Dimasheq
The Damascus Foundation for Culture, Thought, Arts and Development has announced its solidarity with Iraqi poets Dr. Waleed Al-Sarraff and Mr. Khaled Al-Hassan, amid a campaign of criticism and threats targeting them following their participation in the first Damascus International Festival of Arabic Poetry, organized by the Syrian Ministry of Culture earlier this August.
In a statement issued in Damascus on Friday, August 14, the foundation said that the two poets were facing a “sectarian campaign” because of their participation in the festival. It described accepting the invitation to read poetry in Damascus as “an honorable act for anyone who visits it,” stressing that the Syrian capital “was and will remain the capital of the Arabs and the home of Arab culture as a whole.”
The statement noted that similar campaigns had targeted Yemeni poets who participated in the festival’s events in recent days, considering these campaigns part of broader efforts targeting Syria, its experience and its culture.
The Damascus Foundation held the Iraqi government, as well as official and civil institutions in Iraq, responsible for the security and safety of Al-Sarraff and Al-Hassan. It called for “curbing anyone who attacks them or directs threats against them” and respecting their right to express their personal views and positions.
The two poets had been subjected to a widespread social media campaign following their participation in poetry evenings held as part of the Damascus International Festival of Arabic Poetry.
The campaign intensified particularly against Khaled Al-Hassan, head of the Poetry Club at the Iraqi Union of Writers, after he recited a poem during the festival containing critical references that were understood as opposition to Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs. This triggered angry reactions from accounts and figures supportive of Iranian influence in Iraq, before the campaign expanded to include Dr. Waleed Al-Sarraff.
Some critics also circulated excerpts from the poem and gave them political and ideological interpretations, attempting to link the poets’ cultural participation in Damascus to political positions and turn the festival into a subject of controversy and incitement.
Al-Hassan and Al-Sarraff are considered prominent figures in the Iraqi and Arab poetry scene. They have previously participated in a number of cultural festivals and forums in Iraq and abroad, including the Mosul International Forum for Arabic Poetry. They also participated in the 19th edition of the Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Cultural Foundation’s events.
The campaign against the two poets following their participation in a cultural festival in Damascus has once again brought to the forefront the debate over the boundaries between literary expression and political positions, particularly when poetry contains critical views on controversial issues.
The Damascus Foundation considers targeting the two poets because of their participation in a cultural event, or because of the views and opinions expressed in a poem, to constitute a restriction on freedom of expression and cultural activity. It reaffirmed its solidarity with them and called for ensuring their safety and ending the threats directed against them.
