SOCIAL ACTIVISTS from Syria

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Syrian Social Activists of all time. This list of famous Syrian Social Activists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (1882 - 1935)

With an HPI of 55.29, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam is the most famous Syrian Social Activist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

ʿIzz ad-Dīn ibn Abd al-Qāder ibn Mustafā ibn Yūsuf ibn Muhammad al-Qassām (Arabic: عز الدين بن عبد القادر بن مصطفى بن يوسف بن محمد القسام; 1881 or 19 December 1882 – 20 November 1935) was a Syrian Muslim preacher, and a leader in the local struggles against British and French Mandatory rule in the Levant, and a militant opponent of Zionism in the 1920s and 1930s. Qassam was born in Jableh, Syrian province of the Ottoman Empire in 1882. He studied at Al-Azhar University in Egypt and afterward became an Islamic revivalist preacher in his hometown. Following his return, he became an active supporter of the Libyan resistance to the Italian occupation starting 1911, raising funds and fighters to aid the Libyans and penning an anthem for them. He would later lead his own group of rebels in alliance with Ibrahim Hananu to fight against French Mandatory forces in northern Syria in 1919–20. Following the rebels' defeat, he immigrated to Palestine, where he became a Muslim waqf (religious endowment) official and grew incensed at the plight of Palestinian Arab peasants. He advocated a moral, political and military jihad as the solution to end British rule and Zionist aspirations in Palestine. In the 1930s, he formed bands of local fighters, including the Black Hand, and launched attacks against British and Jewish targets. He was eventually killed in a manhunt by the British authorities in 1935, following his alleged role in the killing of a policeman. Israeli historian Tom Segev has called him 'the Arab Joseph Trumpeldor'. His campaign and death were factors that led to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.

2. Muhammad Zaidan (1948 - 2004)

With an HPI of 50.74, Muhammad Zaidan is the 2nd most famous Syrian Social Activist.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Muhammad Zaidan (10 December 1948 – 8 March 2004), also known as Abu Abbas (Arabic: أبو العباس Abū ʿAbbās; AH-boo ə-BAHSS) or Muhammad Abbas, was (with Tal'at Ya'qoub) a founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) Organization.

3. Razan Zaitouneh (1977 - )

With an HPI of 36.02, Razan Zaitouneh is the 3rd most famous Syrian Social Activist.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Razan Zaitouneh (sometimes spelled Zeitunah; Arabic: رزان زيتونة; born 29 April 1977) is a Syrian human rights lawyer and civil society activist. Actively involved in the Syrian uprising, she went into hiding after being accused by the government of being a foreign agent and her husband was arrested. Zaitouneh has documented human rights in Syria for the Local Coordination Committees of Syria. Zaitouneh was kidnapped on 9 December 2013, most likely by Jaysh al-Islam. Her fate remains unknown. It is suspected that she has been killed.