Syria: Christians Facing Existential Terrorist Threat
The leader of [the al-Qaeda-and-ISIS-linked terrorist group] Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, has openly stated that his goal is to establish sharia law: “Syria will be governed by the shari’a of Allah,” he has pledged. He has already banned music from restaurants and cafés…. The group is largely supported by Turkey.
The Biden administration, apparently never to be deterred from a woozy hope of bringing terrorists in from the cold, just removed a $10 million bounty from Jolani’s head.
Syria’s HTS regime has appointed Anas Hassan Khattab, a former Al-Qaeda commander and a UN-designated terrorist, to head the General Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat).
The al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant” — a coalition of Syrian and international Islamist groups — took control of Syria, after a 10-day offensive, on December 8, 2024.
Since then, hostility against Christians and other minorities in Syria has soared. Christians are increasingly the victims of intimidation, vandalism, violence and discrimination. They are hostages at the hands of Islamists.
The Christian population of Syria is around 500,000. Most are of Greek ancestry, dating from the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.
Currently, the predominantly Christian ancient town of Maaloula, where the people still speak the language of Jesus, Aramaic, is being targeted by Islamists.
Internet access has been largely cut off from Maaloula since December 26. Although news from the town is scarce, it is alarming. According to many X (Twitter) accounts and people approached by this author, some of the Islamists are terrorizing their Christian neighbors. One video on X showed Christians escaping Maaloula while jihadists mock them.
The Twitter account “Greco-Levantines Worldwide” reported: “The same jihadist group that previously kidnapped 13 nuns from the Monastery of St. Thecla in Maaloula—Jabhat al-Nusra—has returned to the town, declaring a ‘victory’ over its Christian community and its ancient monastery. For the past two days, Maaloula has been completely cut off, with no internet or communication. The town is besieged by these Islamist forces, and there is a growing fear that a massacre may already be unfolding.”
On December 28, the same X account issued an urgent appeal: “In 2024, the ancient Aramaic-speaking Christian population of Maaloula, Syria—one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, predating Christ—is facing extermination. This tragedy unfolds under the watch of foreign missions in Syria and Arab League countries. Immediate action is needed to prevent the loss of this irreplaceable community and heritage.”
Another account notes: “Numerous reports on social media & from large Syrian Christian pages indicate half of Maaloula’s Christians have been displaced due to repeated threats & violations. Christian properties are being seized.”
Eiad Herera, spokesman of the Antiochian Greek Organization (AGO), told Gatestone: “According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and some of our sources in the town, certain opposition militants from the Muslim minority—previously expelled by the Assad regime—have returned to Maaloula. They appear to harbor a sense of vengeance against the Christian residents, whom they believe were responsible for preventing their return to their homes.
“Several incidents of theft, assaults, and property destruction have been reported. The most recent involved armed masked individuals attempting to break into and rob a local farm, leading to an altercation that resulted in the death of one of the attackers.
“The farm owner surrendered to authorities, presenting documents and video evidence demonstrating that he was subjected to an armed assault and acted in self-defense.
“Due to these circumstances, many Christian families have fled the town and are asking HTS to restore stability and security. The interim transitional authority HTS has so far been unable to stabilize the situation or prevent the actions of these armed groups.”
In the meantime, HTS reportedly has forbidden any civilians and “those without permits” from recording its gunmen, declaring that “any home or place used for recording will be dealt with severely.”
HTS also announced that “no one can bear arms but the state”. The ban includes Christians in Wadi al-Nasara, also known as “Valley of the Christians,” who may need a way of defending themselves, given the threats against them. According to local reports, the HTS policy of disarming Christians in Wadi al-Nasara began on December 29.
Just days after the collapse of the Assad regime and the formation of a new interim government led by the HTS, alarming reports of anti-Christian violence and discrimination were already spreading across Syria.
Two Greek Christians, Samaan Satme and Helena Khashouf, from the village al-Jamasliyye, were murdered in their home. Their relatives said Satme was beheaded and Khashouf was shot dead. Meanwhile, a Christian priest in Homs reported that a group of Muslims first ridiculed Christian farmers in a Christian village, then beat them for being “infidels.”
Video footage has also surfaced on social media of jihadists from HTS factions desecrating the Hagia Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in al-Suqaylabiyah. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Hama was fired on, and nearby Christian graves desecrated. Masked men in al-Suqaylabiyah burned down a tall artificial Christmas tree in the main square, while, according to videos, stopping observers and firefighters from extinguishing the fire.
Other disturbing footage emerged from Hama. The video shows a Muslim sheikh and Islamist radicals entering a Christian man’s home to “invite him to Islam.” The unease on the man’s face is visible as the group insists that they are acting as “callers to Allah’s message.”
Still other footage shows a liquor store being broken into and vandalized in the Antiochian Greek town of Kafr Buhum.
The Greco-Syrian Nation, a digital platform that serves as an online voice for the Syro-Greek people, posted on X: “The new HTS-controlled government is allowing Rum [Greek], Syriacs [Assyrian Christians], and Alawites to be targeted and scapegoated as if they were responsible for the crimes of the previous ‘infidel’ [kafir] regime. Meanwhile, their social media pages joke about committing genocide against Rum, Syriacs, and Alawites.”
The post also called on Greeks, other Christians and their supporters to organize protests, demonstrations and rallies around the world to support Christians in Syria.
HTS’s predecessor, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusrah, also known as the “Nusrah Front,” was al-Qaeda’s former branch in Syria. Nusrah’s leader, Jolani, is now leader of HTS. In 2018, HTS was added to the State Department’s existing designation of Jabhat al-Nusrah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
HTS established its base of operations in northern Syria’s Idlib, at the Turkish border, taking over the province in 2015. Since then, it has persecuted non-Muslims and non-Arabs. The violence in Idlib resulted in the killing of hundreds of civilians, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.
According to a report by the organization “Syrians for Truth and Justice,” after HTS terrorists took over Idlib, many Christian families fled, leaving all their property behind. In 2018, HTS started confiscating homes and businesses belonging to Christians who had been forced by terrorism to leave the city. The report added: “In 2015, the church of Idlib was seized by groups affiliated to Al-Nusra Front/Jabhat al-Nusra, who turned part of it to a Sharia institute and used the other parts as accommodations for their fighters.”
The human rights organization Open Doors reported in January 2024: “Christians are particularly under pressure in the last bastions of control by radical Islamic groups… where IS and Turkish military and Turkey-supported opposition forces have attacked civilian and church targets.”
Under HTS-control in Idlib, Christian clergy are not allowed to walk in public wearing any clothing that makes them recognizable as priests or pastors. Crosses have been removed from church buildings.
In 2019, HTS arbitrarily arrested scores of residents in areas under their control in Idlib, Hama, and Aleppo governorates, apparently because of their peaceful work documenting abuses or protesting the group’s rule.
Now that HTS jihadists have taken over Syria, the lives of Christians and other minorities there, such as the Kurds, are at stake.
The Church has been present in Syria since the time of the New Testament, where the conversion of Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus is mentioned. In the 7th century AD, when an Islamic army invaded and conquered Byzantine-ruled Syria, Christianity was its majority religion. Throughout the following centuries under Islamic rule, Syria’s Christians have been exposed to harsh discrimination and today are a persecuted minority.
They have also suffered greatly from the effects of the civil war in Syria. It is estimated that only one-third of the 1.5 million Christians who lived in Syria before the war remain.
In spite of the danger that Syria’s new terrorist rulers may completely end the presence of any Christians in Syria, the international Christian community has yet to protest.
The total number of Orthodox Christians in the world is estimated at about 300 million. The majority-Orthodox countries of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia and Cyprus are all EU members – yet no one has even brought the situation of Syrian Christians to the agenda of the EU or the UN.
The Vatican’s investment office in 2023 made a profit of $49.6 million. Yet, no concrete step has been taken by the Vatican to help Christians in Syria.
So far, the US government, which at least officially promotes universal respect for religious freedom, has, under the Biden administration, allowed Turkey to help HTS conquer Syria.
One hopes that the incoming Trump administration will right this wrong and not allow the new Sunni “head of the octopus,” through its al-Qaeda-affiliated proxy, the HTS, to run Syria.
Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
