More than a week has passed since the suicide bombing of a church in Damascus, Syria, shocked the city.
At least 25 people died as a result of the attack and there is still some dispute about who bears ultimate responsibility for the atrocity.
When Bashar al-Assad’s secular government fell late last year to the al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, there were serious concerns about what this would mean for Syria’s Christians and other minorities.
So far however, the new leadership of Syria has stressed its commitment to religious tolerance and pluralism, despite its Islamist background.
The day after the suicide attack, the government blamed a cell of the so-called Islamic State, adding that it had arrested its members. Unusually however, IS has not taken responsibility for the attack - although neither have they denied involvement.
Another possible culprit is an apparently new Islamist group known as Brigade of Supporters of the Sunnis. The group said on the messaging app Telegram that is was behind the attack. It is believed that the group broke away from the governing HTS faction and has renewed ties with the so-called Islamic State.
The group claimed the attack was in retaliation for residents in the area preventing a group of Muslims from broadcasting loud Islamic chants outside of the church.
There is a third theory. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that reliable sources have told it that one of those injured in the attack was in fact one of the perpetrators and is a member of the Syrian Ministry of Defence. The rights group also said it believes the suicide bomber was also a member of the Syrian security forces.
The situation in Syria remains opaque. In March the country saw its worst case of sectarian violence since the fall of Assad, when hundreds of Alawites were massacred. Whether the massacre was ordered by the government or simply the result of its inability to control the multiple armed groups in the country is still unclear.
Matthew Barnes, Open Doors spokesperson for the Middle East said, “For the government it would be very shameful if indeed a member of its own ranks was the attacker. For them it would be best if an organisation like Islamic State committed this terror attack, especially because almost everyone in the world considers IS a terrorist organisation.
“Christians are shocked and scared after what happened in Damascus. Open Doors calls for prayer for the church in Syria. Pray for peace of heart and for protection in the weeks to come.”
