When Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by Islamist rebels in Syria in December after 14 years of civil war, there have been concerns as to what this might mean for the Christian community within the troubled state.
If al-Assad was a tyrant, he was not less than a secular tyrant, and so didn’t feel any have to victimise or destroy Christianity under his rule, something that can’t at all times be said for middle eastern governments.
Although there have been many armed groups against al-Assad, it was Hay’at Tahrir-Sham (HTS) which delivered the killing blow and now holds the reins of power in Syria. Despite sometimes having a message of “inclusiveness” in response to the BBC, HTS being an offshoot of al-Qaeda, is an obvious source of concern for Christians within the country.
The latest leadership in Syria has indicated that it would allow religious freedom, nonetheless reports from the realm suggest that a scarcity of central authority could also be resulting in incidents of discrimination on the bottom.
A source on the bottom told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that while church leaders have been personally assured that religious minorities may have equal rights under the brand new structure, there have been cases of Islamists enforcing gender segregation on public transport and forcing women to wear veils.
The source added that international attention on the country was stopping excesses being carried out by the brand new government in major cities: “Damascus is within the highlight, which pressures the previous rebels to be more peaceful, and to take care of the positive image they’ve.”
While the Islamists have been on mostly good behaviour in major cities like Damascus and Aleppo, the source claimed that things were different in smaller cities like Homs and Hama.
“It is a mixed area, with ten religious confessions living in the identical place, and neighbourhoods are mixed, which makes it difficult,” they said.
“It was also a difficult situation in the course of the war. People avoid being on the streets after 5pm.
“There are jihadists on the streets, using megaphones to call on people to convert to Islam and telling women to veil.
“Fear is basically very pronounced – Christians cannot work, many stay home.”
One a part of Syria generally known as the Valley of the Christians, resulting from its exclusively Christian population, has been described as peaceful. However, travel into and out of the realm could be dangerous.
Militants sometimes arrange roadblocks and deny passage and take the belongings of those that is not going to convert to Islam.
Ultimately it’s the on the bottom realities moderately than political guarantees that may determine the fate of Syria’s Christian population. Let us not forget that in North Korea, religious freedom is guaranteed by the structure and yet it means nothing.
