US army vehicle displaying word ‘kafir’ in northeast Syria seen as ‘provocation’
Residents in northeastern Syria have described a US military vehicle patrolling the area and displaying the word "kafir" - infidel in Arabic - on its front as "offensive" and a "provocation".
Middle East Eye observed the vehicle, which also displayed a Christian cross, on the morning of 31 May near the city of Hasakah, as part of a convoy of around a dozen armoured vehicles bearing the American flag. Shortly afterwards, US soldiers stopped the car carrying the MEE team and demanded they stop photographing the convoy, offering no explanation.
The word "kafir" gained global notoriety through its frequent use by the Islamic State (IS) and other extremist groups during the Syrian civil war, where it was used to justify violence against those IS deemed non-believers - including Muslims who did not share their ideology.
Nevertheless, residents interpreted the display of the word "kafir" as the soldiers deliberately self-identifying as infidels to make a statement to the local population - despite the fact that IS no longer has a presence in the region.
“It’s a provocation. We have nothing to do with IS, we don’t consider Americans to be kuffar [plural of kafir], and even less so the Christians who have always lived in Syria," Jihan, a 34-year-old Kurdish woman, told MEE.
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“It’s so stupid that it’s hard to even analyse the message behind it.”
Mohammed, 42, said, "Unfortunately, it reflects the hatred Muslims have faced from Americans since 9/11, and the way they perceive us."
US to reduce military presence
It remains unclear whether the graffiti was painted during the period when IS still controlled large parts of Syria, or, as some interviewees suggested, by young Syrians, with or without the approval of American soldiers, "just to provoke the extremists".
MEE reached out to the US administration for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
The graffiti echoes the controversy sparked in March by a tattoo on the bicep of US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, featuring the word "kafir" beneath a slogan associated with the Crusades. The tattoo was widely criticised as Islamophobic.
On Tuesday, Thomas Barrack, the US special envoy to Syria, announced that the United States would reduce its military presence in the country, scaling down from eight bases to three, with the final goal of maintaining only one base, in the Hasakah region.
“What I can assure you is that our current Syria policy will not be close to the Syria policy of the last 100 years because none of these have worked,” Barrack said.
There are currently an estimated 2,000 American troops in Syria, deployed to support the fight against IS. That number is expected to be halved.
Residents interviewed by MEE reported that numerous US vehicles have already departed from the Deir Ezzor and Rmeilan military bases, reportedly heading towards Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
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