God, Syria, and Bashar! (song)

"God, Syria, and Bashar!" (Arabic: !الله، سوريا، وبشار, romanized: Allah w Souriya w Bashar!) is a song composed by Rami Kazour praising former Syrian president—Bashar al-Assad^[1]—created after the killing of Ibrahim Qashoush, who was at the time alleged to have written the anti‑Assad song "Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar" during the early Syrian revolution. The song was likely released as to mock Qashoush's death.^[2][3]

It has become an internet meme in the years since, especially in the aftermath of the fall of the Ba'athist regime in 2024.^[2]

Ibrahim Qashoush was a Syrian from Hama, and worked as a security guard at the local fire station. He became known for allegedly leading demonstrations calling for the overthrow of the regime and was incorrectly credited as the creator of "Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar".

On July 3, 2011, Qashoush was abducted by pro-Assad forces. His body was later found in the Orontes River in Hama, with his vocal cords removed.^[4][5] It was discovered in a British interview in 2016 that the true composer of "Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar" was Abdul Rahman Farhood, who had fled Syria and had kept his identity as the true composer secret.^[6]

The release of the song mainly occurred digitally. Kazour's song was released as a counter‑message and has been interpreted by observers as an attempt to mock "Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar".^[2]

In an interview, Kazour defended the song's phrasing and said it was meant to provoke protesters, whom he referred to as "trash". He described Assad as the "last honorable Arab leader" and argued that Syria was unlike other Arab countries that had seen unrest, referring to Syria as "a nation of lions, exceptional in everything".^[1]

• Music of Syria
• Syrian civil war
• Music and politics
• Music and political warfare
• "Serbia Strong"

• God, Syria, Bashar on YouTube