Syrians Reject 'Bashar' Name Out of Hatred for President Assad
What’s in a Name?
In Syria, sharing Bashar al-Assad’s first name has gone from being a source of pride to being a liability, with some men even dropping it altogether. Mike Giglio reports.
Bashar Mahmoud Kabisho was almost 20 when he learned that Syria’s next leader would share his first name. It was January of 1994. An aging Hafez al-Assad was the country’s strongman at the time, and Bassel, his eldest son, was being groomed to take his place.
