Syria is the testing ground for what comes next in the Middle East, which could be a retreat from the overt sectarianism that has plagued the region since the US invasion of Iraq.
DAMASCUS, Syria | A video clip circulating on social media in recent months shows Syria’s new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, astride a handsome black horse in a sand riding ring with a few thick palm trees. He is alone, wearing a trim leather jacket, as the high-stepping horse circles within the ring.
The video’s soundtrack is a song glorifying the Umayyad caliphate, which ruled the Middle East in the seventh and eighth centuries.
