For the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Syrian Christians gathered for Christmas Eve services under tight security on Tuesday. The event tested the new Islamist rulers’ promises to protect the rights of religious minorities.
In Syria’s capital, the Lady of Damascus Church had welcomed a mixed congregation of young and old, bearing candles as hymns rang through the sacred halls. Security was high, as vehicles belonging to the ruling Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), patrolled around the church to possibly deter any potential violence towards Christian sites.
Earlier in the day, hundreds protested in Damascus against the burning of a Christmas tree in the northern countryside of Hama, an act that heightened tensions among Syria’s Christian community. Protesters-many carrying wooden crosses-chanted slogans like “We are your soldiers, Jesus” and “The Syrian people are one.”
“We have come here to demand our rights and condemn the burning of the Christmas tree and attacks on churches,” “We will not accept this” said by protester.
HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to rebrand the group’s image, has told Christians and other minorities they will be safe under his rule. Once a Sunni Muslim jihadist, Sharaa has made a public attempt to separate himself from the al-Qaeda ties of his former group and has lately been making conciliatory noises. He promised that HTS would not seek revenge against former Assad regime members, mainly Alawites, and not oppress any minority.
However, the Syrian Christian community remains skeptical. The Christmas tree burning is one of several attacks on Christians since the fall of Assad. On December 18, unidentified attackers targeted a Greek Orthodox church in Hama, vandalizing a cross and cemetery headstone. In another incident, SUVs blasting jihadist songs were seen driving through Bab Touma, a predominantly Christian neighborhood in Damascus.
As Christians navigate an uncertain future under HTS, safety and equal rights remain the issues that haunt post-Assad Syria.
