The first messages of the new leadership of Syria for Christians and other minorities are extremely worrying, despite the effort of the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to "shake off" jihadism and appear with a "moderate" face.
It became known that the celebration of Christmas and all related festive events were banned. It seems that the traditional celebration of Christmas in Syria is finally coming to an end with the leadership of the Islamists, whose Minister of Justice has announced that... only men will now judge in Syria!
At the same time it became known that the moderate Islamists of HTS vandalized the Greek Orthodox church of Hagia Sophia in Al-Suqaylabiyah, with the images causing horror. The Orthodox district priest of Homs, Michel Nouman, previously claimed that Christian farmers were beaten by a group of Muslims, who accused them of being "infidels". The fear of an Islamic middle age is widespread, especially when fanatical Islamists consolidate their power after receiving the international support they seem to expect, with the help of no small amount of Western media:
It is estimated that images such as the one below from an anniversary video for March 25, 2023 with Greek children from martyred Syria singing the national anthem, will become a thing of the past in a Syria led by Jolani's fanatics, with whom Turkey rushes to cultivate contacts, sending MIT leader Ibrahim Kalin to Damascus…
The Orthodox community, through its public announcement, invites the Archbishop of Athens Hieronymos to visit Syria and defend the equal rights and protection of their people. “Historically, our clergy submitted to their respective rulers in times of chaos, believing it ensured survival, but this only led to enslavement. Now is the time to claim sovereignty and equality, not just survival," they say. The Archbishop had made a Synodal visit to Syria in 2023, where he had met with the Patriarch of Antioch.
As the Indepedent notes, thousands of Syrians are stranded at the Masnaa border crossing with Lebanon, trying to leave the country, fearing for their future. Among them are many Christians and Alawites (the Muslim sect to which former president Assad belongs, who live in the majority in the coastal areas of the country, for example in Latakia). In addition, many who try to escape are Iraqis, but also Shia Muslims.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that "knows that thousands of Syrians are fleeing Syria to Lebanon" and that "hundreds of thousands" Syrians «they flee to save their lives within the country" that holds the top spot. "The coming days and weeks will be crucial for the fate of the Christian community", the president of humanitarian organization International Christian Concern told the Christian Post and notes: "Christians, with roots stretching back almost two millennia, now face an uncertain and dangerous future".
The drama of the Christians
The fate of Greek Orthodox and more generally of Christians in the Middle East comes tragically to the fore again, due to the developments in Syria. Already, their population has decreased, during the period when the Islamic State moderated. In fact, instead of the "civilized" Christian West focusing on the issue, all these "pseudo-progressive thinkers" and lovers of multicultural nations and states are indifferent to the huge decline of the Christian population throughout the Middle East. Today, as we mentioned above, most Western media "wash away" the jihadist leadership...
In the areas where Christians used to live, such as in Iraq, the situation is dramatic. Let's take a case in point: Christmas remains a sad affair in Mosul (a city that once housed a vibrant Christian community) even after its liberation from the Islamic State. This is largely due to the fact that most of the Christians who left with the emergence of ISIS did not return. Only a few churches have been renovated, or repaired from the ravages caused by religious cannibalism of ISIS.
In 2017, the residents of Mosul celebrated the first Christmas since the imposition of ISIS, a celebration that took place due to the fear of terrorist attacks... And Iraq, which supported Assad, is watching with great concern the rise of jihadists in Syria, without much conviction from the "moderate" face they present, fearing the expansion of conflicts inside...
Fear prevails
ISIS and its jihadist offshoots are not a new reading of Islam, the building of a new culture or a new culture. It is the end of civilization, ignorance, hatred of knowledge, hatred of freedom. And even one "humiliating end", as typically mentioned by the Syrian philosopher and poet Adonis, in his book "Violence and Islam". So it is very difficult for the remaining Christians "to bring back the Christmas spirit of yesteryear", Samer Elias, a Christian Iraqi researcher and writer, told Al-Monitor in December 2018, long before the latest developments...
In fact, in his book "The Churches of Mosul, History and Pain", published in November 2018, Elias records the destruction of the churches in Mosul, but also of other places of Christian heritage. A few churches have been repaired, among them the Chaldean church of Saint Paul in Mosul, with money from the Chaldean Patriarchate and an Italian Foundation.
How is it possible for Christians abroad to return to the areas of the Middle East where they lived, with the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the climate of terrorism that has begun to prevail?
Christians in the Middle East
The phenomenon of the rapid decline of Christians in the Middle East, as we mentioned above, is not recent, but has been observed continuously in recent years, without the Christian West reacting (and this is the strange thing). In 2015, in an article in the authoritative newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth", the journalist Guy Besor, addressed the alarming decline of the Christian population in the Middle East and provided impressive evidence to substantiate it. According to Besor, the statistics regarding the decline of the Christian population in Middle Eastern countries are as follows (with data from 2015):
- In Iraq, Christians have decreased from 1,5 million in 2003 to 250 thousand.
- In Syria, Christians have dropped from 1,75 million to in 2010 to 450 thousand
- In Egypt, Coptic Christians have fallen by 1,25 million from nine million in 2011.
- In Lebanon, Christians numbering one million live under the shadow of the Shiite regime installed by Hezbollah.
Even in Palestine, the Holy Land is seeing a decline in the Christian population. A typical example is in the city of Christ's birth, Bethlehem, whose population used to be 90% Christian, now Muslims dominate, reaching 65% of the inhabitants. The same is happening in the other great Christian city, the city of Christ, Nazareth, where the percentage of Christians has decreased dramatically. At the same time, up to the Israeli press has dealt extensively with ultra-orthodox Jewish attacks on Christian churches…
The causes and the West
The causes and especially the generative cause of this phenomenon consists, according to many analysts, in the strengthening of Sunni Salafist and other extremist manifestations of Islam, which treat Christians as infidels and do not seek coexistence or tolerance, as we have seen from the activities of ISIS in the war in Syria and Iraq and we see correspondingly disturbing messages from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham today.
Besor (Jewish by religion) in his article, has severely criticized the international community, especially the "civilized" Christian West, for the attitude of silence and indifference it maintains in the systematic persecution of Christians from the Middle East. In other words, the Israeli journalist was saying what his usually laissez-faire and human rights-sensitive Western colleagues and the international media should have had as a first priority and in constant and intense interest.
It is characteristic that only in March 2021 the Pope (breaking the Vatican's long "silence" on the issue) visited the war-torn and ISIS-invaded Northern Iraq, walked through the ruins of its Christian churches and prayed for peace and the rescue of one of the oldest communities of Christianity.
However, however things may be and regardless of the stormy developments expected in the region, one thing is certain. As far as Christians are concerned, the situation will never be the same and their future in the region is bleak. There is a danger that we will eventually arrive at a new Middle East, a "Middle East without Christians"...
photo https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443537404577579473069060742
