Syria's ancient Christian community faces an existential crisis, especially in Aleppo, and the rise of Islamist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) could be the “beginning of the end,” says International Christian・The Chairman of Concern (ICC) stated. ), Jeff King told Breitbart News on Wednesday.
Dr. King's organization works around the world to assist Christians facing persecution by governments, violence by terrorists and anti-Christian mobs, and other dangers. Just after the new year, the organization released the Global Persecution Index (GPI), a global assessment of the world's most dangerous places to practice Christianity. The 2025 edition covers persecution in 2024, creating a complex situation in assessing Syria since the half-century-old Assad family regime officially collapsed in December.
GPI has identified much of the Islamic world as dangerous for Christians, from Iran and Saudi Arabia to much of South Asia (including Pakistan and Afghanistan) and Africa's Sahel region. Beyond the Islamist threat, hundreds of millions of Christians around the world face persecution and violence, but most worryingly, atheist communist regimes have banned private organized prayer and In places like China and India, families that expose children to Christianity are punished. The Hindu nationalist government has failed to curb, and in some cases enabled, rampant mob violence against Christians.
King, the world's leading expert on religious persecution, told Breitbart News that Syria was “definitely on our radar,” but that “the fall of the Assad regime happened incredibly quickly.” did.
“They are not on the list because the HTS has been invading since September and Assad collapsed after the final meeting of the report,” he explained, adding that, unfortunately, if the HTS Islamist violence is not contained, Syria is bound to emerge. I predicted it would be. In the 2026 edition.
HTS is a jihadist terrorist organization that began as part of al-Qaeda. The group is headed by Ahmed al-Sharah (formerly Abu Mohammed al-Jolani), a US-designated terrorist with a history of collaborating with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The militia is one of a long list of militias, terrorist groups and state actors who have taken part in the melee that emerged from Syria's civil war, which began as a protest movement against former dictator Bashar al-Assad and escalated into war after Assad's military actions. It was two. Extraordinary violence to silence civilian dissidents. Although President Assad appeared to have largely crushed the rebellion in the years after the collapse of the Islamic State caliphate in 2017, Syria never achieved a state of peace.
The war suddenly flared up again in late November 2024, when HTS stormed Aleppo and took it from the Assad regime without significant resistance. Following the victory in Aleppo, he led HTS leaders on a rapid march across the country and headed for Damascus. On December 7-8, Bashar al-Assad fled Syria and handed over Shara to Russia, where he received political asylum.
Shara'a has since abandoned jihadism nom de guerre And I started wearing Western suits. He has vowed to build an “inclusive” government and has repeatedly insisted that the Islamist regime expected to rise from Assad's ashes will respect religious minorities, including Christians. But he insisted that Islam would be central to the new government, and in some interviews refused to give a clear answer on whether Syria would allow non-Muslims to consume and sell alcohol, citing “legal” expertise. The house claims: Radical clergy will control the handling of those matters.
Ahmed al-Sharah, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, speaks at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, December 8, 2024 (Omar Album, File/Associated Press)
“We are proud of our culture, religion and Islam. Being part of an Islamic environment does not mean excluding other sects. On the contrary, it is important to protect them. is our duty,” Sharaa said in an interview in December.
Sharaa also said that HTS will not recognize elections for at least the next four years.
The fall of Assad's regime was greeted with celebration in some Christian communities, particularly in Lebanon, where Assad's regime had tolerated violence by Shiite jihadists, but there is no doubt that Assad persecuted them primarily for their faith. There was alarm and protest by many Syrian Christians who did not. Syrians bravely took to the streets in Damascus to demand respect for women's rights and religious diversity.
Christians held protests in Damascus during Christmas week, chanting “Hold high the cross!” He declared that Christianity was the Syrian faith.
The protests were fueled by an incident in al-Skyrabiya, where jihadists burned a Christmas tree. HTS dismissed the case as unrelated to HTS members.
In Aleppo, King told Breitbart News that jihadists had suppressed Christmas celebrations.
“The situation of Christians in Syria, especially in Aleppo, is dire following the recent occupation of the city by the Islamic extremist group HTS on December 2, 2024,” he explained. “Aleppo has historically been a center of religious diversity with a Christian presence dating back nearly 2,000 years, but the Christian community, which once numbered 20,000, is in turmoil.”
“Armed groups have removed Christmas decorations from public places and there are reports of violence, which has instilled fear and led many Christians to flee,” he continued.
King said the HTS rules create “grave risks” for Christians.
“HTS, which has its roots in al-Qaeda/ISIS, has historically been extremely violent against Christian minorities, and this should mean increased persecution,” Dr. King noted. “This situation will likely result in Syria being included in the Global Persecution Index next year, as protections for minorities are weakened without the Assad regime.”
“Broader trends across the Middle East point to a dramatic decline in the Christian population, with the Christian community in Syria shrinking from 14 percent in 1943 to just 1 percent today,” he added. “The fall of Aleppo to these groups, if left unchecked, will spell the beginning of the end for one of the last significant Christian strongholds in the region.”
King said the coming days and weeks are “critical” for the survival of Christianity in Syria.
“The plight of Christians in Aleppo is part of a larger story in which religious freedom in conflict zones is increasingly threatened,” he said. “It is imperative that world leaders urgently address this crisis to prevent further atrocities and preserve the religious diversity that has characterized the Middle East for centuries.”
Dr. King called for increased international advocacy to protect Christians and other religious minorities in Syria, urgent humanitarian assistance, and “ensure that the new government respects the rights of Christians and other religious minorities.” “Continued monitoring and pressure from international organizations to ensure this is the case.”
