Persecution of Christians in Syria in the light of History

Syria is a country with a long Christian heritage. In the town of Maalula, just outside Damascus, many people still speak Aramaic, the language Jesus speaks in the Bible. It’s one of the very few places in the world where that tongue is still spoken. Some children don’t even learn Arabic, the official language of Syria, until they start school.

Ten percent of Syrians in 2009 called themselves Christian. These Christians are the remains of a rich society and culture; a remnant that continues to practice its faith and traditions amongst a Muslim majority and in a nation governed since 1963 under an 'emergency' law that bands all opposition.

Until recently—as long as one sticks with the religion you are born into—secular Syria has long been one of the places most free in the Middle East for any religion.

Historically it is from the Aramaic-speaking Semitic peoples of Palestine that Christianity quickly spread. "Semitic" is a derivation of Shem, the name of one of the three sons of Noah in the Bible. Christianity expanded next into Mesopotamia Assyria, Syria (ancient Aramea), Phoenicia and Egypt.

Christianity was the official religion during the time of the Byzantine Empire—for more than a thousand years (from approximately 306 AD to 1453 AD). The Byzantine people viewed their Emperor as a representative or messenger of Christ and so responsible for the propagation of Christianity.

At the same time, throughout most of its history, this Christian Byzantine Empire had a multi-ethnic character, even while preserving the Romano-Hellenistic traditions of the Greek Empire. This diversity developed the heritage of one of tradition being laid upon tradition.

So in 636 AD, when Muslims entered Damascus, Islamic places of worship were assimilated and added into the Christian basilica 'facilities' where Christians andMuslims then shared the same space for their prayers. But by the early eighth century, Damascus had become the capital of the Muslim world. The basilicas were completely remade into a mosques, many with rich mosaics and precious stones.

The secular diversity of Syria with the layers of historical tradition combine into what has become a challenging environment in which to keep a peaceful coexistence stable. Just how difficult this has been was seen in the events of 1980-82. In the final months of 1979 leading up to this, terrorist attacks had become a daily occurrence, as an Islamic resistance movement began in the northern cities and then gained momentum.

By March 8, 1980, nearly all cities in Syria were paralyzed by strikes and protests, developing into battles with security forces. Many elements, both religious and secular, were involved, including the Muslim Brotherhood. This is when tens of thousands of government troops, supported by tanks and helicopters, killed hundreds of protesters and arrested 8,000, crushing the uprising by April.

The worst came in February 1982, with the Hama massacre, when 10-30,000 were killed by the Syrian army in the town of Hama during a bombardment to quell a revolt by the Muslim Brotherhood. This was the climax of the Muslim Brotherhood insurgency campaign that had begun in 1976. This attack on Hama by the then ruling Hafez al Assad regime has been described as possibly "the single deadliest act by any Arab government against its own people in the modern Middle East."

Despite this, Syria's secular openness to diverse religions has continued to some extent into the present millennium.

• 2003 - tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians flee to Syria. After the U.S. invasion of Iraq, attacks on and massacres of Christians there dramatically increased.
• 2008 - Syria is praised by religious leaders for its example in taking in 1.5 million Iraqi refugees, after the pattern of its long history of opening its border to refugees.

Information has surfaced that, in recent years, Syria has been behind murderous attacks and the oppression of some minorities in Middle East countries. For example:

• Jan 2007 - This video is testimony that orders to slaughter people in Iraq came from the Syrian government—to unite the two countries.
• Mar 2008 - The next video (below) reports that Kurds say they are victims of unprovoked attacks by Syrian security forces.
• Apr 2008 - Middle East Christians are reported to be suffering in large numbers as the result of being associated with the like faith countries of Britain and the U.S.—the "foreign aggressors."

On the other hand, in February 2009, as tensions grew throughout the Middle East there were numerous reports of Muslims coming to faith in Christ in large numbers. A hundred new churches were projected in the four countries; Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and Syria.

However, a recent crackdown on Christians is causing jitters.

Then came the crackdowns in Syria.

• Sep 2010 - eight house churches are ordered shut down by the government in northern Syria.
• Oct 2010 - the estimated 20,000 Iraqi Christian refugees living in Damascus are reportedly turning to prostitution in order to survive, as Syrian law does not permit them to work nor provide them any help, though they had fled with just the clothes on their backs.
• Nov 2010 - expatriates serving Protestant churches are told their visas will not be renewed. Several buildings where Christian services are held are closed, due to Orthodox and Catholic leaders' complaints to the government—disgruntled by their success.

After online calls for a "day of dignity," protesters demanding an end to alleged government corruption took to the streets of cities across Syria on March 18, 2011. But they were met with a sharp response orchestrated by state security forces.

In one video subsequently posted online, water cannon are used on crowds of protesters. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports on the "Facebook youth" who appear to be keeping one step ahead of the authorities.

• March 21, 2011 - 11-year-old boy dies after inhaling tear gas that security forces fire on demonstrators.
• March 23, 2011 - four killed when an "armed gang" attacks an ambulance at the Omari mosque.
• March 23, 2011 - 13 killed as security forces open fire on protesters in southern town of Daraa. The city is sealed off from people going in, apparently as a way to isolate any further unrest.
• March 24, 2011 - Officials promise to study the need for lifting the state of emergency that has been in place since 1963 and allowing greater political freedoms.
• March 24, 2011 - a journalist and blogger are arrested in Syria; Mazen Darwish (founder of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression) for statements he made on arrests the Daraa events and elsewhere in Syria, and Ahmad Hadifa for his support for the Daraa protests via Facebook.

The recent "violent" and severe government response to protesters stirs memories of the 1982 attack by the father of the current president, Bashar al Assad. However, as of this writing he accepted the Cabinet's resignation and Syrians are hoping that with his announced exploratory committee he will finally end the decades of emergency law.

The reports of the involvement of Syrian intelligence officers in other conflicts, in Middle East countries outside their own, does not bode well though for the diverse character of Syria's secular heritage nor for the Syrian Christians. The new unrest may well soon end in a drive to unite the Arab countries under an Islamic Middle East.

Here are other hub articles of mine on the Persecution of Christians in other parts of the Middle East.

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