The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) has warned that “the very survival of Christianity in Syria” is at risk as the country continues its troubled transition.
Over a decade of civil war appeared to come to an end in December 2024 when the government of Bashar al-Assad was toppled by a plethora of armed groups, the most dominant of which was HTS, an al-Qaeda offshoot.
Despite its origins, HTS said it wished to build an “inclusive” Syria in which the rights of the country’s historic minorities are respected. However, in a country that has suffered well over a decade of civil war and sectarian violence, there is no shortage of armed groups, and the official government has struggled to prevent continuing violence.
In March of last year hundreds of Alawites were massacred by an armed group, while the following July fighting broke out between the Druze and Bedouins in Suwayda. In October fighting broke out between government forces and Kurds in Aleppo, following the first parliamentary elections since the takeover of power.
There have also been suicide bombings, including one last year targeting a church, killing 25 people.
In a submission to the UN, the ECLJ said that, with armed groups still out of control, building an inclusive state was “impossible”. The ECLJ said that it welcomed attempts to bring the crimes of Assad-era individuals to justice, but added that justice should not be selective and that efforts should be made to punish those responsible for the massacre of Alawites last year.
The ECLJ also argued that the new government is not sufficiently inclusive, noting that a third of the country’s parliament had been directly appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, rather than elected. It was in fact a dispute over the election that caused the violence between Kurds and government forces in October.
On the fate of the country’s Christians, the ECLJ noted that tremendous damage had already been done. Syria’s pre-war Christian population was around two million and now stands somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000.
“Christians seek no privileged status, but simply equal participation in national life," the ECLJ said.
"They nevertheless face growing social pressure: Islamist preaching in Christian neighbourhoods, the gradual Islamization of certain public policies and school curricula, restrictions on alcohol, and rhetoric portraying Christians as fouloul - supporters of the former regime.”
It continued, “Beyond discrimination itself, the very survival of Christianity in Syria is now at stake. Christian schools are becoming increasingly vulnerable, families in exile continue to lose their property, and terrorist attacks, violence, kidnappings and widespread impunity have fostered a profound sense of abandonment.”
A downward spiral is the result. Islamisation and lack of security begets emigration, making the local Christian community smaller and less relevant. This in turn can lead to even more Islamisation as the Christian influence slowly diminishes.
The ECLJ said, “Protecting freedom of worship alone is therefore no longer sufficient. Political, legal, security and economic conditions must be established that allow Christians to remain permanently in their homeland.”
