National Anthem Comparison
Palestine vs Syria
1
Shared themes
✓
Same mood
30
30 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Palestine and Syria, both Asia nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Palestine's "Fida'i" was written in 1965, while Syria's "Guardians of the Homeland" dates to 1935.
Both anthems share themes of resilience. Palestine additionally explores battle / war, freedom and ancestors / heritage, while Syria also touches on identity and nature.
Both anthems carry a fierce tone, creating a similar emotional register despite their geographic distance.
Shared themes
Palestine
⚔ Battle / War 💪 Resilience 🕊 Freedom 🏺 Ancestors / Heritage
Syria
🏛 Identity 🌿 Nature 💪 Resilience
Shared themes:
💪 Resilience
Metadata
| Palestine | Syria | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1965 | 1935 |
| Adopted | 1972 | 1938 |
| Lyricist | Said Al Muzayin | Khalil Mardam Bey |
| Composer | Ali Ismael | Mohammed Flayfel |
| Language | ar | ar |
| Region | Western Asia | Western Asia |
Lyrics Side by Side
Palestine
فدائي
Original
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا أرضي يا أرض الجدود
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا شعبي يا شعب الخلود
بعزمي وناري وبركان ثاري
وأشواق دمي لأرضي وداري
صعدت الجبال وخضت النضال
قهرت المحال حطمت القيود
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا أرضي يا أرض الجدود
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا شعبي يا شعب الخلود
بعصف الرياح ونار السلاح
وإصرار شعبي لخوض الكفاح
فلسطين داري ودرب انتصاري
فلسطين ثاري وأرض الصمود
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا أرضي يا أرض الجدود
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا شعبي يا شعب الخلود
بحق القسم تحت ظل العلم
بأرضي وشعبي ونار الألم
سأحيا فدائي وأمضي فدائي
وأقضي فدائي إلى أن أعود
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا أرضي يا أرض الجدود
فدائي فدائي فدائي
يا شعبي يا شعب الخلود
Translation
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my land, the land of the ancestors,
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my people, people of eternity.
With my determination, my fire and the volcano of my revenge,
With the longing in my blood for my land and my home,
I have climbed the mountains and waged the struggle,
I have conquered the impossible and broken the chains.
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my land, the land of the ancestors,
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my people, people of eternity.
By the storm of the winds and the fire of the weapons,
And the determination of my people to wage the fight,
Palestine is my home, and the road to my victory,
Palestine is my revenge and the land of steadfastness.
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my land, the land of the ancestors,
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my people, people of eternity.
By the oath under the shade of the flag,
By my land and my people, and the fire of pain,
I will live as a warrior, I will go on as a warrior,
I will die as a warrior, until I return.
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my land, the land of the ancestors,
Warrior, warrior, warrior,
O my people, people of eternity.
Syria
حماة الديار
Original
حماة الديار عليكم سلام
أبت أن تذل النفوس الكرام
عرين العروبة بيت حرام
وعرش الشموس حمى لا يضام
ربوع الشآم بروج العلاء
تحاكي السماء بعالي السناء
فأرض زهت بالشموس الوضاء
سماء لعمرك أو كالسماء
Translation
Guardians of the homeland, peace be upon you,
our proud souls refuse to be brought low.
The lair of Arabism is an inviolable house,
and the throne of the suns a sanctuary none may humble.
The fields of Syria are towers of glory,
rivalling the heavens in their lofty radiance.
A land aflame with its luminous suns
is a sky, by your life, or like the sky.
Interesting facts
Palestine
- 1. The word "fida'i" means "one who sacrifices himself"; the Palestinian fedayeen are widely described as freedom fighters.
- 2. Fida'i replaced "Mawtini" as the Palestinian anthem, and "Mawtini" went on to become the official national anthem of Iraq in 2004.
- 3. Palestinian sources say the Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis rearranged Fida'i in 1981 as a gesture of solidarity; Greek sources describe a different work, an anthem Yasser Arafat commissioned from him for the PLO, presented in Beirut in January 1982.
- 4. The poet Said Al Muzayin signed his patriotic work under the pen name "Fata Al-Thawra", meaning "the boy of the revolution".
- 5. Sources differ on the adoption year: English-language references give 1996, tied to the 1988 Declaration of Independence, while Palestinian sources describe a 1972 adoption by the PLO Executive Committee ratified in 2005.
Syria
- 1. After the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, the anthem's status was left open. In January 2025 the Syrian Football Association replaced it with "Fi Sabili al-Majd" for all its national teams and informed FIFA of the change, and in March 2026 the Ministry of Culture launched a competition to set one of seven shortlisted texts to music for a new national anthem.
- 2. The lyricist, Khalil Mardam Bey, was not only a poet but also a statesman: he became minister of education in 1942, held the education and health portfolios in 1949, was named minister plenipotentiary in Baghdad in 1951 and presided over the Arab Academy of Damascus from 1953 until his death in 1959.
- 3. The composer Mohammed Flayfel also wrote "Mawtini", the melody adopted decades later as Iraq's national anthem.
- 4. On 27 May 2011, early in the uprising, opposition activists named a day of protests the "Friday of Humat ad-Diyar" after the anthem's opening words, calling on the army to join the people; through the civil war that followed, both the government and the opposition kept using the anthem, even under different flags.
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Palestine
Syria
