Christians attend the Christmas mass in the Greek Orthodox convent Saint Takla, in Maaloula, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Damascus, Syria, December 24. [AP]

Ishtartv.com - newsandsentinel.com

Jan 18, 2025

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — As Syria begins recovering from 50 years of autocratic rule by the Assad family, an international envoy says Christians and other religious groups expect their rights and freedoms to be preserved under a new constitutional settlement.

Salina Shambos, a senior Cypriot diplomat and the newly appointed special envoy for religious freedom and protection of minorities in the Middle East, said on Friday that religious leaders in Syria expressed a “strong sense of patriotism” and are now “free to hope” that their country will be more inclusive and a respected member of the international community.

Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war began in 2011, either fled the country or supported ousted president Bashar Assad out of fear of Islamist insurgents.

The interim government has urged reconciliation among the country’s different ethnic factions and mutual respect among its religious groups. Three-quarters of Syria’s 23 million citizens are Sunnis, one-tenth are Alawites, and the rest are a mix of Christians, Ismaili Shiites and Druze.

Shambos said the situation inside Syria remains in flux and as such, has raised concern among the different religious groups over the protection of their rights under any future government.

“We’re talking about religious leaders and also a civil society that want to ensure that there’s going to be safeguards in a constitutional process that is inclusive,” Shambos told The Associated Press in an interview.

“These are people that feel very strongly about the country. These are patriots,” she added. “And they are relieved that we have the brutal regime gone. They’re concerned but they hope.”

Shambos said the early signs from Syria’s transitional government are encouraging but concerns remain.

“The leadership is talking the talk. We hope … that they will walk the walk,” Shambos said.

In Lebanon, Shambos said religious leaders expressed their “absolute belief that they’re not minorities” because they feel the term diminishes their contribution to their countries’ social, cultural and political firmament.

Shambos visited both Lebanon and Syria over three days earlier this month for talks with Christian leaders from Orthodox, Maronite, Armenian and Armenian evangelical communities. It was her first trip under her new role to gain a clearer understanding of the hopes and expectations of the two countries’ array of religious groups.

“Preserving the identity of these communities, Christian and otherwise, in the context of Syria and beyond, be it in Iraq, be it anywhere is essential … for decreasing the toxicity and essential for the stability and the security of the region and the security of our partners in general,” said Shambos.

Her appointment was part of Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides’ initiative for the small island nation to act as the link between Middle Eastern countries and the European Union as the bloc’s closest member to the region. Cyprus’ Greek Orthodox Church maintains strong bonds with other Orthodox Christian churches in the Middle East and is home to Armenian, Latin and Maronite Christians. The Turkish Cypriot community in the breakaway north of the ethnically-divided island nation is primarily Sunni Muslim.

Shambos said officials both in Syria and Lebanon expressed gratitude for Cyprus’ involvement.

Cyprus is ideally positioned to act as an intermediary between the Middle East and Europe not only because of its proximity to the region, but also because of the many cultural, religious and social attributes it shares with neighboring countries that enable it to better transmit regional insights, according to Shambos.

Shambos underscored that a reborn Syria must be a Syrian-led process but that Syria’s religious leaders seek support from the EU to ensure the country protects all its minorities under an inclusive constitution.

“Whatever takes place in the Middle East is almost internal for us,” said Shambos, referring to Cyprus’ proximity to the region. “Whatever takes place in the Middle East is directly applicable to our own security and the security of Europe.”