Hawzah News Agency - The swift rise to power of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group has heightened concerns about the fate of the Christian minority in the country.
Can the dwindling Christian community in Syria continue to exist under the new HTS administration? And can the Syrian Christians who remained loyal to the Assad government trust the promises of the new rulers in the country? This raises questions about the future of Christians in Syria, which is discussed below:
According to a report by a US-based non-governmental Christian organization, the number of Christians in Syria before the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 stood at 1.5 million, making up about 10 percent of the country’s population. However, within a decade, their numbers significantly declined, and by 2022, only 300,000 Christians remained in the country, approximately 2 percent of Syria’s population.
Although Christians have been wealthier and more educated than the middle class in Syria, they have collectively migrated from the country to escape the terrorist group Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) as well as the deteriorating economic situation in Syria.
The new leaders of HTS have repeatedly assured the people of Syria and the international community that they will protect all minorities, including Shias, Alawites, Druzes, Kurds, and others. Mohammed al-Bashir, the HTS prime minister, has urged refugees abroad to return to their homeland, promising to guarantee the rights of all religions and sects in Syria.
IQNA
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