OFFICIAL SUNDAY OPEN THREAD

Christian Persecution In Syria: A Growing Problem

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illing Christians who occupy predominantly Islamic countries in the Middle East is nothing new in History. Sometimes the places and periods of persecution are intense & severe, other times not as obvious or apparent.

Right now, there are numerous reports of many Christians being killed in Syria by independent militia members of the new Islamic regime which has taken control of the country following the downfall of that nation’s long-time dictator, Assad.

The Daily Mail (UK) reports:

“More than 2,000 Syrians were been killed in just two days of brutal revenge killings as the conflict-riddled nation is gripped by bloody clashes between its new rulers and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad. This according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and local reports.”

And they add:

“The leaders of Syria’s three main Christian churches issued a joint statement Saturday condemning ‘massacres targeting innocent civilians,’ following reports of mass killings.”

Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed the new government will respect all communities and affiliations. He is working to gain international legitimacy and has recently met with regional leaders. However, this intense violence could undermine those efforts.

Syria has been mired in conflict for more than a decade, with the Syrian Civil War beginning in 2011, which included widespread human rights violations, sectarian violence, mass killings and displacement, as well as intense battles against separate ISIS factions.

The recent fatal clashes mark the worst violence since al-Assad was thrown out, with high casualties reported among religious minorities, including Alawites and Christians.

Gunmen linked to the new government killed hundreds of people in the Alawite coastal areas in revenge attacks, according to SOHR, which documented at least 428 Alawite deaths in two days. No official figures have been released.

“This was one of the biggest massacres of civilians during the Syrian conflict,” SOHR director Rami Abdurrahman said about the recent killings of Alawite civilians.

Local residents told Reuters that thousands of people, including Christians and Alawites, have fled the areas to nearby mountains for safety.

The patriarchs of Syria’s three main Christian churches, the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholic Churches, issued a joint statement condemning the violence and “massacres targeting innocent civilians.” The religious leaders called for “an immediate end to these horrific acts, which stand in stark opposition to all human and moral values.”

The Daily Mail adds:

“The leaders of Syria’s three main Christian churches issued a joint statement Saturday condemning ‘massacres targeting innocent civilians,’ following the reports of mass killings.”

Of course, not everyone being killed are exclusively Christians, but many followers of Jesus are being specifically targeted for their faith.

An article in Newsweek declared:

“The recent fatal clashes mark the worst violence since al-Assad was thrown out, with high casualties reported among religious minorities, including Alawites and Christians….The Christian population in Syria has drastically reduced since the start of the civil war, with The Syrian Observer estimating only around 300,000 Christians still remain in the country.”

And Newsweek also reports:

“Local reports have also highlighted targeted killings of Christians, who have a significant community in Latakia.”

The current and ongoing intense persecution of Christians in Syria is in some ways ironic, considering the historic significance that country has been to the faith.

For example, consider these historical facts from the first century alone:

✪ The believers in Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch, Syria.

✪ Paul’s conversion—which occurred when he was known as Saul of Tarsus—happened in Syria. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians there, when Jesus appeared to him and asked, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” “Who are You, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” This incidenceis known as Saul’s Damascus Road conversion.

✪ The missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas that helped change the world was first launched from Antioch.

✪ One of the chief companions of Paul on his missionary journeys was a doctor, Luke, who was the author of the Gospel that bears his name and of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke was from Antioch.

Of course, since Islam conquered the Levant in the 600s, Christians have been persecuted in what is now Syria and elsewhere all across the Middle East—particularly by Islamists, i.e., radical Muslims. Nonetheless, at different periods Christians were tolerated—albeit as second-class citizens, but at least they were allowed to live.

Almost 30 years ago, I interviewed the late Dr. David Barrett, a leading church statistician and researcher, who was the founding editor of the massive World Christian Encyclopedia (1982) about anti-Christian persecution.

Barrett told our readers:

“Martyrdom is a continuing phenomenon, affecting roughly one in every two hundred Christians. Some time or other in their lives, that number of people will be murdered for their faith, or they will lose their lives. And it’s been the same, right from the beginning. People tend to think that martyrdom belongs to the early church, the first three centuries; but it went on after that, and it is going on exactly the same rate today—0.5% per annum.”

Jesus told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses for Him unto all the world. The Greek word we translate as “witness” is the word from which the word “martyr” is derived. So many of those early Christians, including almost all of the apostles, were witnesses for Christ unto death that the word came to mean, “one who testifies unto death.”

After having seen and even touched Jesus following His resurrection from the dead, the disciples were willing to be put to death for their message rather than deny what they had witnessed.

America was born for the most part by those seeking religious freedom. Tragically, around the world, religious freedom is still very much at risk in some places, such as Syria. Wendy Wright is the president of a Washington, D.C.-based group called Christian Freedom International, which has a tagline, “unshackling the persecuted church to survive and thrive.”

I asked Wright for a comment on the current crisis in Syria. She told me:

“When Islamists gain power, Christians and others suffer. Several Christians have been killed in Syria in the mass killings in the streets. Christians in Syria are afraid that when Islamists finish off the Alawites, they will go after Christians. Christians in Syria do not have any weapon to defend themselves. They are not meeting together or going out of their homes.”

Wendy Wright has told me in previous discussions that around the world there are about 360 million Christians currently at risk. That would include all the Christians in Syria, about which she observes, “It is a very dangerous situation. Please pray for peace & their safety.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement: 

“The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days. The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families. Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.” ✪

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