A look at the history of the group that have taken Damascus, and how we can pray. The world was stunned this past month as Syria changed, seemingly overnight. Rebels took over the capital, Damascus, and the strongman leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, fled for Russia. He\u2019d led the country for more than 20 years, taking over for his father, who\u2019d led for nearly 30 years. Now, for the first time in almost 50 years, Syria won\u2019t be ruled by an Assad.<\/p>\n
On November 29, Syrian fighters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an opposition group supported by T\u00fcrkiye, reached the center of Aleppo, Syria\u2019s second-largest city. A day later, HTS forces headed towards the city of Hama, and by December 5, they took control of Hama. Eventually, they also captured Homs and made their way to Damascus. By December 7, Assad had fled and the rebel groups had declared victory, raising the new Syrian flag over Damascus.<\/p>\n
The rebel takeover was swift\u2014though the ground had been laid through nearly a decade of civil war. But who are these rebel groups? And what does the new political reality mean for Syrian Christians?<\/p>\n
Who are the new leaders of Syria?<\/strong> HTS has an Islamic agenda; they have long wanted to oust Assad and Hezbollah\u2014the Islamist Lebanese group supported by Iran\u2014and install Islamic rule in Syria. Under HTS-control in Idlib, Christian clergy was and is not allowed to walk outside in any clothing that makes them recognizable as priests or pastors. Crosses were removed from church buildings. But, there are no current reports of HTS-fighters threatening Christians or other groups. And public declarations from the group suggest they are trying to rebrand themselves as tolerant of minorities and human rights. The leader of HTS, Ahmed al-Sharaa (who previously went under an assumed name, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani), even told CNN that HTS has \u201cgone out of its way to publicly tell Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities that they will live safely under its rule.\u201d \u201cNo one has the right to erase another group,\u201d al-Sharaa told CNN. \u201cThese sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest publicly available set of rules from HTS\u2019s leadership in Damascus also suggests there is some hope for a more moderate Islamist rule. These rules include a ban on revenge between Syrians, a guarantee of freedom for media outlets and a ban on restrictions for women\u2019s clothing, which includes Islamic dress. \u201cThe leadership transition in Syria under HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has provoked mixed responses,\u201d explains Henriette Kats, an Open Doors research analyst on the Middle East. \u201cWhile he promises safety and peaceful coexistence for all minorities, including Christians, doubts persist due to HTS’s jihadist origins and track record of human rights abuses.\u201d And so: uncertainty remains.<\/p>\n What does this mean for Christians?<\/strong> This is what Christians pray will not happen. There is room for cautious optimism, particularly since HTS is saying many of the right things. But right now, the future is simply unknown. \u201cFor Christians and other minorities, the future remains precarious, as past hardships in Idlib and concerns that these assurances may be a tactic to gain initial public support raise questions about long-term stability,\u201d explains Kats.<\/p>\n Syrian Christians have asked us to pray alongside them. Pray for the people in Syria and especially for our brothers and sisters. Pray that the Christians will find refuge in God and will trust Him in this situation. Pray that there will be no restrictions on Christians and other minorities in how they practice their faith. Pray that there won\u2019t be bloodshed in Syria. Pray that the Lord will give wisdom to each church leader and each individual Christian about what to do, how to respond wise to the new situation. Pray the promises of the new leaders of Syria will be true, and that this change in government will ultimately lead to greater stability and reconciliation for all Syrians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A look at the history of the group that have taken Damascus, and how we can pray. The world was stunned this past month as Syria changed, seemingly overnight. Rebels took over the capital, Damascus, and the strongman leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, fled for Russia. He\u2019d led the country for more than 20 years,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":44716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-suider-afrika","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nHayat Tahrir al-Sham (roughly translated, the group\u2019s name means \u201cOrganization for the Liberation of the Levant\u201d) started in 2011 under another name: Jabhat al-Nusra, which was allied to al Qaeda. The BBC says the group was \u201cone of the most effective and deadly of the groups ranged against President Assad\u201d during the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. In 2016, the group cut ties with al Qaeda, and eventually renamed itself in 2017 when it merged with other rebel groups. After opposition groups were driven out of Aleppo in 2016, HTS mainly controlled the area west of Aleppo around the city of Idlib. They are supported by T\u00fcrkiye. They are still regarded a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
\nChristians, like other Syrians, feel unsecure as they don\u2019t know what to expect. In general, they are afraid that the change of control might have a negative impact on the freedom they had as Christians. But the main feeling for believers in Syria is uncertainty\u2014there\u2019s simply no way to know what the future holds. Assad was widely seen as a tyrant, which explains the jubilation many Syrians have expressed to international media since his downfall. But the replacement of a tyrant can be tricky and lead to a power vacuum. This is what happened in Iraq in 2007, when Saddam Hussein was deposed and a power vacuum led to the rise of ISIS.<\/p>\n