Concerns have been raised about the safety of Christians and other minorities in Syria after an Islamist-led rebellion ousted the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Already it has been reported that al Qaeda has urged the victorious rebels to turn against “Jews and Crusaders,” a pejorative term for Christians.
The rebellion against Assad began to gain the upper hand around the beginning of December. Armed forces took control of the Syrian capital Damascus in the early hours of Sunday, December 8, while Assad fled the country.
The Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria, was destroyed by Islamist forces in 2014 [Image credit: Al Masdar]
Assad’s government was guilty of heinous human rights abuses, including arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and attacks against civilians, including the use of chemical weapons.
Not all of the armed groups that deposed him are Islamists, but the leading rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a designated terrorist organization that was previously affiliated to al Qaeda.
When he first returned to Syria from Iraq in 2011, HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani worked closely with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who later became the caliph of Islamic State (IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). Jolani’s group remained affiliated to al Qaeda when IS and al Qaeda split in 2014.
More recently, Jolani has refuted extremism and presented himself as more moderate.
In an interview with U.S. broadcaster CNN on December 6, Jolani said, “No-one has the right to erase another group. [Different religious groups] have co-existed in this region for hundreds of years, and no-one has the right to eliminate them.”
He added, “There must be a legal framework that protects and ensures the rights of all.”
An estimated 10% of the Syrian population was Christian before the beginning of the civil war in 2011. Many were the descendants of those who fled the 1893-1923 genocide of Armenian, Assyrian, Syriac, and Greek Christians under the Ottoman Empire. Some Christians are among those who have fled from Assad’s government. Many others have left the country to escape IS and other Islamist groups.
Syria has an important place in Christian history. It was on the road to Damascus that the Apostle Paul experienced his conversion (Acts 9:1-19), and in Antioch that followers of Jesus were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26). Antioch emerged as a central hub for Christian thought and theological debates and became known as “the cradle of Christianity.”
Pray for Christians in Syria, who remain vulnerable in the face of potential instability and the rise of extremist ideologies. Ask God to protect them and grant them strength in this time of uncertainty. Pray also that statements supporting religious freedom and tolerance will be upheld. Ask that the Lord will bring lasting peace to Syria, for the well-being of His people and all who long for peace in the country.
