In our recent article “Christians Under Assault In Syria” we documented how the Islamist militia that overthrew dictator Bashar al Assad had immediately turned upon Syria’s ancient Christian communities.
Since then, things have only gotten worse for Christians in Syria.
Before the Syrian Civil War, approximately 1.5 million - 10% of Syrian population were Christians. The number is thought to have dropped sharply in recent years, but by how much is unclear. There could now be as few as 300,000 Christians left in Syria today.
Christians predominately live in and around cities of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Latakia and in Hasaka governorate. Most Syrian Christians are members of either Eastern Orthodox Church’s Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East or Syriac Orthodox Church (part of Oriental Orthodox family of churches). Most of the Catholics in Syria belong to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. There are also a minority of Protestants, including Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Armenian Evangelical Churches.
As Madeleine Rowley documented in an article for The Free Press, the Islamist rebels in Syria have a history of persecuting Syrian Christians.
The radical theology of many Islamist rebels in Syria resulted in acts of violence against Syrian Christians, everything from desecrating churches to kidnapping and murder.
So, when armed Islamist fighters standing in the streets of Mary’s village tell the Christians no harm will come to them, they have no reason to believe them.
For years, the Christians in Mary’s village held sizable Christmas celebrations. But this year, she said, “When the local Christmas tree was lit, just a handful of people showed up. Some shops are open, but many people don’t leave their houses and are waiting for what will happen next. Others, though, just want to go about their daily lives.”
What’s the bottom line for Syria’s Christians?
Credible sources report Jolani’s HTS has confiscated over 500 properties from Christians and has violently converted the Druze population north of Aleppo to Sunni Islam, massacring those who attempted to resist.
Wherever it rules, HTS imposes strict “Hisbah” patrols that beat up and imprison women who violate the dress code or are caught traveling without a supervising male. While HTS outwardly speaks of liberating Syrians, internally, it speaks of enslaving them.
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