First They Came for the Alawites. Now It’s the Christians.
As sectarian attacks spread, Syria’s interim leaders either can’t—or won’t—stop the bloodshed
The author of this piece has requested to remain anonymous due to security concerns.
The six months since the fall of Syria’s longtime dictator have brought a cascade of headlines, each one tugging public sentiment between hope and despair. The most recent and devastating was the suicide bombing of a church just outside Damascus, which killed more than 25 Christians and injured dozens more. The attack, reportedly carried out by an Islamist militant, is yet another in a string of assaults targeting religious minorities, including Druze and Alawite communities.
There is growing concern that the interim government lacks the structural capability, or perhaps even the will, to stem the violence. Security in post-Assad Syria remains tenuous at best. The transitional government, lauded abroad for its democratic aspirations, is riddled with internal contradictions. Publicly, it presents itself as a custodian of civil governance and pluralism. Privately, it is held hostage by the ideological rifts within its own coalition. The political makeup of the new administration is a patchwork of Islamist ideologies, ranging from relatively moderate voices to hardliners inspired by theocratic visions reminiscent of Afghanistan under the Taliban. Officially, the government speaks the language of international legitimacy and civil governance. But behind closed doors, a darker conversation appears to be unfolding. Are these attacks random failures of law enforcement, or signs of a government turning a blind eye, or worse?
After the bombing near Damascus, the Syrian Interim Government issued a sterile statement of condolence and pledged to pursue justice. In contrast, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch released a scathing statement holding the cabinet directly responsible for failing to protect religious minorities and safeguard sacred spaces. “We call for the swift creation of conditions conducive to achieving national reconciliation among the Syrian people,” the statement read. “It is essential to establish an environment that facilitates the transition to a state that respects all its citizens and lays the foundation for a society based on equal citizenship and genuine partnership, free from the logic of vengeance and exclusion.” Many in the Christian community viewed the Patriarchate’s response as both justified and politically savvy. They also noted the stark difference in tone compared to the presidency’s reaction to a previous terrorist attack in the majority-Sunni city of Manbij. There, the victims were mourned as martyrs, with emotive prayers for divine mercy. No such spiritual language was offered for the Christian dead—only bureaucratic regret.
Members of the international community are starting to take note, with the European Parliament issuing a motion for a resolution on the urgent need to protect religious minorities in Syria. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one woman told Middle East Uncovered, "It's a false hope to believe that we would reach anything good while those are in power. Every day, more Islamization is taking place." Another noted, "I have never liked the patriarch. But I support every single word he said in his statement.”
Morale among Syrian minorities is low—with the fear of another attack increasing with every act of violence. That sentiment is echoed across Safita, Maaloula, and Suqaylabiyah, where churches are seeing their pews empty not just from violence, but from fear.
This was not the first attack on Syria’s Christians, but it has been the most lethal. In December 2024, residents of the Christian-majority city of As-Suqaylabiyah filmed a foreign jihadist torching the town’s Christmas tree. Local authorities responded with apologies and a replacement tree—but no arrests or consequences for the perpetrator. Later, in the city of Hama, armed assailants opened fire on an archdiocesan compound, vandalized Christian symbols, and desecrated a cemetery.
Fear is spreading. Just days ago, residents of Safita—another predominantly Christian town—awoke to find their streets littered with threatening leaflets. The flyers urged Sunni Muslims to “purify Syria of every trace of blasphemy and unbelief.” Online, Syrian social media erupted in accusations and counter-accusations. Some Sunni commentators claimed the flyers were planted by Assad loyalists aiming to sow discord and sabotage the fragile coexistence of the post-war society. Others pointed fingers at segments of the Sunni community itself, accusing them of downplaying the threats or tacitly shielding extremists.
Similar suspicions surfaced in a Reuters investigative report on the March massacres of Alawite civilians, which traced massacres of families to militia groups with direct links to President Al-Sharaa’s inner circle. Women and children were among the dead. Homes were torched. Entire neighborhoods emptied in a night. Yet the perpetrators walked free, protected, some say, by the very government sworn to protect the innocent.
This surge in sectarian violence has cast a long shadow over the promises of Syria’s transitional leadership. Can the administration of President Al-Sharaa deliver on its pledges of pluralism, legal accountability, and national unity? Or will Syrians simply be trading one authoritarianism for another, this time cloaked in religious garb and sectarian ideology? The question Syrians must now confront is not just whether the new regime is capable of protecting them, but whether it even wants to. For if it will not defend churches today, what will it abandon tomorrow?
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