Opinion

Christians facing dire situation in Syria after radical Islamic takeover

With Syria now dominated by an Al-Qaeda commander backed by the U.S., Turkey and Israel, reports are coming out showing that the first-century Christians of the region are at risk of severe persecution and death.
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DAMASCUS, SYRIA - DECEMBER 8: People wave guns in the air, as they gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on December 8, 2024 in Damascus, Syria. Rebel forces in Syria claimed that they had retaken the capital from longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was reported to have fled the country. Syria has been mired in a multi-party civil war since 2011, amid the Arab Spring uprisings. (Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

Frank
Wright
Frank Wright
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(LifeSiteNews) — On Thursday, December 12, Redacted’s Clayton Morris returned with an alarming report of “videos circulating overnight showing Christians – and other civilians – being rounded up and shot and killed” in Syria.  

Morris interviewed Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) – one of very few U.S. congressmen to refuse the patronage of the Israel lobby – on the disturbing threat developing to Syria’s first-century Christians.  

Massie explains that the so-called “rebels” in Syria are in fact “terrorists” – backed by the U.S., Israel and Turkey.   

The brief and cogent analysis of this complex situation explains how an army of largely foreign militants came to be presented as rebels by mainstream media. 

The leader of the “rebels,” Mohammad al-Jolani, joined Al Qaeda in 2003. He was deputized by the leader of ISIS, Mohammad al-Baghdadi, to form a jihadist faction in Syria. “Al-Jolani” did this, founding the Al-Nusra front, and split with ISIS to retain its independence – claiming his loyalty and that of his organization remained with Al-Qaeda.  

“Mohammad al-Jolani” is a war name taken in the tradition of ISIS fighters. His real name was used by Israeli diaspora minister Amichai Chikli in an X post on Sunday December 8, roundly denouncing the new “rebel” government as terrorists. 

“Despite the rebranding of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its leader Ahmed al-Shara, the bottom line is that most of Syria is now under the control of affiliate organizations of al-Qaeda and ISIS.”  

Chikli’s warning that “we must not allow jihadists to establish themselves near our settlements” indicates that Israel may now turn against the Al-Qaeda offshoots it has been formerly content to arm, supply and whose wounded it has treated in the past. A 2016 statement from ISIS explained why the group does not attack Israel.  

Recent CNN reports have stressed that “Jolani” has changed his ways, with Western outlets such as the BBC providing additional coverage to support this claim. Independent outlets have questioned his “rebranding… from terrorist to freedom fighter” in the mainstream media.  

Ahmed al-Shara – or “Jolani” – became the “emir of Idlib,” the industrial region of Syria. Terrorist control of the region was secured by Donald Trump in 2018, who moved against Russian and Syrian attempts to destroy the terrorist presence and domination of Idlib.  

The recent regime change operation was led by forces headquartered in the Idlib province. As the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported on December 2, “HTS, the most powerful and disciplined of the armed opposition groups, has led the current offensive. Its leader, Abu Mohammad al Jolani, was once the commander of Jubhat al Nusra—an Al Qaeda offshoot. While Nusra renounced Al Qaeda and rebranded as HTS, Turkey and the United States still designate HTS as a terrorist organization. HTS has maintained power in Idlib for years by controlling most economic sectors and their potency on the battlefield.”  

Given this provenance of the new regime in Syria, it is unsurprising that Christian concerns would be raised. Shadi al-Waisi, the new minister of justice of the “Syrian Salvation Government,” is a former Imam who holds a degree in Islamic Sharia law.  

He appears to be introducing sharia law in Syria. 

Al-Waisi was cited in a report by the Catholic Herald, which warned on December 11, “Don’t rush to claim Syria’s Christians are safe – we’re dealing with Islamists in a volatile situation.” 

Noting “a highly concerted [media] effort to portray HTS as ‘moderate,'” the report goes on to say, “Sorting out the actual situation and just what Christians are facing is anything but clear.” 

Yet, the Herald says, “But regardless of their break with Al-Qaeda, HTS is, in both doctrine and practice, an Islamist group that seeks to implement Sharia law. Under Sharia law Christians are tolerated but inhabit a legally inferior status to Muslims, and it is illegal for Muslims to convert to Christianity or any other faith.”  

Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut noted on X that, “Under HTS-control in Idlib, Christian clergy are not allowed to walk outside in any clothing that makes them recognizable as priests or pastors. Crosses have been removed from church buildings. Now that HTS jihadists have taken over Syria, the very lives of Christians in the country are at stake.”  

She cites an “urgent appeal from Christian activists in Syria,” and concludes with a question, “Why are many Western mainstream media trying to portray these murderous terrorists as progressive, tolerant hippies?” 

The Christian Broadcasting Network warned on December 9 that “persecution experts are warning about what could befall Christians and members of other minority groups,” citing “dire conditions” for Christians – and for other minorities. 

Interestingly, some outlets that were shining a light on the plight of Christians have started to “revise” their claims. One outlet, speaking for Greek Christians in the Levant, published a report of an attack on Christian farmers in Syria first relayed by Fr. Michel Nouman.  

The same source noted on December 5 how Syrian Christians had fled to “the Valley of the Christians” to escape the new regime. 

HTS “rebel” forces are rumoured to be preparing an assault on the region. A video report has emerged from Al-Huwaish in the region detailing lawlessness and the hope for the emergence of some security for the inhabitants. 

The same source noted on December 11 how a church in the Hama province had been ransacked by “rebels.”  

Yet, on December 12, the account began to revise its warnings, claiming some were “false.” 

The owner of this account gave an interview to the European Conservative, published on December 9, in which he said, “Christians in Syria need urgent help. For now, it seems they are still alive, but the last time the city of Aleppo was besieged, they were targeted and killed.”  

The source, named only as “Rafael,” explained, “Mainstream media has always claimed they are ‘moderate rebels’ when in fact we know they are neither moderate nor rebels. They are the same militants that beheaded women and children, just rebranded with new names.” 

Sources remain conflicted over reports that local priests had been instructed not to perform Christmas celebrations.   

On December 11, video emerged of Christians being “ridiculed and beaten for being infidels.”

Public executions have taken place, with videos circulating of rebel militia shooting captives dead.   

British journalist Vanessa Beeley, formerly based in the Syrian capital of Damascus, continues to warn of “ethnic cleansing pogroms, assassinations and extra-judiciary executions ongoing across Syria.”

These warnings are echoed by independent journalist Max Blumenthal, whose December 12 interview with Judge Antony Napolitano summarized the regime change as arising from “Idlib – a NATO protectorate controlled by Turkey where Jolani and his goon squads were holed up.”

Blumenthal warns that “under the new regime,” Syria “may soon be ethnically cleansed” as killing and plunder accelerates. He continued, “If you look behind the headlines and look behind the executions that are taking place in public squares in Syrian cities you’ll see that the new Sunni supremacist government that has taken power in Damascus is selling off Syrian State Assets in a fire sale.”  

With Syria now dominated by an Al-Qaeda commander, and seemingly set to be partitioned by Turkey, the U.S.-backed Kurds and Israel, Syrians are now the one group who have neither an army nor a slick propaganda campaign to halt the vanishing of its population of first-century Catholics and Christians. 

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