footage capturing other half. accurate since most of this footage focuses on death. credos Vertov’s Dziga often events, of unplanned and unstructured They employ footage Abou Naddara. egies of Naddara Abou The life. to reveal daily manipulate and combine which they then found footage, on the effects of violence exclusively on but now focuses before the uprising, collective formed a spokesperson for the group don’t film the revolution but its countershot” “we everyday life; while avoiding simplistic polem- The work is deeply political 2011). explained (in Della Ratta urgency as the violence has esca- their videos have displayed a growing Having said that, ics. both of which implicitly address in the comparison of two related videos, This is evident lated. songs by Fairouz that sentimen- juxtaposing recent footage with beloved the death of children, talize childhood. in a headscarf and long coat walks in a woman In the 90-second film, (Abou Naddara 2011b). (which she made “Rima” lullaby soundtrack features Fairouz singing the a cemetery while the In most of the shots ]). Daughter [Bint al haras Lebanese film The Guard’s popular in the 1968 The closing shot focuses on stones. obscured by the memorial a distance, the woman appears at from its subject The camera’s large depth of field and distance a kite flying over the cemetery. emotional state or purpose in the cemetery until we keep the viewer ignorant of the woman’s Only the soundtrack and the image of the kite see her hand tending plants by a grave marker. child martyrs and only one’s memory of online memorials to evoke the idea of untimely death, allows one to read the film as oppositional. Death Live Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

130 Edward Ziter of correctionontopartyhistory. towards amorepragmaticforeignpolicy. However, Abou Naddaralayersaverydifferentform tinued commitmenttosocialismandanti-colonialismamidstaneededredirectionoftheparty civil holidayinSyria. Innamingthecoupa “correction,” the Assad regimeannouncedacon- quent partypurgeofJadidloyalists. As notedabove, CorrectiveMovementDayisanimportant Secretary, GeneralSalahJadid. Corrective Movement referstothisimprisonmentandthesubse- that broughtHafezal-Assadtopowerandenabledhimimprisonhisleftistrival, BaathParty on 18November2011(AbouNaddara2011a). The titleistakenfromthe1970intrapartycoup sky or road. diers, ashotorexplosionisheard, andthecameraswingsabout, finallyrestingwithashotof

eographers atthemomentoftheirowndeaths. of lovedones. Perhapsmostdisturbingly, thereareseveralinstancesoffootageascribedtovid- ians fallingtosnipers, armyofficersbeatingcivilians, andrelativesfirstencounteringthebodies army ofvideographerscapturingtragedyasitunfolds. These videographershavetapedcivil- and martyr ismomentarilyrendered invisiblesothattheviewercanbetterseecontext. InRima lation, pullingtheviewer’s attentionfromthefiguretoground;inmostoftheir works the refused tolookorhadbecome inured. Bycontrast, the Abou Naddaravideos arrestsuchcircu- tyr electionpostersofFreedomDaysrecirculatethismartryology, accostingthosewhohad names anddatesbutlikenessesfrombeforeafterdeath recordsofmourning. The mar the skinbutmomentwhenanameisaddedtorollof martyrs. The filmmetaphoricallycapturesthemomentofdeath, notthemomentwhenabulletpierces a whole. In1970 “correction” meantimprisonment, torture, andmurder the samething:eliminationofrivals, whethertherival isSalahJadidortheSyrianpeopleas repositioning buttextualediting. The detainedis nowamartyr. Inacertainsenseitamountsto under torture.” Onlynowdoestheviewergetjoke; “correction” doesnotmeanideological two thirdsthroughthedocument;heerases “detained” inoneoftherowsandtypes “martyred of asingleshotthescreenasmanscrollsthroughpagesandnames. Hestops list name, age, city, zone, date, andthenterminatewith “detained.” Mostofthefilmconsists the computerscreenhesees:columnsrunningacrossassignanumber, Naddara collective) “detained” and replacing it with “martyred under torture.” Video by Abou Naddara. of the Abou (Courtesy Figures 12 & 13. 8. Abou NaddaraoffersacountershottosuchfootagewiththefilmCorrective Movement , posted Abou Naddara’ssteadfastfocusontherevolution’s “countershot” differsfromthatofthe See text by the performance Rabih Mroué, Activists haveusedtheinternettoproduceamassivemartyrology, onethatnotonlyincludes Corrective Movement startswithaclose-upofyoungman’seyes. The reverseshotshows They’re Playing theviewerneverlearnsnames norseesthefacesofthoseinterred. In Corrective Movement (2011). A young man makes corrections to lists of names: deleting The Pixelated Revolution 8 The camerafocusesondistantplumesorsol- (2012) —Ed. — just asitdoestoday. - The Image of the Martyr 131 life is freedom’s ransom just as the title asserts not victory, merely hope. That might seem like scant reward for such a huge merely hope. not victory, — conscious only of the correction from “detained” to “martyred.” However, with the However, “martyred.” to “detained” from only of the correction conscious —

scape. Al Jazeera ran multiple pieces on the filmmaker, focusing on his work in Homs, on his work in Homs, focusing Al Jazeera ran multiple pieces on the filmmaker, scape.

will cross tomorrow. This identification between viewer and martyr is reinforced when This identification I will cross tomorrow. Within weeks of his death, Shehadeh’s sacrifice had been widely circulated in the Arab Arab Shehadeh’s sacrifice had been widely circulated in the weeks of his death, Within is possibly Abou Naddara’s most poignant video and by far its most poignant video Abou Naddara’s most tomorrow is possibly I will cross sing to me song, sing me a love Oh mother, than live under the rule of rascals Better to be stabbed by daggers and swords thirst I walked in winter and winter quenched my it caught fire But when summer came, freedom’s ransom My life is the sacrifice, sing to me song, sing me a love Oh mother, than live under the rule of rascals Better to be stabbed by daggers and swords dear than the most high more Our courageous martyr, hope in man Key to the passage to hope, my eyes to protect you I would give oh hero, Oh my people, sing to me song, sing me a love Oh mother, than live under the rule of rascals. Better to be stabbed by daggers and swords However crossing into the world of martyrs. The simple act of crossing a street can mean the sole credit lists Shehadeh as the camera operator. The camera makes us present in his fran- the sole credit lists Shehadeh as the camera operator. and we we hear the explosion that presumably killed Shehadeh, tic sprint across a roadway, The funeral scene that follows was taken from a video share his dying vision of a cloudless sky. one of whom is listed May 2012 labeled as the funeral of four martyrs, on 28 YouTube posted to as Shehadeh (MsSamer010 2012). media and broadcasting an interview with Shehadeh’s describing the response of people in Damascus, broadcast a segment TV Orient Ahmad Malas (who is currently in exile in Egypt). actor friend, that - can’t possibly reg quickly that the viewer on the screen pass so the names Movement Corrective ister them death of the filmmaker Basel Shehadeh, the group departed from this strategy and brought the strategy and brought departed from this the group Shehadeh, filmmaker Basel death of the until withheld his name They his face. without ever showing center of the piece victim to the the final credits. video is composed of three shots, The three-and-a-half-minute 2012a). viewed (Abou Naddara protected by the scene in which a man, The first is a night camera. each filmed with a handheld The out. A shot rings Assad.” angering you “Freedom forever, taunts a sniper: wall of a building, “If I was concluding: of freedom, hostility of snipers towards the idea man muses on the strange The man ‘Peaceful’ he shoots.” But if I shout he wouldn’t shoot back. armed and shot at him, promised gunshot and the Assad,” angering you, “Peaceful forever, chants by way of example, man’s voice explains that you just have to A scene shows an empty roadway. The next echoes. The camera tilts about as the happen. nothing will God willing, set off and, say your prayers and the horizon, of his curly hair, and we see glimpses run across the street, cameraman begins to Throughout side of the roadway. lines indicating proximity to the other and telephone the road, sounds loudly and the camera tilts A final explosion distant explosions. we hear his panting and a shrouded body The third and final camera shot shows a crowd of people carrying to the sky. the only light. Flashlights pointed at the body and the occasional camera flash provides at night. a man sings without accompaniment: The sound in this scene is entirely extra-diegetic; “Camera / Bassel [sic] Shehadeh / the screen fades and lines of text appear: As the song ends, May 28th 2012.” Assassinated in Homs, for our “key” hope for the future; the martyr is the this crossing is also the act that secures our passage to hope himself into The singer projects “under the rule of rascals.” but better death than life sacrifice, The song asserts that my Basel Shehadeh’s place. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

132 Edward Ziter the Sunnis Sunnis Killedby Assad 5-29-12” (Souria2011archives 2012). The eponymoustitlepresents vided thetitle(inEnglish) “Funeral forBasselShahade [sic]andComrades rebellion isnotsectarian. When Souria2011reposted footageofhisfuneralto YouTube, itpro- revolutionary profile” (McDonnell, Sandels, andMarrouch2012). teur videographers(Schwirtz2012). As theLosAngeles Times noted, “Shahade [sic]didn’tfitthe when hetookaleaveofabsencetoreturnSyriadocument therevolutionandtrainama- the Collegeof Visual andPerforming Arts atSyracuseUniversityonaFulbrightscholarship According totheNewYork Times, the28-year-old Shehadehwaspursuingan MFA infilmat ports theregime(assuggestedinstate’scoverageof2012 Martyrs’Daycelebrations). Damascus widely. However, unlikemostofthevictimsBaathviolence, ShehadehwasaChristianfrom YouTube videoofhisfuneral(MsSamer0102012) videographers werekilledwithhim the rebellion’smediascape. limited numberofphotographsShehadehonlinecombinedwithotherimagesculledfrom channel whdasyria. Inaddition, therehavebeendozensofonlinememorialscreatedfromthe Vimeo channel. Inthissametimespan, thefilmreceivedanother 5,666viewsonthe YouTube most viewedfilm. Between1Juneand192012, itreceived5,797playson AbouNaddara’s These filmsarenowreceivingthousandsofviews. Iwillcrosstomorrowisbyfar Abou Naddara’s focused onthefilmsShehadehhadpostedhis YouTube channelbeforetherebellionbegan. Video by Abou Naddara. of the Abou (Courtesy Naddara collective) shows an empty roadway: the simple act of crossing a street can mean crossing into the world of martyrs. Figure 14. usage, butitishardlyecumenical. Subsequentoppositionuploadshavefollowed theleadof The substitutionof “wedding” for “funeral” whendiscussingthe deathofmartyrsisacommon ding” inthetitleisareference totheHadithpromisingmartyrs72virginwivesin afterlife. title waswrittenin Arabic: “Wedding ofanewconstellationHomsmartyrs.” The word “wed- dom. Bycontrast, whenthevideowasfirstpostedonchannelRohal-thawra al-suria, the Numerous outletssupportingtheresistancehaveheldupShehadeh asevidencethatthe Basel Shehadehwasnotthefirstvideographerkilledinuprising. Infact, threeother I will cross tomorrow (2012). — — the demographicthatreportedlyhasstayedonsidelinesor activelysup- Basel’s comrades — as thesupportingcastindrama ofresistanceandmartyr — The second of three scenes in Abou Naddara’s most viewed video presumably thethreeothercorpsesvisiblein — though theirnameshavenot — Christian And circulated - The Image of the Martyr 133 - - videos plume of smoke with a cam- video, 1:48, posted by “Abou Naddara,” 21 October. 21 October. Naddara,” “Abou posted by 1:48, video,

18 November. www.vimeo.com/32304908 (11 July 2012). (11 July 2012). www.vimeo.com/32304908 18 November. (11 July 2012). www.vimeo.com/30889523 .com/27325040 (11 July 2012). The Syrian authorities are clearly aware of the performative power of funerals: this is the power of funerals: aware of the performative authorities are clearly The Syrian Ahmed Hamada, Ibrahim al-Khasm, Mohannad Najjar, Azmi Ali al-Farra, Basel Shehadeh, useful phrase to use Richard Schechner’s “twice behaved behavior,” These instances of References Naddara,” “Abou posted by 1:24, video, Vimeo 2011. “Corrective Movement.” 2011a. Abou Naddara. Vimeo “End of Broadcast.” 2011b. Abou Naddara. www.vimeo August. 5 Naddara,” “Abou posted by 1:30, video, Vimeo “Rima.” 2011c. Abou Naddara. ticipation of “all sects and regions of Syria” in the uprising (nabdsyria 2012). uprising (nabdsyria in the of Syria” “all sects and regions ticipation of The act of praying is not sim- a full year of mourning for Basel al-Assad. regime that instituted There is no among the mourners. but an assertion of a shared objective ply a petition for a soul funeral in Damascus would undermine A Christian could lead. telling where such performatives jihadists outside the capital. the opposition is actually a group of foreign the official claim that The funeral in Homs for Shehadeh. that the state forbade any services then, It is not surprising, of Shehadeh gathered in Damascus When friends only by flashlights. took place at night lit they found the church locked. for a planned memorial prayer service, Cyril’s Church at St. activists reported others away, some mourners off to jail and chased Government thugs hauled mourners priest (with Italian citizenship) invited In response a Jesuit . Times to the New York Musa about 50 miles north service at a desert monastery in Deir Mar to an interfaith prayer priest on 16 June (MacFarquhar government responded by expelling the The of Damascus. protects minority sects from a Muslim blood bath A regime that asserts that it alone 2012b). Muslims together mourning a victim of state violence. cannot tolerate images of Christians and making are a few of the individuals who were shot and killed while and Osama al-Jalam, a violent Such footage is dramatic but not because it presents of demonstrations or shellings. the Rather, “videographer drops her camera.” image; these videos could be accurately titled The forced into the subject position of the martyr. power of the footage is that the viewer is would One would think the videos rings out. drops the camera immediately after a shot viewer it appears as but based on the escalating increase in oppositional videos serve as cautionary tales, they train their and when with cameras in hand, though more people are heading to the streets No reliving an experience first encountered online. camera on a plume of smoke they may be but they frame this doubt they have seen a plume of smoke before, by the martyr Basel Shehadeh. era knowing they enact a ritual earlier performed but also to generate demonstrate the power of performance to inspire and inflame, (1985), of Hama Ibrahim Qashoush meet face-to-face. a sense of community with actors who never through- which has spread Leave Bashar” “Come On, is credited with authoring the song York, New videos feature crowds singing it in Chicago, YouTube out the country and beyond. reportedly sang Tunis Crowds in and elsewhere. Yaffa, Tripoli, London, Toronto, Washington, its copy an instance of the original imitating it on the anniversary of their own revolution, his throat cut and his vocal cords Qashoush was found dead on 4 July 2011, (Al-Zubaidi 2012). the regime coopted When that act failed to stem the song’s spread, ripped out (Shadid 2011a). appar Bashar” Are your People, “We However, lyrics. teaching it to schoolchildren with new it, The intervention came too late as countless people ently never caught on (Al-Zubaidi 2012). cementing commitment with gesture. had already enacted their demand for freedom, Souria2011, avoiding language that depicts martyrdom in a Muslim context. A YouTube post of post of YouTube A in a Muslim context. that depicts martyrdom avoiding language Souria2011, described the the outskirts of Damascus) Sousa (a village on in Kafar a 14 June demonstration - bringing down the dicta the Syrian people in “unity of for the the footage as calling crowds in the par and noting of Syria” and all the martyrs martyr Basel Shehadeh “the saluting torship,” Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00238 by guest on 01October 2021

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