A Damascus Suburb Local Council’s Regulations Against Blasphemy

Attempts in Syria to Enforce Islamist Norms and Regulations Are Primarily Occurring at the Local Rather than National Level

The latest example of these decisions to enforce Islamist norms comes from the Damascus suburb of Ain Tarma, where the ‘notables council’—in cooperation with the municipal office—has recently issued a statement declaring a prohibition on blasphemy.

As noted previously, attempts in Syria to enforce Islamist norms and regulations are primarily occurring at the local rather than national level, whereby a local council or a provincial administration issues a decision or set of decisions. These decisions are either framed as enforcement of an existing law or justified in the name of the public interest and Islamic law.

The latest example of these decisions comes from the Damascus suburb of Ain Tarma, where the ‘notables council’- in cooperation with the municipal office- has recently issued a statement declaring a prohibition on blasphemy. It is translated below.

Syrian Arab Republic
Damascus Countryside Governorate
Ain Tarma Municipality

Published on Monday 25 May 2026 corresponding to 8 Dhu al-Hijja 1447 AH

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Statement issued by the notables of the people of the municipality of Ain Tarma

The Almighty has said: ‘Whoso does good that equals the weight of a speck, he will see it. And whoso does evil that equals the weight of a speck, he will see it.’

And per the law of the Syrian Arab Republic, whereby Syrian law punishes the crime of blasphemy against the divine essence with imprisonment from two months to a year, with the punishment being directly based on the stipulations of clause 462 within article 208 of the Syrian penal code, coming under the section on crimes that infringe upon religious rituals and beliefs and require public trial. The details of the punishment are as follows: Imprisonment ranging between two months and two years.

- Classification: this crime is legally classified as being a ‘misdemeanour’ and examined by the courts of first instance.

- Scope: all who dare, by any of the public means, to disparage religious rituals or blaspheme against the divine essence.

Therefore, by decision of the mujahidin and notables of the municipality of Ain Tarma, the people of the locality of Ain Tarma will present a claim to the legal authorities against all who dare to blaspheme against the divine essence and the Prophet (God’s peace and blessings be upon him), so that the harshest punishments can be brought against those who seduce themselves with disbelief.

And God is the One behind the intention.

Head of the Notables Council of the Municipality of Ain Tarma

Aymenn Ramadan

Notables Council of the Municipality of Ain Tarma

Published originally on May 26, 2026.

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Syria blasphemy Legal Democracy and Islam

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is the Director of the Middle East Forum’s Syria office. He is an independent Arabic translator, editor, and analyst. A graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford University, he earned his Ph.D. from Swansea University, where he studied the role of historical narratives in Islamic State propaganda. His research focuses primarily on Iraq, Syria, and jihadist groups, especially the Islamic State, on which he maintains an archive of the group’s internal documents. He has also published an Arabic translation and study of the Latin work Historia Arabum, the earliest surviving Western book focused on Arab and Islamic history. For his insights, he has been quoted in a wide variety of media outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and AFP.