Under Assad’s regime, Christians are free to practice their faith, but fears have arisen that religious freedom is under threat after the Salafist coalition comes to power.
Syrian Christians attended regular Sunday services for the first time since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime a week ago. Reuters wrote this on Sunday, December 15.
At the same time, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which came to power, promised to protect the rights of religious communities.
According to the agency, before the fall of Assad, historical minority religious groups, including Christians, practiced religious practices freely. But since he fled the country and the opposition took power, Christians remain nervous at the prospect of an Islamist government, with some saying they are afraid to take to the streets.
“But the rebel representatives assured the priests that there was no threat to the Christians,” wrote Reuters.
At the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Christians made up about 10% of the country’s population, or about 1.8-2 million of its 22 million inhabitants. However, due to war, persecution and emigration, the number of Christians decreased significantly.
In 2024, according to various estimates, about 500-700 thousand Christians remain in Syria. They belong to different faiths and theological and liturgical traditions. The largest group is Orthodox from the Antiochian Orthodox Church.
Earlier it became known that Ukraine agreed to work to help Syria, in particular, the organization of security and humanitarian work.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.