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The Creation of Fear Through Censorship: Repression of Artistic Freedom in the Music of the Syrian Revolution

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The Creation of Fear Through Censorship: Repression of Artistic Freedom in the Music of the Syrian Revolution Butler University Digital Commons @ Butler University Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection Undergraduate Scholarship 4-28-2015 The Creation of Fear through Censorship: Repression of Artistic Freedom in the Music of the Syrian Revolution Rebecca Aliah Ajamoughli Butler University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses Part of the Ethnomusicology Commons, and the Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons Recommended Citation Ajamoughli, Rebecca Aliah, "The Creation of Fear through Censorship: Repression of Artistic Freedom in the Music of the Syrian Revolution" (2015). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 290. https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/290 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Scholarship at Digital Commons @ Butler University. 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DO NOT ADD MY WORK: Signature Date Printed Name BUTLER UNIVERSITY HONORS PHOGRAM Honors Thesis Certification Please type all information in this section: Applicant Rebecca Ali()h Aj()IDOU (Name as it is to appear on diploma) Thesis title The Creation of Fear throngh Censorship' Repression of Artistic Freedom in the MIIsic of the Syrian RevolIltion Intended date of commencement May 9 2015 Read, approved, and signed by: Reader(s) Certified by Director, Honors Program Date For Honors Program lise: Level of Honors conferred: University ~1lC')t)a_,_ CV~ L(AIi J <2..._ Departmental .--Llu5:<. 7~ch'.'V\p.-I)U '-'V ·.\--L /--1~c)'" e s\ \~o/1 cd' c; The Creation of Fear through Censorship: Repression of Artistic Freedom in the Music of the Syrian Revolution A Thesis Presented to the Department of 1\1usic ] ordan College of the Arts and The Honors Program of Butler University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation Honors Rebecca Aliah Ajamoughli 2H April 2015 Table of Contents Acknowledgements Abstract 11 Introduction Chapter 1: Modern Syrian History 6 Chapter 2: The Revolution 25 Afterward 67 Selected Bibliography 71 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my thesis advisors Dr. Sally Childs-Helton and Dr. Rusty Jones for helping me ever step of the way with this project and my mother for reading the countless number of initial drafts. Moreover, I would like to thank all the brave Syrian musicians who allowed me to collect and share their stories. Without them, this project would have not been possible. Abstract ii ~_9 ,~y.. ,~.JY-" ,.;.\JI "God, Syria, freedom, and that is all." These four words embody the goals of the Syrian Revolution. Yet, there is one key element of this chant that raises questions surrounding its meaning: freedom. For decades, the people of Syria have been subjected to restricted freedom by the Assad regime-especialIy musicalIy. The regime has artfulIy used music to legitimize its claim to the country. This utilization varies from early-learned pro-Baath chants to the monitoring of all performances held in the country. As Lisa Wedeen says in her work Ambiguities of Domination, "[this control of culture] isolates Syrians from one another, and it clutters public space with monotonous slogans and empty gestures." The elusive cultural definition of freedom is a key aspect of the revolution. Tracing the experienced censorship since Assad's rise along with including early stories of revolutionary artists punished for their oppositional music, I analyze how fear of overstepping the boundaries drawn by the regime taints artists' views of freedom. I conclude that this fear inflicted on the people for decades has repressed artistic expression in revolutionary music. Hints of fear are found either in the music itself or the comments spoken by musicians with double meanings. There is currently limited literature on this topic; therefore, I evidence this claim through direct conversations in interviews with musicians. Fear is a defining aspect of Syrian culture. Thus, it is important that the scholarly and ultimately global community recognizes this fear and its impact on the music. i/ Introduction 1 In the early 1970s when Hafez aI-Assad seized control of the Syrian government through a military coup, fear became a defining feature of the culture. Assad's leadership tactics were borrowed from the French as he dictated a harsh censorship of all vocal, written, or artistic expressions.' To enforce this mass censorship, Assad created a secret police, termed by natives as shabbiha or "government thugs." As a result of his harsh leadership, friends became suspicious of one another and relatives avoided speaking iII thoughts of the government in private settings. As one musician stated to me in an interview, "1 remember people joking about fathers disowning their children because they happened to say something negative about the government or president at the time.t" Due to the mass censorship utilized by Hafez aI-Assad and later his son Bashar, the people of Syria live in fear of articulating anything outside the lines drawn by the regime. The repercussions for vocalizing critical views of the leadership were brutal and often employed fatal methods oftorturc.' The commonality of persecutions for speech is best described in a photograph that I was shown as a child by a relative. The picture was an old, sepia toned image of a group of young boy scouts sitting on the steps of the relative's childhood home. As the relative pointed to each character in the image, the phrases "he disappeared in ... " or "he fled Syria in ... " accompanied each description." While my relative openly described the brutality of the regime, very few articulated such discontent. The fear of the people created a secretive society in which few were brave enough to speak of their opinions to trusted sources. When I began 1 Miriam Cooke, Dissident Syria: Making Oppositional Arts Official (London: Duke University Press, 2007),8. ~ Unidentified informant, interview with author, summer 2013. :3 "Syria: Visit Reveals Torture Chambers," Human Rights Walch, last modified May 17,2013, http://www.hrw.org/news/20 13/05/ 16/syria-visit-revca!s-torture-chambers. 4 Unidentified informant, conversation with author. I Introduction 2 interviewing revolutionary musicians in the summer of 2012, I preceded with caution, knowing of the secrecy of the people. Having a father who was a native of Syria, I had somewhat of an advantage when attempting to get an uncensored opinion of Syria. At the same time, my Syrian heritage also proved to be a disadvantage when interviewing revolutionary musicians as they articulated a fear that I was associated with the regime. One participant stated, "The thought has crossed my mind that the regime is out there trying to solicit [information about me]" while others flatly refused to speak of the govemment.' It was clear by these statements and reactions that fear still defines the average Syrian's disposition to discuss such topics, even in Western countries.
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