THE CHRISTIANS OF SYRIA ARE LIVING THE ‘IRAQI FEAR’
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (The Middle East)
March 5 2013
They Had Al-Asad’S Support But Are Worried About The Post-Revolution
Era Although Some Participated In It
[Translated From Arabic]
Former President Hafiz Al-Asad Did Not Rule In The Name Of The Alawite
Minority But In The Name Of The Secular Ba’Th Party. The Majority
Members Of His Security And Political Team Did Not Belong To This
Sect That Is A Minority In Syria. According To The Most Optimistic
Estimates, The Total Population Numbers About 20 Per Cent Alawites And
65 Per Cent Sunnis, Who Constitute A Big Majority. However, Since The
Start Of The Revolutionary Agitation Two Years Ago That Developed Into
a military conflict between the opposition brigades and the regime’s
army, the Christians of Syria have been anxious about their existence.
Their fears have been growing amid reports about forcible evacuations
of Christian villages and abductions of Christian clerics.
Furthermore, the Syrian opposition’s avowed position that considers the
Syrian people as one bloc has not found an echo among the Christian
masses.
Hafiz al-Asad never publicized his Alawite roots. On the contrary,
he used to worship in Sunni mosques and his Bashar followed in his
footsteps. However, the father and later the son sought to strengthen
the role of this sect in the administration of Syria and in the
Ba’th party in a way that enabled him to ensure the loyalty of the
army and the intelligence services that ruled Syria with an iron
grip. The father (followed later by the son) realized the importance
of a coalition consisting of the minorities in Syria. He began to
consolidate his ties with the Christians that constitute about 7.5
per cent of the population, the Druze that constitute 2.75 per cent
of the population, the Shias (about 3 per cent), and the Isma’ilis (1
per cent). When the crisis erupted in 2011, the regime was determined
to highlight the “Islamic face” of the revolt against it before the
Islamists infiltrated Syria. It was a deliberate attempt to frighten
the Christians, Alawites, and the other minorities from the influence
of the Islamists. The regime was assisted in this by the “Egyptian
model” and the sectarian problems there. It seems that the fears and
anxiety of the minorities is playing a major role in the crisis. These
fears drove Maronite Patriarch Bisharah al-Ra’i to visit Syria. The
Maronite patriarchate had been boycotting Syria since Lebanon gained
its independence. The same fears also drove the Orthodox Church to
re-elect a patriarch of Syrian origin. Meanwhile, the Druze let down
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and fought alongside the regime
despite Junblatt’s repeated calls on them to “join the revolution”.
Sulayman al-Yusuf, the Christian-Assyrian writer and researcher,
argues that the fears and anxieties of the Christians are justified,
particularly in the Al-Jazeera region east of the country. He points
out that the abductions of Christians and seizures of their lands
and properties by Arab tribes drove a large number of families
to migrate outside Syria. Al-Yusuf tells Al-Sharq al-Awsat: “The
Christians are afraid of the future. They say that the abductions
and looting are taking place in the presence of the regime. So how
is it going to be if this regime falls?” He adds: “The Iraqi lesson
is strongly present in our consciousness. The forcible evictions and
the detonation of churches can happen at any moment after the fall
of the regime, exactly as happened in Iraq. There is also the fear
from the spread of the radical groups, like the Al-Nusrah Front,
that consider Christians as infidels”. Al-Yusuf goes on to say:
“The Christians of Iraq paid the price of the sectarian agendas of
the warring sides there and this may happen in Syria. For instance,
in the Al-Jazeera region, an Arab-Kurdish struggle is raging and
the two sides are militarily mobilizing. It is obvious that the side
that will pay the price is the Christians”. The American Christian
“Open Doors USA” organization has reached the conclusion that Syria
has become one of the most dangerous countries for the Christians. The
organization published its annual “Special Interest List” of countries
that persecute Christians in the world and Syria ranked 11th on
this list this year; it ranked 36th in the past. However, despite the
regime’s insistence to portray itself as the “protector of minorities,”
the Christians have not enjoyed many political privileges. They were
given posts that do not give the Christians a clear and influential
role in the internal and external policy-making process in Syria.
In general, the Christians in Syria are afraid; so are the Druze
and the Shias. This puts them in the position of “defending their
existence” after they were persuaded (rightly or wrongly) that they
will be annihilated if the opposition came to power. This fear makes
them ready to defend the regime until the last breath. According
to an Assyrian researcher, “the lesson of Iraq, the eviction of its
Christians, and the detonation of their churches is still in their
consciousness”. This drives the Christians to cling to the current
regime that protects them from instability and chaos. Although some
prominent Christians have joined the ranks of the “Syrian revolution,”
the role of the Christians in this revolt is still weak. The majority
of them remained neutral while others openly proclaimed their support
for the regime. According to some opposition members, a number of
practices against Christians have been documented. The latest was the
abduction of the three Christian clerics Father Michel Kayyal from
the Armenian Catholic denomination, Father Mahir Mahfuz from the
Greek Orthodox denomination, and Father Louis Sakkaf from the town
of Sqailbiyah. According to activists, “the clerics were kidnapped in
February by an unknown group that has not so far announced its identity
or its motives”. Some activists believe that “the abductions took place
in the country of the town of Hamah that includes the two Christian
villages of Mahradah and Sqailbiyah”. According to Ghazi al-Hamawi,
member of the revolutionary council in Hamah, the regime’s forces
are gathering vehicles and military units inside these two towns to
give the impression that they are defending the Christian residents
there. In a telephone call with Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Al-Hamawi adds:
“In conducting its operations in the Hamah countryside, the Free
Syrian Army [FSA] is careful to keep the Christians outside the
conflict and prevent the regime from fomenting sedition among the
different residents in the region. Press reports say that the village
of Qastal al-Burj in the Hamah countryside -a small farm close to the
town of Sqailbiyah also with a Christian majority -was also attacked
by gunmen in May in order to evict its residents and turn their homes
into military centres. Al-Hamawi says: “The eviction of this village is
vague. However, it is certain that the military groups that occupied
it do not belong to the FSA”. Al-Hamawi denies that “the Christians
in Syria are allies of the Syrian regime,” adding: “large numbers of
Christians participated in the peaceful demonstrations.
They also opened their doors to welcome the refugees from the
devastated areas”.
Among the Syrian towns, Hims has witnessed the largest exodus
of Christians due to the military clashes that erupted there a
short period ago. About 200,000 Christians live in Hims that has
16 churches. According to church sources: “The Christians of Hims
left their homes to escape the hell of the daily shelling. They
headed to the area of Wadi al-Nasara [valley of the Christians]
that is a principal stronghold for the Christian Syrians in the Hims
countryside”. Opposition sources point out: “Christian villages do not
normally become involved in the current conflict in the country. But
the forces (al-Shabihah) loyal to the Syrian regime seek to embroil
these villages in the battles to make political gains. This took place
in the Christian village of Rablah located halfway on the road between
Al-Qusayr and the Lebanese border. The population of Rablah is about
12,000 residents with a Greek Catholic majority. The Syrian regular
army and the Shabihah loyalists confronted the Syrian revolutionaries
and tried to cut off their supply lines by planting mines and setting
ambushes. This led th e FSA brigades to abduct 200 farmers from the
village and asked the people to expel the agents of the regime. They
replied that are powerless against the regular army and the militias.
Following some give and take, the revolutionaries released the
200 abductees thus demarcating real lines of contact between these
villages and the townships nearby”. As for the capital, Damascus,
the state of the Christians is not better. Their neighbourhoods,
particularly Al-Qassas and Bab Tuma, have been the scene of powerful
explosions that led to the death of many. Moreover, the parish priest
of the town of Qatana in Rif Dimashq was killed a few days after he
was abducted by an unidentified band.
[Translated from Arabic]