ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – The Sheikh Maqsoud district of Aleppo is characterized by its three eastern and western and Jabal Maarouf neighborhoods on the northern side of the city of Aleppo, with the religious diversity of its Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi population who suffered together war cruelty in previous years.
Christians live in the eastern neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud, which has been known as Jabal al-Saida since its foundation in the beginning of the nineteenth century during the French mandate in Syria. The majority of the population of eastern Sheikh Maqsoud was from the Christian community that historically formed the core population of the neighborhood.
Since the beginning of her living in the neighborhood 35 years ago, Leila Khaled, an administrator at the neighborhood's Aleppo Cultural Forum, has been accustomed to coexistence between Christians and other neighborhood communities, according to what she told North Press.
“Christians were attacked and threatened by armed opposition groups when they entered the neighborhood in 2013,” Khaled added.
“When the armed groups entered the neighborhood, they took the cross off the church, but the People’s Protection Units (YPG) raised it again in 2015. Christians also participated in the defense of the neighborhood against attacks by armed opposition groups," she continued. “We are celebrating holidays together so far, and the suffering we faced together during the Syrian crisis has cemented the strongest bonds of love and brotherhood between us.”
She also added that “during December 2015, Christ’s birthday coincided with the day of the Prophet’s [Muhammed] birthday and the Yazidis’ feast in the same week, so we celebrated in the same place."
Christians have a special office within the Religions Forum, known as the Christian Affairs Office, that opened in the neighborhood in 2017. It is tasked with solving problems through conducting educational discussions to increase social cohesion among the population.
Some of the displaced families started to return to the neighborhood as the security situation stabilized. There are now 35 Christian families, and the number is increasing on a monthly basis, according to Ibrahim George Baladi, the coordinator between the community and neighborhood councils.
Baladi has lived in the neighborhood since 1992, but he was displaced from it during the war. He returned last year.
There is one church in Sheikh Maqsoud, which is Saidet al-Saada (Lady of Happiness), known to the public as the Church of "Jabal Saida", in addition to the presence of a nunnery.