Fragile peace in Syria’s Set Zaynab as sectarian challenges persist

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkSyrian women walk past a wall with Arabic words that read, 'Syria is a nation for all', outside the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, the granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad, as Shia worshippers attend the Ashura ritual, south of Damascus, Syria, July 3, 2025 [Omar Sanadiki/AP]By Justin SalhaniPublished On 29 Jul 202629 Jul 2026Damascus, Syria – Mohammad Sallouta sat outside his printing shop in Set Zaynab, in southern Damascus, where he has worked for the last two decades.“[Security-wise] the area is 90 percent very good,” the 47-year-old said. “But people are still afraid. Security is not 100 percent, so we are still waiting.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How Israel uses settler-soldier terror to colonise the West Banklist 2 of 3Guterres tours Syria’s notorious ‘Assad Prison’ in Sednayalist 3 of 3Al-Sharaa outlines Syria’s approach to security with Israel and Lebanonend of listThe area, famous for the shrine to Sayyida Zaynab, Prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter and the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Muslim caliph, was bustling with tourists during Bashar al-Assad’s rule. Shia religious pilgrims, mostly from Iraq, came in large numbers to visit the shrine, which they particularly revere. They would stay in hotels, visit the local cafes, and shop.But since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the tourism industry has largely dried up. Locals said some visitors, mostly from Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, still pass through the area, but typically in small groups. Few Iraqis visit now, unless they are married to Syrians.And there are questions over the stability and security of areas outside of the centre of the capital, Damascus, such as Set Zaynab.The new government in Syria has thwarted attempts by ISIL (ISIS) to attack Set Zaynab and recently arrested a cell in the area accused of planting bombs that exploded during French President Emmanuel Macron’s July visit to Damascus.In May, Shia cleric Farhan Hassan al-Mansour was assassinated by a bomb planted in his vehicle. ISIL took credit for the attack. Locals under stressWhen the Assad regime’s five-decade dynastic rule finally ended in December 2024 after more than a decade of war, much of Syria was left in ruins. A 2011 uprising had been brutally put down by military forces, and the state’s infrastructure and governance slowly eroded over the following years, until a rebel operation forced al-Assad and his family into Russian exile.While millions of Syrians greeted the regime’s end with outpourings of joy, some areas like Set Zaynab have struggled since. Under al-Assad, Set Zaynab was protected by Iranian forces and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, as well as other Iranian-backed Shia groups. When the Assad regime fell, there were fears in some sectors that the site might come under attack after a war that increasingly took on a sectarian element as it progressed, with opposition groups – some of whom now make up the government – largely coming from Syria’s Sunni majority.When Al Jazeera visited the shrine to Sayyida Zaynab, Syrian security forces were present but not overbearing at the entrance, and a handful of worshippers made their way there to pray.Locals said the area was relatively safe, but they would hesitate to encourage foreigners to visit at the moment, though they expected the security situation to continue improving.The locals also felt comfortable talking about their religious identity, and spoke about an easy harmony between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Fear for a war-affected generationOne Shia Muslim shopkeeper spoke openly about his struggles since the fall of al-Assad.A few customers filtered in and out of his shop and bought products, but he said business had largely dried up. As a religious minority, he painted a complex picture of life under Syria’s new government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa.The man said that his brother worked in the security forces and was treated well, regardless of his religious identity. Yet, while his brother’s experience was largely positive, the shop owner had certain personal concerns. He said he had at times faced questions about where he was from in Syria by people he did not know, which he believed was their attempt to ascertain his religious sect.A former military man himself, the shop owner said his main fear was the impact of a decade of brutal war on society.He listed several names of former military colleagues with typically Sunni names. “I’m not afraid of them,” he said, adding that he regularly meets or gathers with them socially. “I’m afraid of their sons, who left [to fight or to exile] at 14 and came back at 24, the sons of my friends who hate Alawites or Shia.” Set Zaynab and other areas of the country home to religious minorities have been subject to security agency sweeps in recent months, with security forces claiming they found armed cells operating in some of them.The government has had to deal with groups associated with the former regime, which are attempting to undermine the new authorities.Back at Sallouta’s shop, the business owner noted some improvements in the area, despite the high energy costs and sputtering local economy.It is much quicker to travel by road from central Damascus, where he lives, to Set Zaynab than it was under al-Assad, as the various Syrian and foreign security checkpoints are now gone. Still, without the tourists, work has been slow. And for tourists to return, Sallouta said, they needed to feel safe.“The most important thing is security,” he said. “If that’s fixed, then the rest will return.”