What Does The Future Hold For Christians In Syria Under HTS?
(ANALYSIS) Shifting political winds in the Middle East do not come as a surprise — whether as blowback from political storms or turbulent winds of war. Currently, both are gusting ominously across the region.
In recent days, the world’s eyes have been focused on vast political and humanitarian upheaval in Syria. Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year-long regime has been overthrown, and the country has entered an uncertain chapter — and a particularly dangerous one for its religious minorities.
Christians, once making up 10% of the population, are diminishing while facing intensified threats from two radical Muslim militant groups — the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Syria’s sudden shift in leadership has introduced the Islamist world’s rising star: Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the leader of HTS. Despite Jawlani’s soft-spoken promises of peace and prosperity, his history is both alarming and ominous.
Brittanica’s biographic research provides insight into some of Jawlani’s past activities, which contribute heavily to his present vision. Here is a brief summary:
“In anticipation of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, like many other Syrians, Jolani was recruited in Damascus, and traveled to Iraq to fight the U.S. advance. He joined Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), a particularly brutal al-Qaeda affiliate. (Involved in near-daily attacks, suicide bombings, and even the targeting of Iraqi civilians, AQI in 2004 faced reprimand from al-Qaeda leadership for the sheer amount of bloodshed at its hands.)
“Jolani, by then leading a cell, was caught by U.S. forces in 2005 and detained at Camp Bucca, where the most notorious Iraqi militants and terrorists were known to network. Then, in 2011, Islamic State’s (ISIS) leadership sent Jolani to Syria to form a contingent of al-Qaeda that could take part in the conflict. … Fighters from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and parts of Central Asia also joined its ranks, although the group was predominantly Syrian through most of its history.”
Is the Middle East and the rest of the world fully prepared for the sudden rise to power of Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani?
Having been a former leader in both ISIS and al-Qaeda — who is said to have a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head — he has repeatedly reinvented himself over many years, and now re-emerges as a reformed “man of peace.”
To read the rest of Lela Gilbert’s piece, co-authored by Charmaine Hedding, visit The Washington Stand.
Lela Gilbert is Senior Fellow for International Religious Freedom at Family Research Council and Fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom. She lived in Israel for over ten years, and is the author of "Saturday People, Sunday People: Israel through the Eyes of a Christian Sojourner."