Christians Face Existential Threat In Syria As Muslims Contend For Power
Christians are being massacred and fear going to church and expressing their faith.
Members of one the world’s oldest Christian communities are speaking out as see an existential threat amid a deadly power struggle in war-torn Syria among Muslim groups.
More than 1,000 people, including Christians, were killed in early March as the country’s new government, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), clashed with forces loyal to the recently deposed Assad regime. Entire families were massacred, according to numerous reports.
It is estimated there are only 300,000 Christians remaining in Syria, a huge drop from 1.5 million before the nation’s civil war started in 2011. It has led to fears that possibly the earliest Christian community on earth could be wiped out.
Syrians were among the first identified as Christians in the Bible, with roots going back 2,000 years when St. Paul was converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus, Syria’s capital.
“Since the war began, thousands of Christians and other minorities have fled the country, and those who stayed now face an extremely uncertain future with HTS and its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda fighter, in charge,” said Dr. Rex Rogers, president of SAT-7 USA, a Christian media organization that broadcasts programs in Syria in the Arabic language.
Syrian Christians are tuning into the satellite television channel and scrolling social media for hope and encouragement. With no one else to turn to, hundreds of them are posting prayers on social media, joining online discussions, and contacting SAT-7’s Arabic-speaking support team for counseling.
“Because of the religious sectarianism and all the terrorist factions in Syria... I cannot approach a church or express my secret belief in God,” one Syrian viewer told them.
Local pastors also face overwhelming challenges, supporting fragile congregations including many that have lost members who’ve fled the country or been killed.
Speaking on the “You Are Not Alone” talk show that is broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa, local pastor Maher Samaan said Christians were a “main component” in Syria and he has felt God’s protection amid the war and recent turmoil.
“We have a role as a church by sticking to each other and supporting each other for a better Syria,” said Samaan, who pastors a church in the city of Homs in central Syria. “If we leave, how can we rebuild our country?” he added.