The future for Christians in Syria remains uncertain following the recent toppling of Bashar Al Assad’s government by Islamic group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The fall of Assad’s regime has been met with widespread relief around the world, but how Christians will be treated remains unclear.
Sat-7, which supports the church in the Middle East, has spoken to several Syrian pastors following the change in regime, and found many to be fearful, but also hopeful that a better future may be ahead. One pastor expressed fear about the future, saying ‘change is always fearful, and entering a new era that is unknown and unstable is not accepted by human nature, and leads to worry, but we believe that God is present.’
Pastor Yacoub Sabbagh, from Homs, told Sat-7 that Christians ‘want to live as witnesses to the works of God in our lives and live in the peace of the Lord and give a hand to the other in love and peace.’ He added: ‘Revenge has never been rewarding. Forgiving is the answer. This is our Christian faith.’
He revealed that young people have been coming into his church in good numbers to pray and invited others to join them in prayerful solidarity, emphasising that fellowship with other believers helps ‘relieve a little of the pressure and worry about the situation’.
Much uncertainty remains surrounding the motives of HTS as they adjust to being in power. They have presented themselves as holding moderate views in interviews with Western broadcasters, but Martin Parsons, CEO of the Lindisfarne Centre for the Study of Christian Persecution, warned that a closer look at what they have said suggests they want to impose sharia law in the country, imposing dhimmi status on Christians, essentially leaving them without rights.
Parsons highlighted that HTS leaders have persecuted Christians in the past. Ahmed Al Sharaa, the group’s leader, said in an interview in 2014 that with HTS in charge, Christians ‘would not be accommodated’; and in Idlib, which HTS have ruled in recent years, becoming a Christian can lead to execution on the grounds of apostasy.
Referencing recent interviews with Western broadcasters, Parsons said: ‘[HTS leaders use] words which will be understood by Western audiences one way, but by HTS supporters as meaning that Syria will become a sharia state.
‘Syrians aren’t stupid. They know what the background of HTS is, including its forerunner, the al Nusra front, having been an al Qaeda affiliate, so of course, Christians are fearful.’
