The massacre of Alawite civilians on the coast of Syria also alarmed other religious minorities in the country. In early March, forces loyal to Bashar Assad attacked the new regime there. There were even attacks against the Alawites, in which many civilians were killed. Christians have not been targeted, but fake news and the failure of the new government only fuel the minority's fears.
Before the 2011 conflict, Christians in Syria were ten percent of the population. There is no exact data on their number today. They are divided into ten different faiths, with the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches being among the most numerous. There is also a small Protestant church, which before 2011 had around 300,000 members.
Since the overthrow of Assad on December 8, 2024, many Christians have feared Islamization, Lebanese-born theologian Asad Elias Kattan, who teaches at the University of Münster, told DW. In principle, the new leadership led by Ahmed Ash Sharaa has sent positive signals to all religious denominations in Syria - differences must be accepted. But there is also "a certain uncertainty" in the political program of the new rulers.
The questionable role of church leaders
"The transition is chaotic. The security situation outside Damascus is not stable everywhere and it will take time before the police and the army can again guarantee public order," says Kattan. Since the fall of Assad, there have been isolated incidents. Video footage shows a gunman destroying a Christmas tree in Aleppo. There is also a case in which an armed group attacked a Greek Orthodox church in Hama, damaging a cross and firing at the building. The authorities condemned the perpetrators and stated that the blame for the incident lies with "unknown" who are harming the promise of tolerance.
In this delicate situation, however, Christians in Syria and abroad are also raising questions related to the position of church leaders during the Assad dictatorship. When protests against Assad broke out in the spring of 2011, Christians demonstrated alongside their Muslim compatriots for civil rights. And they also became victims of the regime - among the dead, among the arrested, and among the tortured there were Christians.
The leadership of the churches at that time were in most cases on the side of the regime. The heads of all Christian churches support the narrative of the Assad regime, which presents itself as a defender of Christian minorities - propaganda that is also widespread in the West. Neither the bombing of Aleppo, nor the poison gas attacks and the starvation of entire neighborhoods and the sending of tens of thousands to torture chambers have met with any criticism from the patriarchs. Assad is "the victim of targeted slander", said Patriarch Gregory Laham, then the highest official of the Greek Catholic Church.
Anger and disappointment
"From today's perspective, this is more than shameful. When will the church leaders apologize to the Syrian people for their behavior?", asks theologian Kattan in an article for the Lebanese website Almodon. "Their task is to critically review that time. They should openly admit that they made mistakes." No one expected them to be in opposition to the government, but at least they could have taken a more distant stance towards the regime, Kattan points out.
According to Syrian Protestant theologian Najib George Awad, many Christians at home and abroad are deeply disappointed and angry about the behavior of their church leaders. "They had become a tool of the Assad regime and were helping it build a positive image among the international community," says Awad, who is a professor at the University of Bonn.
Indeed, Christians enjoyed religious freedom behind the walls of the church, but if they raised their voice against the regime outside it, they were persecuted like everyone else. According to the opposition, thousands of Christians, mostly young, have been imprisoned since 2011 because they participated in demonstrations or distributed leaflets against the regime. They accuse the church leaders of abandoning them to their fate.
"There were also opposition activists among the pastors who gave their all," lawyer Hind Kabauat told DW. She added: "There were also opposition activists among the pastors, but also informants who informed the secret services about the activists and are responsible for many deaths." They must be held accountable - just like other Syrians accused of crimes during the Assad regime.
Author: Claudia Mende