[News] ‘They want to cleanse Syria of Christians’: A community speaks of betrayal, terror, and exile

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 ‘They want to cleanse Syria of Christians’: A community speaks of
betrayal, terror, and exile

Caught between HTS rule and western hypocrisy, Syria’s Christian
communities are being quietly erased from their ancestral homeland – while
officials promote false images of coexistence.

The Cradle's Syria Correspondent
<https://thecradle.co/authors/the-cradles-syria-correspondent-113>

DEC 25, 2025 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/they-want-to-cleanse-syria-of-christians-a-community-speaks-of-betrayal-terror-and-exile
Photo Credit: The Cradle

On Christmas morning in Damascus, the sound of church bells rings hollow
against a backdrop of fear. In a city once proud of its religious
mosaic, Syria’s
Christians
<https://thecradle.co/articles/syrias-christians-targeted-again-this-time-by-those-claiming-to-protect-them>
now live as shadows of themselves – cautious, silent, and increasingly
absent.

For decades, the Christian minority found uneasy protection under former
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s staunch, though secular, rule. But after
14 years of war and the more recent ascendance
<https://thecradle.co/articles/the-incoming-islamic-state-of-syria> of
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its leader, self-appointed Syrian president
Ahmad al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani), that fragile
security has shattered.

When a small group of Syrian Christians in Australia recently invited
<https://www.euronews.com/2025/12/03/eu-updates-asylum-guidance-for-syrian-refugees-a-year-after-fall-of-bashar-al-assad?utm_source=chatgpt.com>
fellow Christians to apply for asylum, they were stunned by the response:
15,000 requests arrived within the first day.

The flood of applications revealed the depth of despair among Christians
still living in Syria. They once made up nearly 10 percent of the
population, but their numbers are dwindling
<https://www.independentarabia.com/node/624142/%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9/%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1/%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%88-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%AE%D9%88%D9%81-%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D9%88%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B6%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AA>
fast.

The Syrian war left deep and lasting scars on Christian communities. Entire
neighborhoods in cities such as Aleppo, Homs, and Damascus have been
emptied, with churches damaged or destroyed and families forced to flee.

Thousands of Christians were killed, kidnapped, or displaced during the
height of the conflict. The trauma of war itself was the first push toward
emigration, a wound that continues to grow
<https://thecradle.co/articles/alawites-and-christians-behind-syrias-silent-sectarian-slaughter>
as communities shrink each year.

*Promise and persecution*

After Assad’s fall in December 2024, HTS attempted to reinvent
<https://thecradle.co/articles/abu-mohammad-al-julani-putting-lipstick-on-a-pig>
itself. Its leader, former Al-Qaeda leader-turned-president Sharaa, who at
the time went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, issued promises
to protect religious minorities. But those pledges faded almost immediately.

With HTS’s history of extremism and intolerance, the group’s rise to power
revived old fears. Even without new waves of violence, HTS’s rule has left
Christians anxious about their future, forcing them to live in a constant
state of uncertainty.

On the ground, those promises faded quickly. Pressure on Christians started
right away. Before Christmas in 2024, HTS leaders met with priests in
Damascus and told them to ask their people to dress more conservatively
during the holiday.

At the same time, HTS media teams went around filming in churches, showing
pictures of Christians smiling and celebrating, to send a message to the
outside world that “Christians are happy in the new Syria.”

Despite this, Christians in the capital staged a protest over the burning
of a public Christmas tree
<https://thecradle.co/articles/syrian-christians-march-in-damascus-to-protest-burning-of-christmas-tree-by-hts-militants>
in the central governorate of Hama, reportedly carried out by militants
affiliated with HTS.

As time passed, government security forces loyal to Sharaa carried out
massacres
in the coastal cities
<https://thecradle.co/articles/alawites-you-are-pigs-how-damascus-linked-forces-massacred-dozens-in-the-coastal-village-of-sharifa>
against Alawite communities. At least 1,600 Alawite civilians were killed
in just three days.
Christians began to hear the chilling warning that they would be next to
face slaughter.

Mazen, a Christian from Damascus, recalls to *The Cradle* one incident
during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.

“I was smoking in my car when a soldier from the security forces came to
me. He asked why I was smoking in Ramadan. I told him I was Christian. He
grabbed the cigarette from my hand and said, ‘Christians, your time will
soon come.’”

This phrase spread, both on social media and through direct threats from
soldiers belonging to Syria’s security forces.

While most of HTS’s promises of protection quickly faded, the promise that
“your time will come” did prove true.

In June, a suicide bomber entered the Mar Elias Church
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31517> in Damascus during Sunday mass.
The bomber killed 25 worshipers and injured 70 more. The Syrian government
quickly blamed the bombing on ISIS, but it later emerged that he was a
member
<https://thecradle.co/articles/syrias-christians-targeted-again-this-time-by-those-claiming-to-protect-them>
of President Sharaa’s security forces – the General Security.
For Christians, it marked a grim turning point.

In July, a new round of massacres carried out by Sharaa’s security forces
in the Druze-majority
<https://thecradle.co/articles/syrian-president-accuses-israel-of-sowing-discord-vows-to-protect-druze>
governorate of Suwayda added another layer of fear for Christians across
Syria.

Local tribes, acting in support of government forces, not only massacred
hundreds of Druze civilians, but also targeted Suwayda’s Christians,
burning six churches and murdering an evangelical pastor, Khaled Mazher
<https://www.barnabasaid.org/gb/news/pastor-among-at-least-12-christians-killed-in-southern-syria-violence/>,
along with his entire family – 13 people, including women and children.
Photograph of the evangelical pastor Khaled Mazher and his family, who were
killed.Photographs of a burned church in Suwayda, in Rodaymat al-Lewa
village.

Some of the fighters dispatched by Syria’s leadership to massacre the Druze
and Christians in Suwayda proudly wore black ISIS patches.

The thin line between ISIS and Julani’s security forces
<https://thecradle.co/articles/syria-says-gunman-behind-attack-on-us-troops-was-to-be-fired-from-security-forces>
was again revealed just days ago, on 14 December, when ISIS gunmen carried
out an attack on a US troop convoy in Palmyra in eastern Syria, killing two
US soldiers and one civilian interpreter.

Like in the Mar Elias church bombing in July, it was soon revealed that the
attacker was an ISIS member who had joined
<https://x.com/joshua_landis/status/2000077308846112896?s=20> Syria’s
security forces. The Ministry of Defense acknowledged they had been aware
of his extremist beliefs, and claimed they had planned to dismiss him but
were delayed because of the “weekend.”

The attack will benefit the US, which has a pretext to further occupy
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/34142> Syria, and Sharaa, who will be
touted in Washington as a needed “counter-terror” partner.

*Terror at the threshold*

But for Christians in Syria, the belief that the western nations would
protect them, whether from Sharaa or from ISIS, is fading.

More people in the community are starting to feel that western nations only
claim to care about Syria’s Christians and the crimes committed against
them to maintain leverage against the new government in Damascus.

This belief was underscored by two additional recent events. On 5 December
2025, ahead of the celebrations marking the fall of Assad, Christians
gathered at the Mar Elias Church to reclaim hope for their lives after the
tragic incident in July. The gathering took place during a Christmas tree
lighting event named the “Tree of Peace.”

During the event, two unidentified individuals moved through the crowd
carrying black flags, causing panic among attendees. People fled the area
rapidly, as peace turned to terror.

One woman commented, “God will never forgive those who terrified us. We
will never forget what happened.” Media outlets remained silent about the
incident, despite residents living in a state of indescribable fear.

Ten days later, in the Adawiya neighborhood of Homs, residents woke to find
their Christmas tree torched. No culprits were named. No arrests made.

One resident commented, “The propaganda and the attempts to appease
European countries and the United States are over. The extremists can no
longer tolerate it. We place our fate in God’s hands.”

*Coercion without headlines*

While violent attacks grab headlines, subtler pressures are reshaping
Christian life in Syria just as profoundly. These quieter forms of
intimidation reveal how communities are being isolated and marginalized
without large-scale violence.

Even when there are no large-scale, organized attacks on Christian villages
or neighborhoods, subtle threats and acts of intimidation are enough to
shake and devastate a peaceful community like the Christians.

One example of this occurred in January when a group of Muslim
proselytizers drove their car through Al-Qassaa, a Christian neighborhood
in Damascus. They patrolled the streets, calling on Christians to convert
to Islam and handing out flyers promoting the wearing of the hijab.

What might seem like a simple act quickly turned tense, sparking a clash
with young men from the neighborhood. For many Christians, the incident was
a reminder that their faith and presence could be openly challenged, even
in their own neighborhoods.

Beyond public confrontations, Christians also face harassment in their
workplaces. Samia, a Christian engineer who had worked with the government
for 30 years, tells *The Cradle* how she was repeatedly harassed by the new
authorities and pressured until she was finally forced to resign.

Her experience is not unique; many other Christians in Syria have faced the
same kind of sectarian discrimination and intimidation in their workplaces,
with the explicit aim of pushing them out of their positions.

In some areas, even schools are not safe for Christians.

Danny, a 16-year-old student, became a target at his own school. His sister
informs *The Cradle* that in April, security forces guarding the school
kidnapped him after discovering he was Christian.

They stopped him at the school's entrance and told him, “This is an Islamic
area – you must convert to Islam, or we will have you beheaded.”

Danny refused, standing firm despite the threat. His family begged for his
release, and eventually, with the intervention of respected Christian
figures in the community, he was freed.

The incident left deep scars, showing how even young students are not
spared from intimidation and sectarian pressure.

Even worse, the wave of kidnappings
<https://thecradle.co/articles/inside-syrias-state-backed-cover-up-of-alawite-womens-kidnappings>
of minorities that marked the 14-year war on Syria has made a comeback. It
has become widely known among extremist factions in Syria’s new army that
Christians are easy targets for kidnapping.

The belief is simple: Christians will pay any ransom, no matter the amount
demanded. This has turned kidnappings into a dangerous business, leaving
Christian families in constant fear for their loved ones.

On 2 July, for example, a well-known and respected pharmacist, Jean Dodosh,
was kidnapped in front of his home in the Christian neighborhood of
Al-Tijara in Damascus. He was held for more than 15 days and only released
after his family was forced to pay a massive ransom. The exact sum remains
undisclosed.
Photograph of the Christian pharmacist, Jean Dodosh, who was kidnapped.

*Legitimacy by manipulation*

In August, Orthodox Patriarch Yaziji visited
<https://archive.sana.sy/en/:~:text=13%20August،%202025-,President%20al%2DSharaa%20Receives%20Patriarch%20John%20X%20Yazigi,Affirms%20the%20Church's%252>
Sharaa at the presidential palace. The visit shocked many in the Christian
community. Just two months earlier, Yaziji had publicly condemned the
government over the Mar Elias bombing. What changed?

For many, the answer lies in international optics. The visit was widely
seen as an effort, coordinated by HTS’s foreign backers, to salvage
Sharaa’s image after the Suwayda massacres. Christians were again deployed
as symbolic proof of “tolerance” in a deeply intolerant state.

This is not without precedent.

When ISIS stormed Mosul in 2014, Christians were given a grim ultimatum:
convert, pay a form of tax levied on certain non-Muslim subjects known as
‘jizya,’ or die.

Two months later, ISIS attacked the historic Christian villages in the
Nineveh Plains – and the defenseless inhabitants were abandoned by Kurdish
Peshmerga forces that had promised to protect them.

The entire Christian population had no choice but to flee in the middle of
the night as ISIS militants descended on their ancient homeland.

Crosses were torn down, churches burned, and homes marked with the Arabic
letter “ن” (N for Nasrani, meaning Christian) to identify their owners for
confiscation.

Over 120,000 Christians fled from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains, seeking
refuge in the Kurdistan region or abroad. Today, Mosul, once home to a
vibrant Christian community, stands almost empty
<https://persecution.org/2025/10/02/fewer-than-70-christian-families-remain-in-mosul/#:~:text=Fewer%20than%2070%20Christian%20Families%20Remain%20in%20Mosul%20%2D%20International%20Christian%20Concern>
of its original inhabitants.

*No future here*

As Ahmad al-Sharaa consolidates growing political and military backing in
Syria, many Christians fear that history is repeating itself – this time
through softer, less visible means – and are increasingly questioning
whether there is a deliberate effort to hollow out West Asia of its
Christian communities.

Speaking to *The Cradle*, Tony, a Christian from Damascus, says: “For the
US, EU, and UN, Julani gives you political speech saying that minorities
are welcome and will be protected, but on the ground, his supporters and
army do the opposite.”

He cites a saying in Arabic, “When I hear your speech, I believe you. But
when I see your actions, I am shocked.”
As a result, many Syrian Christians speaking with *The Cradle *say they
urgently need to leave the country, as they no longer feel they belong to
this land, leaving a once-peaceful community feeling even more devastated
and depressed.

Those who depart carry with them the enduring spirit of their homeland,
taking its soul wherever they go in search of a safer, better life.

At the same time, others are determined to stay, despite the fear and
danger.

“They want to cleanse Syria of Christians. There is no hope for the future
for us. But I am not here to live, I am here to stay. There is a
difference,” Tony explains.

“If I leave, maybe I could get married, or start a business. But I refuse
to leave because this is my land. Even if you want to kill me, I will stay.
I am here. Jesus says don’t fear those who kill the body, because the soul
they can’t kill. If I really believe in Jesus 100 percent, I have to
believe in his word. I choose to believe. So, according to my belief, I am
going to stay.”

*The cost of silence *

Behind the language of security and reform, Syria’s ancient Christian
presence is being slowly dismantled.

This erasure is not the result of a single act of violence but the outcome
of years of systematic coercion, silence, and abandonment. Churches are
targeted as those tasked with protection look away – or enable it.

Patriarchs once vocal in their condemnation now share stages with the very
figures they once denounced. Western officials issue periodic statements of
concern, while HTS leadership curates images of religious harmony for
external consumption, masking the deepening repression faced by Christians
on the ground.

Those who remain carry the memory of a community that helped shape Syria’s
cities, culture, and history. Every act of staying is a quiet defiance
against both the violence of their rulers and the indifference of foreign
powers who posture as protectors.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20251225/b9377b8b/attachment-0001.htm>