The Assad regime ruled for 53 years in Syria; Bashar Al-Assad — known as “The Butcher” — ruled for 24 of them. When the regime finally fell in December of 2024, almost instantly, college-aged students were eager to learn about the ideas of freedom, classical liberalism, and secularism.
Stepping into this vital moment of a vacuum of power is the man who will lead the charge and build a generation of free-thinking Syrians. That man is Amjad Aun. He was born and raised in Homs, Syria, but after his family fled to Germany, he earned a PhD, became SFL’s National Coordinator there, and now lives and works in Germany for Ideas Beyond Borders (IBB).
But his heart remains in Syria, where people of his religious minority (the Alawites) are killed and their homes destroyed as different factions fight for power.
And so remotely, with our newest volunteer running operations on the ground (a female student who wishes her name withheld for fear of danger), Amjad helped Students For Liberty host its first-ever event in Syria.
To reiterate: a student group … that promotes freedom … hosted an event … in Syria! The event featured a lecture followed by a debate, which fostered critical thinking on topics such as freedom of religion, governance, and societal values.
And the curriculum that guided their discussions? All content created by Amjad and his team at IBB. The event, called Seminar on Secularism: Models, Misconceptions, and Applicability, also explored why secularism is often associated with atheism in Syria and examined the feasibility of applying secular principles to local contexts. The 16 students who attended came away understanding that secularism is not necessarily about fighting religion, but about keeping it in its place: outside of state control, and outside of politics. Because in Syria, as they’ve learned the hard way, when governments can use religion as a wedge, it can destroy lives and destroy any hope of peace.
SFL MENA also hosted a retreat in Nouakchott, Mauritania, that brought together 15 participants, including local leaders, coordinators, and speakers, representing Mauritania and the broader MENA region. The retreat included a meeting with Association Liberté et Citoyenneté, a dedicated local organization working to promote liberalism and individual rights in Mauritania, but it began with Reda Baddi, a trained volunteer, who led an icebreaker to build group cohesion and energize the group. Regional Coordinator Majdouline Hakim shared strategies on volunteer recruitment. One especially impactful session focused on the political context in Mauritania, and offered an overview of the local challenges to liberty and the work being done by the Association Liberté et Citoyenneté. There was also a social media workshop, emphasizing the role of digital communication in advancing freedom narratives, and a practical workshop dedicated to maximizing impact during the project planning phase. The retreat ended with a session on leadership.
Elsewhere in the Middle East/North Africa region, SFL hosted a conference on informal migration in Morocco with 50 participants and three partner organizations, while an SFL event in Bahrain generated a feature in a prominent local newspaper, and the accompanying video garnered 10,000 views within the first two days, following our first-ever event with a Bahraini thinker. Additionally, MENA hosted Ex-Woke/Leftist, Ex-Nonbinary Advocate Kiyah Willis, now of the Objective Standard Institute, for a virtual event on Individualism and War in September.