“Our hope is that with the fall of the regime, a new and positive phase will begin for the whole of Syria. I spoke with the leader of the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and his deputy. He assured me that our dignity, our rights, our property and our minorities will be respected, that there will be no harm. Our hope is that all the promises made will be kept. I am quite optimistic.”
Contacted by SIR, Bishop Hanna Jallouf, Franciscan of the Custody of the Holy Land, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, comments on the fall of Bashar Al Assad’s regime after Turkish-backed armed opposition forces led by the HTS militant group swept into the country. The bishop’s optimism comes from his many years serving as parish priest in Knaye, one of three ‘Christian’ villages in the Orontes Valley (the other two are Yacobieh and Gidaideh, Ed.’s note) in Idlib province, not far from the Turkish border in western Syria. “They had seized control of the area and I had to interact with them,” recalls the Vicar, abducted in 2014 by the al-Nusra militia, later renamed HTS. All the rebel and terrorist groups – Isis, al-Nusra, now HTS – have passed through this area. This is how we have been living since 2011, when the war broke out for the first time. I had managed to establish a dialogue with their local leaders and had gained some leeway, such as the return of Christian property that had previously been expropriated. We were allowed to celebrate our liturgies, but not to put religious symbols on our churches. However, Msgr. Jallouf remains cautious. He explains: “We will have to wait and see if their actions match their words. All I can say for now is that all the requests I made during our meeting when he entered Aleppo have been heard, notably the situation of Christians in Aleppo and respect for our places of worship, Christian property including houses, land, offices, shops and factories.
So far, it looks like a good start. I hope it will be the same in Damascus. Al-Jolani arrived there a few hours ago.” However, he notes, “the situation is bound to be difficult” without the help of the international community. He added: “To give the country’s economy some breathing space and its impoverished population some hope, the international community must first lift the sanctions. Then it will have to help rebuild the country devastated by the February 2023 earthquake. The “reopening of the M4 and M5 motorways, essential for mobility and intra-national trade” are among the priorities identified by Msgr. Jallouf. Syria deserves to experience a serene and transparent transition of power,” he concluded, symbolically linking “the fall of the regime and the new political era in Syria to the feast of the Immaculate Conception.”
“May the new Syria be reborn under the merciful mantle of Mary”.
A mixture of joy and concern. The news of the regime’s downfall spread from Damascus to Aleppo, where Father Bahjat Karakach, parish priest of the city’s Latin Catholic community, informed SIR that “the atmosphere was one of celebration, with carousels of cars and chants of joy. The Syrian opposition force – reported the Franciscan priest of the Custody of the Holy Land – entered and opened the prisons, thereby freeing the political prisoners. There is a general climate of hope all around.” However, there is a mixture of joy and concern for the fate of Christians, “who, along with other minorities, have consistently been protected by the Assad regime. As with so many Syrians, the number of Christians has declined dramatically during these years of war and brutal regime. Many have emigrated abroad. Now, with this new political situation, many people are hoping that they will be able to return to their homes and lands, and actively contribute to the future of Syria.” Father Karakach’s hope is that “the opposition forces and the future government will substantiate in practical terms all the assurances we have been given regarding respect for Christians and other minorities in the country. The coming days will be decisive in determining the sincerity of their statements.”
“As Christians, we don’t want to be treated as members of a minority group, but as Syrian citizens with the same rights and duties.”
“Christians see in the fall of the Assad regime the end of the war, which is a reason to celebrate. The Christians of Syria, like all the people of Syria,” says the parish priest of Aleppo, “are worn out by 11 years of war, which has stifled all growth, the economy and the future. They are fighting for survival. In the last two or three years, these armed opposition groups have shown tolerance towards Christians by initiating the restitution of confiscated property. There has been a change in the way they approach Christians. When they entered Aleppo,” Father Karakach says, “they sent out messages of tolerance and dialogue with minorities. This is somewhat reassuring. Moreover, the fact that the leader of these militant groups, al-Jolani, has not chosen to lead the country, but rather to allow the political transition to take place without further shocks, suggests that there might be a real desire not to push the country in the direction of extremism.”
“We are hoping that the fall of Damascus will lead to a new political equilibrium in Syria, and that the international community will contribute to the stabilisation of the country and the adoption of a new constitution that is respectful of the rights of all. This is our hope.”
Turning words into deeds… “Forces led by the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which seized Aleppo, Daraa and other Syrian cities in the last few days, have now captured Damascus. They have seized control of police stations, barracks and law enforcement offices, ministries and institutional buildings. We acknowledge the openness towards dialogue shown by the leader of the HTS-led opposition forces, al-Jolani, whose intentions are confirmed by the news that a former minister under Assad, who has fled to Turkey, could possibly take over the leadership of the transitional government,” says Fr. Firas Lufti, parish priest and Custos of the Convent of the Conversion of St. Paul, speaking to SIR from the Syrian capital a few hours after the fall and the flight of President Assad. Like his confreres in Aleppo, the Franciscan priest is confident in al-Jolani’s openings: “We hope that his actions will match his words. But it will take a certain amount of time to verify this. We are well aware that the militant Islamist group HTS has its roots in Al-Qaeda extremism and ISIS affiliations. Admittedly, they made some positive changes in the Governorate of Idlib, for our confreres and for the Christians in the villages of the Orontes, in Aleppo and other places.”
“What we want now,” he says hopefully, “is for this attitude to be shared by all the groups that form part of his coalition alliance in the war against the previous regime.”
“After a stormy night of gunfire and clashes, the atmosphere here in Damascus is fairly calm at the moment.” Father Lufti makes no secret of the concerns of Christians in Damascus, which, he explains, “were echoed in a meeting with Muslim and Christian leaders regarding the future of the country and the steps needed to be taken in the immediate future. Many young Christians said they feared leaving their homes lest they be confronted by armed gunmen looting shops, after a police station had been torched. These young people are worried. They say they don’t know how to stop the looting and vandalism of their properties and neighbourhoods, especially at night. In Damascus, too, we are waiting for the arrival of the military leaders of the armed opposition, who are the only ones capable of controlling these loose cannons and restoring order. They are mostly boys under 18, armed and intimidating. It will be a few days before we will see organised public order patrol the streets.”
Caution. “The feast of the Immaculate Conception and the forthcoming Christmas liturgies compel us to exercise caution. Together with our confreres,” said Father Lufti, “we have decided to temporarily suspend the ringing of the bells during these days. We need to know first of all whether the militia are going to allow us to do so. We don’t want to expose our faithful to any kind of danger. It is better for our parishioners to remain in their homes during these first hours of chaos,” he concludes, “looking forward to more peaceful times and the arrival of their leaders.”
