Amid a Bloody War, Syrian Videos Show a Glimpse of Fun

The dance ends with soldiers breaking into the ubiquitous chant of partisans of Syria’s president,Bashar al-Assad: “With our blood, with our souls, we sacrifice for you, Bashar!”

But the pro-Assad soldiers are not the only ones rocking out. In a video that has garnered much less attention on social media, rebel soldiers also shimmy to music — but their soundtrack of choice is “Where? To Ramallah,” a song about the Palestinian town that connotes the struggle of the displaced who have lost their homes. The rebel soldiers dance the dabke, a folk dance popular throughout the Levant.

Amid a conflict that has taken more than 60,000 lives in nearly two years, the videos offer a rare glimpse of fighters seizing a moment of fun. In some ways, the two sets of soldiers look much alike, some bearded, some not, with the scruffy look of participants in an exhausting battle.

But in a social media world starkly divided between supporters and opponents of Mr. Assad, the videos provoke sharply political reactions.

“The superficial production and staunchly simplistic lyrics alone are designed to appeal to the I.Q. of a dirty toothbrush,” one blogger wrote of the government soldiers. “Not cool, insensitive foot-soldiers of the authoritarian regime. Just. Not. Cool.”

Apparent supporters, meanwhile, posted comments like, “Al Nusra will never dance like you guys,” referring to Al Nusra Front, an extremist Islamist group within the rebel movement.

The group posting the video of the rebels noted that they must not be Islamic extremists — a criticism often lobbed at the rebellion — if they were dancing and enjoying music. The song they dance to has come to signify standing strong in the face of adversity.

They sing, arms around one another’s shoulders, sometimes smiling bashfully toward the camera. The song, although it has come to symbolize yearning for one’s home, is also romantic, about a faithless love traveling to Ramallah. The camera pans over a nearby building damaged in the war, then back to the singers and other men sitting in chairs watching, looking almost bored.

In place of a stick often carried during the dabke, one dancer carries a rifle. They break into the song with cries of “God is great!”

Pro-Assad commenters said the Usher dance was proof that the soldiers loved life and were progressive. Anti-Assad commenters suggested they were demented and displaced from their roots.

“Those ones dance to Western songs and the other ones say takbeer” — a call to praise God — “during battles,” one wrote. “Great difference between the two teams.”