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SYRIA'S CHRISTIANS: CAUGHT BETWEEN SUPPORTING ASSAD AND FEARS OF AN ISLAMIST TAKEOVER
International Business Times
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/308247/20120302/syria-assad-christians-kurds-islamists-regime-opposition.htm
March 2 2012
By Palash R. Ghosh: Subscribe to Palash's RSS feed
While President Bashar al-Assad has appeared to have declared war on
his own people through a brutal crackdown that has claimed the lives
of at least 7,000 people since last March, it is perhaps surprising to
realize that Syria has long been a diverse society in which minorities
and women have enjoyed certain freedoms and rights that are unknown
in most other Arab nations.
Aside from the dominant Sunni Muslim, Syria's population also boasts
communities of Christians, Kurds, Armenians, Druze and Greeks.
Assad is himself a minority belong to the Alawites, who are Shia
Muslims.
International Business Times spoke to an expert on the Middle East
to explore Syria's demographic issues, particularly its Christian
population.
H.L. Murre-van den Berg is a professor at the Institute for Religious
Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
IB TIMES: How large is Syria's Christian community?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: It is generally estimated at about 8 to 10 percent
of the population --- usually these numbers given by government
officials are on the high side.
On the other hand, the number of Christians in Syria recently went
up because of substantial numbers of Iraqi Christian refugees -
the UN up to 80,000 crossed into Syria from Iraq.
In addition, in contrast to Egypt, the Syrian Christian community is
very diverse - including Armenians, Assyrians, and Syriac-Orthodox,
among others -- with many of them arriving as migrants during the
twentieth century.
IB TIMES: According to Syria's constitution, the President of
the country must always be Muslim - despite this, is it true that
Christians have enjoyed freedom and rights in Syria?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Yes, in general this is true - hey have enjoyed
some freedom and rights, although limited by the general limitations to
freedom of speech imposed on everyone in Syria (especially concerning
political issues), and by the limits to conversion from Islam to
Christianity.
But other than that, Christians in Syria, especially when compared to
Iraq and even Turkey, have enjoyed considerable freedom, with respect
to such things as building churches and monasteries in many places,
establishing schools and other institutions, and in openly showing
their Christian identities (through dress, etc.).
However, over the last decade the social pressure to conform to Muslim
norms (again, mostly in dress) have increased, and in some workplaces
this has caused some trouble for Christians.
In general, Christians have migrated from Syria not so much because
of violence or governmental restrictions, but rather to seek better
opportunities for education and work elsewhere in combination with
these increasing social pressures.
Indeed, Syria has low-quality state education, very expensive private
education, and a malfunctioning economy -- many reasons for the
well-educated Christians to leave and thus contribute to the slowly
declining relative (not absolute) numbers of Christians.
IB TIMES: Syrian Christians have appeared to support Bashar al-Assad
during this ongoing crisis -- why do they support him?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Because most Christians think Bashar is their
best bet in securing relative peace and stability - i.e., anything
else is frightening -- and because upheaval in itself that tends to
harm minorities the most; but, of course, mostly because Christians
fear a radical Islamist government will take over once al-Assad
is gone. A radical government that will not only further restrict
social possibilities for Christians but might even allow extremists
to actually attack Christians.
To what extent these fears are based on reality is uncertain, but
really very few people know what kind of government will take over -
however, it is likely that the next government will be more Islamist
than the Assad regime. Whether it will actually persecute Christians
is rather unlikely.
And also note that in neighboring Turkey, the ruling Islamist Justice
and Development Party (AK) in some ways deals better with Turkey's
own Christian minorities than many of its secular predecessors.
IB TIMES: Assad and his regime are themselves minorities in Syria -- as
Shia Alawites. Has he maintained control by allying himself with other
minority groups in the country against the dominant Sunni Muslims?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Yes - Christians certainly belong to the wider
power base of Bashar, who especially worked to consolidate his support
through the leaders of these churches.
IB TIMES: Despite the brutality of the current crackdown, is it true
that minorities and women in Syria enjoyed a level of freedom unknown
in most other Arab nations?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Yes, that is true.
IB TIMES: If Assad's regime collapses, do you expect Syria's Christians
to flee?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Perhaps, though it is difficult to see where they
would go. I suppose most would first wait and see what comes next.
IB TIMES: When Saddam fell in Iraq, did Iraqi Christians flee to
Syria? If so, how many?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: No, they did not flee immediately, it was only
after radicals started to target Christians by bombing churches
(especially after August 2005) and kidnapping Christians, including
clergy members.
Of course, a major difference so far is that Iraq was occupied by
foreign forces which the Christians were seen (mostly incorrectly)
as supporting.
To put it another way, targeting Christians in Iraq is/was a way to
target the occupiers -- which was probably one of the reasons why
the official state response was rather slow.
In addition, the American takeover had paralyzed many government
structures by removing all those associated with the earlier regime,
making it very hard to adequately respond to the violence.
I think the conclusion should be that the west should be very careful
when it considers ousting Bashar al-Assad -- a western occupation may
harm rather than protect Christians and the other minorities in Syria.
IB TIMES: Did Assad and his government welcome the Syrian Christian
refugees with open arms?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: No, Syria did not welcome them with open arms,
but mostly allowed them to stay.
However, little to no financial support was provided to them, for
example, their children were/are not allowed into state schools etc.
In fact, many live in dire poverty, and depend on gifts from local
Christians, the United Nations refugee agency and other non-government
organizations.
A somewhat similar situation exists in Jordan, again with little
state support for the refugees.
IB TIMES: Are there any Christians among the Syrian opposition? Or
are they overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: I'm not aware of the exact numbers or percentages,
but clearly there are Christians involved in the opposition.
It's very important to realize all the different sides of the
opposition.
For example, the Kurdish population has long criticized the Assad
regime and have joined the opposition, but in some ways they are
critical of the opposition as well.
Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), which represents the Assyrian
people, has a long history of opposition to the Damascus government
-- many of its members have served prison sentences, or have fled to
the west.
Over the last few years, however, Assad allowed the organization to
meet openly under very strict supervision and with strong limits on
its political activities. The ADO group it represents sees itself as
not only religiously, but also ethnically and culturally different
from the majority population.
International Business Times
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/308247/20120302/syria-assad-christians-kurds-islamists-regime-opposition.htm
March 2 2012
By Palash R. Ghosh: Subscribe to Palash's RSS feed
While President Bashar al-Assad has appeared to have declared war on
his own people through a brutal crackdown that has claimed the lives
of at least 7,000 people since last March, it is perhaps surprising to
realize that Syria has long been a diverse society in which minorities
and women have enjoyed certain freedoms and rights that are unknown
in most other Arab nations.
Aside from the dominant Sunni Muslim, Syria's population also boasts
communities of Christians, Kurds, Armenians, Druze and Greeks.
Assad is himself a minority belong to the Alawites, who are Shia
Muslims.
International Business Times spoke to an expert on the Middle East
to explore Syria's demographic issues, particularly its Christian
population.
H.L. Murre-van den Berg is a professor at the Institute for Religious
Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
IB TIMES: How large is Syria's Christian community?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: It is generally estimated at about 8 to 10 percent
of the population --- usually these numbers given by government
officials are on the high side.
On the other hand, the number of Christians in Syria recently went
up because of substantial numbers of Iraqi Christian refugees -
the UN up to 80,000 crossed into Syria from Iraq.
In addition, in contrast to Egypt, the Syrian Christian community is
very diverse - including Armenians, Assyrians, and Syriac-Orthodox,
among others -- with many of them arriving as migrants during the
twentieth century.
IB TIMES: According to Syria's constitution, the President of
the country must always be Muslim - despite this, is it true that
Christians have enjoyed freedom and rights in Syria?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Yes, in general this is true - hey have enjoyed
some freedom and rights, although limited by the general limitations to
freedom of speech imposed on everyone in Syria (especially concerning
political issues), and by the limits to conversion from Islam to
Christianity.
But other than that, Christians in Syria, especially when compared to
Iraq and even Turkey, have enjoyed considerable freedom, with respect
to such things as building churches and monasteries in many places,
establishing schools and other institutions, and in openly showing
their Christian identities (through dress, etc.).
However, over the last decade the social pressure to conform to Muslim
norms (again, mostly in dress) have increased, and in some workplaces
this has caused some trouble for Christians.
In general, Christians have migrated from Syria not so much because
of violence or governmental restrictions, but rather to seek better
opportunities for education and work elsewhere in combination with
these increasing social pressures.
Indeed, Syria has low-quality state education, very expensive private
education, and a malfunctioning economy -- many reasons for the
well-educated Christians to leave and thus contribute to the slowly
declining relative (not absolute) numbers of Christians.
IB TIMES: Syrian Christians have appeared to support Bashar al-Assad
during this ongoing crisis -- why do they support him?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Because most Christians think Bashar is their
best bet in securing relative peace and stability - i.e., anything
else is frightening -- and because upheaval in itself that tends to
harm minorities the most; but, of course, mostly because Christians
fear a radical Islamist government will take over once al-Assad
is gone. A radical government that will not only further restrict
social possibilities for Christians but might even allow extremists
to actually attack Christians.
To what extent these fears are based on reality is uncertain, but
really very few people know what kind of government will take over -
however, it is likely that the next government will be more Islamist
than the Assad regime. Whether it will actually persecute Christians
is rather unlikely.
And also note that in neighboring Turkey, the ruling Islamist Justice
and Development Party (AK) in some ways deals better with Turkey's
own Christian minorities than many of its secular predecessors.
IB TIMES: Assad and his regime are themselves minorities in Syria -- as
Shia Alawites. Has he maintained control by allying himself with other
minority groups in the country against the dominant Sunni Muslims?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Yes - Christians certainly belong to the wider
power base of Bashar, who especially worked to consolidate his support
through the leaders of these churches.
IB TIMES: Despite the brutality of the current crackdown, is it true
that minorities and women in Syria enjoyed a level of freedom unknown
in most other Arab nations?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Yes, that is true.
IB TIMES: If Assad's regime collapses, do you expect Syria's Christians
to flee?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: Perhaps, though it is difficult to see where they
would go. I suppose most would first wait and see what comes next.
IB TIMES: When Saddam fell in Iraq, did Iraqi Christians flee to
Syria? If so, how many?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: No, they did not flee immediately, it was only
after radicals started to target Christians by bombing churches
(especially after August 2005) and kidnapping Christians, including
clergy members.
Of course, a major difference so far is that Iraq was occupied by
foreign forces which the Christians were seen (mostly incorrectly)
as supporting.
To put it another way, targeting Christians in Iraq is/was a way to
target the occupiers -- which was probably one of the reasons why
the official state response was rather slow.
In addition, the American takeover had paralyzed many government
structures by removing all those associated with the earlier regime,
making it very hard to adequately respond to the violence.
I think the conclusion should be that the west should be very careful
when it considers ousting Bashar al-Assad -- a western occupation may
harm rather than protect Christians and the other minorities in Syria.
IB TIMES: Did Assad and his government welcome the Syrian Christian
refugees with open arms?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: No, Syria did not welcome them with open arms,
but mostly allowed them to stay.
However, little to no financial support was provided to them, for
example, their children were/are not allowed into state schools etc.
In fact, many live in dire poverty, and depend on gifts from local
Christians, the United Nations refugee agency and other non-government
organizations.
A somewhat similar situation exists in Jordan, again with little
state support for the refugees.
IB TIMES: Are there any Christians among the Syrian opposition? Or
are they overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim?
MURRE-VAN DEN BERG: I'm not aware of the exact numbers or percentages,
but clearly there are Christians involved in the opposition.
It's very important to realize all the different sides of the
opposition.
For example, the Kurdish population has long criticized the Assad
regime and have joined the opposition, but in some ways they are
critical of the opposition as well.
Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), which represents the Assyrian
people, has a long history of opposition to the Damascus government
-- many of its members have served prison sentences, or have fled to
the west.
Over the last few years, however, Assad allowed the organization to
meet openly under very strict supervision and with strong limits on
its political activities. The ADO group it represents sees itself as
not only religiously, but also ethnically and culturally different
from the majority population.