Enab Baladi – Hassan Ibrahim
The case of the young Syrian woman Mira Jalal Thabat has sparked controversy and division in Syrian society, following reports of her falling victim to “kidnapping, enslavement, and forced marriage,” before she and her husband Ahmad denied these claims in the city of Homs, central Syria.
Social media was abuzz with a wave of “hasty solidarity,” driven by concern, fear, and a quest for the truth, while other posts fostered a climate of “mobilization,” reinforcing the narrative of “the enslavement of women” in Syria.
Mira and Ahmad appeared during a live broadcast conducted by journalist and researcher Omar Munib Edlbi on his Facebook page on May 9, confirming that a love story brought them together before the fall of the former regime. They decided to marry and brought their families into the “reality” after both families rejected their union multiple times due to sectarian differences, denying all claims of kidnapping and forced marriage.
Mira and Ahmad’s case is reminiscent of dozens of similar incidents that have engaged Syrians, inspiring solidarity towards narratives that were sometimes far from the truth, creating societal division exacerbated by the delayed verification of information, and the presence of a fertile environment where accusations based on religious and sectarian grounds multiply.
“Political polarization”
Some individuals behind the posts, including journalists, media personnel, influencers, and artists, analyzed body language, suggesting that Mira appeared “forced and frightened” based on her pictures. Some argued that the outfit the young woman wore evoked associations with the attire linked to the Islamic State group and other extremist jihadist groups, while others pointed out bruises or signs of beating on the young woman’s face.
Ahmad Primo, director of the Verify-sy platform, told Enab Baladi that Mira’s case is one of the prominent examples of how legitimate issues are politicized and used for political polarization in Syria by those opposing the current authority, involving several parties whose connections to the ousted regime cannot be denied, while others oppose this authority for ideological or religious reasons.
He noted that many parties may have sympathized with Mira due to the awareness or acknowledgment that violations occur in Syria, where harassment has extended beyond public life to the levels of kidnapping and murder.
Primo believes that what happened with Mira has negative repercussions, as there are fears that this case could be used to question or deny any future kidnapping incidents occurring in Syria or even those that occurred previously. He added that the case of Mira cannot be taken as a benchmark regarding all crimes of kidnapping occurring in Syria, especially against women.
He pointed out that kidnapping crimes have been prevalent for years, either due to parents refusing to marry their daughters to young men from different religions or sects, or due to economic reasons related to extorting individuals from the parents of young women for monetary gains.
Primo considered that showing sympathy for such incidents is very natural, especially for advocates of women’s rights, and a wide segment of Syrians acknowledges that Syrian society suffers from numerous issues, including the oppression of women and failure to grant them their full rights.
I hope that the advocacy and defense of women’s issues in Syria will continue and that Mira’s case will not affect this trajectory, which has begun to grow noticeably. It should be noted that Mira’s case is one of the issues politically exploited to tarnish or polish the image of one political party at the expense of another.
Ahmad Primo, Director of the Verify-sy platform
Two narratives… A fragile society
Mira and Ahmad’s case was accompanied by a wave of skepticism, accusations, anger, and fear, reflecting a fragile societal environment. This followed armed confrontations at the end of April in the city of Jaramana, near Damascus, triggered by the spread of an audio recording on social media that included an insult to the Prophet Muhammad, attributed to a Druze religious leader, a claim that the sheikh later denied.
Researcher Hala Hajj Ali from the Omran Center for Strategic Studies considered Mira’s incident a living example of how contradictory narratives are formed in Syria, as Syrians were divided over the story into two opposing narratives: the first views it as a case of kidnapping and forced marriage, while the second considers it a love story that broke through sectarian divides. Between these two interpretations, the truth got lost, and social media turned into an “alternative court” ruled by emotions and ideological entrenchment rather than professional or ethical standards.
Hajj Ali stated in her conversation with Enab Baladi that those who believed the kidnapping narrative were not necessarily biased or seeking to tarnish the reputation of security entities but were driven by a genuine fear of the recurrence of violations and the return of repressive practices with a new facade. She noted that empathy, though a noble human value, loses its rationale when formed in a society burdened by a collective memory saturated with violence and intimidation.
On the other hand, those who denied the kidnapping narrative were often motivated by a fear of acknowledging that their affiliated group might be responsible for a similar violation, which threatens their self-image and trust in their community, weakening their ability for critical thinking and objective evaluation, according to the researcher.
Hajj Ali added that what complicates the scene further is the different parties’ attempts to interpret the story in a manner that serves their political interests and narratives, disregarding the sensitivity of the truth or the community’s need for a unified narrative that contributes to calming tensions.
She emphasized that the speed of division and mutual accusations among different groups indicates the fragility of the social contract and the absence of mutual trust that would allow for rational discussion based on facts rather than personal opinions and affiliations.
In a country that lacks a unifying national narrative, every marginal event is susceptible to transforming into a major narrative battle. Instead of examining the data, we select what reinforces our preconceived notions; we do not view events with an open mind but impose our fears and conflicting identities upon them.
Hala Hajj Ali, Researcher at the Omran Center for Strategic Studies
Steps to build trust
After the fall of the previous regime, Syria became a fertile ground for the spread of rumors, and false news has flooded social media, alongside an increase in posts that carry hate speech amid difficulties in obtaining and verifying information, compounded by the absence and delay of an official government stance.
Researcher Hala Hajj Ali stated that the Syrian scene is darkening in the absence of means to produce the truth. Independent media is either absent or marginalized, official institutions are lax, and impartial investigations are nearly nonexistent, leaving a vacuum filled by social media, which has turned into a public court dominated by emotions, with fear as its unforgiving judge.
Hajj Ali believes that there is an urgent need today to advance toward a fair judiciary, expedite the steps of transitional justice, and hold accountable those who have committed violations from all sides, whether under the previous regime or the current security and civil forces, while also emphasizing the need to promote a culture of dialogue between regions and encouraging the media to adopt an independent discourse based on transparency and human rights.
Simultaneously, it is essential to establish trust between the state and society by announcing the results of the fact-finding committee in the coast region, clarifying the role of the civil peace committee, and engaging civil society and local communities in formulating and implementing their plans. All of this would help rebuild bridges of trust and steer towards social justice, restoring what has been fragmented in the national fabric, according to the researcher.
Distorted narratives create division among Syrians Enab Baladi.
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