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A Syrian bishop who spent five months in captivity with a militant group that tried to force a radical Islamic lifestyle on his country is warning that the “terrorism” of the Assad regime could be replaced with the terrorism of Sharia law.
Archbishop Jacques Mourad, the Syriac Catholic archbishop of Homs, said in an interview with Aleteia that in spite of assurances Christians will be protected under the current rule by an opposition group, that group is acting according to Islamic principles that most Syrians will reject as a rule of law.
“We feel the Islamic aspect of this group is very clear,” Archbishop Mourad said in a telephone interview Wednesday from his office in Homs, a city in western Syria about 100 miles north of Damascas, the capital.
The archbishop, who as a monk of the Monastery of Mar Musa was kidnapped and held captive by the Islamic State group [ISIS] in 2015, spoke in the wake of the toppling of the Assad regime in Syria by a coalition led by opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The group was formerly affiliated with al Qaeda and al-Nusra Front and is still designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. It says it has cut its ties with the radical jihadist groups and has been presenting itself as tolerant of religious minorities in Syria. Its leader, Ahmed al Shara, recently dropped his nom de guerre, Abu Muhammad Al Jolani, and traded fatigues for the suit of a political leader. He has promised that the current transitional period will culminate in a democratic process to restore freedom in Syria.
But Archbishop Mourad and others are troubled by signs that radical Islam will have the upper hand in the transition from 53 years of totalitarian rule by Hafez al-Assad and then his son, Bashar al-Assad. The younger Assad fled to Moscow after the HTS-led coalition barrelled through several cities in late November and early December, and the Syrian army – and then the government – collapsed.
“We are here to correct your moral mistakes”
Al Shara said Monday that Syria’s new government plans to launch a process to overhaul the country’s constitution and institutions. Archbishop Mourad believes that such a constitution must not be based on any particular religious code and must protect all of the country’s minorities.
He is not encouraged by what he sees so far – particularly, a court system being set up in which the basis of judgment is Islamic law.
In addition, Mourad said, HTS is staffing government ministries with people who have studied Sharia. It is imposing segregation according to sex among healthcare workers, hospital patients, and office workers. It is organizing Islamic prayer in the large plazas outside universities. And in general it is telling people, “You have a lot of moral mistakes, and we have come to correct them.”
“With these methods, there is no place for us minorities,” the archbishop told Aleteia. “We don’t feel respect, we don’t feel we have our place, because, for example, in offices, in companies, in universities, if we work or we study, if the Islamic aspect dominates, we feel out of the group, out of society. And this is not acceptable.”
On Friday, The New York Times reported that three senior US diplomats were in Damascus to meet with leaders of the militias that have seized control of the country. “They are seeking to learn about and help shape the political landscape of Syria,” the newspaper said.
The State Department said in a statement that the diplomats “will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them.”
Breaking crosses
Also voicing concern is Eskandar Ataallah, program manager at the Pulte Institute for Global Development at the University of Notre Dame. Ataallah formerly worked for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch/Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development in his native Syria and lived there for most of the Syrian civil war, until 2022.
Not only do most Syrians worry about HTS’s Islamist background, Ataallah said, they see more and more signs that the group’s position overseeing the transition in Damascus does not bode well for religious minorities.
Ataallah has received reports of vandals breaking into a church in Hama and breaking crucifixes and Marian statues; vandalism of crosses in cemeteries; distribution of literature encouraging women to wear the hijab; and even a car driving around Damascus with a threatening sign saying, “We will meet you soon, people who worship the cross.”
When challenged about such incidents, HTS claims that the views and actions are those of lone rangers and not representative of their group. But there’s been a troubling uptick in their frequency since December 8, when HTS ousted Assad, Ataalllah said.
HTS leaders have given “some speeches about freedom, inclusivity, and wanting everyone to be involved, but the actions in the street are kind of different,” Ataallah told Aleteia.
Will this government really be transitional?
One question on many Syrians’ minds these days – especially Christians – is, “Will these extremists be ruling not as a transitional government, but will they always find the justification to stay?” Ataallah said. “Because they will say that, ‘Oh, the country is not stable yet; we have to be here; we have to stay here, because we want to provide at least the foundation in order to start the new government.’”
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported HTS leader al Shara saying that Syria isn’t ready for elections, because it is mired in turmoil, and many Syrians remain displaced by the civil war.
As a member of the American Coalition for Syria, Ataallah has voiced his concern to representatives of the US government.
“We are trying as Christians, whether from here or in Syria, to have a role in the next phase, because we are not imposing our role or seeking someone to give us our role,” he said.
Acknowledging his country’s ancient Christian history, he said, “We have been in Syria way before anyone else.”
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