Christians in NE Syria protected, threats remain – report
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Despite strong protections under the current Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the Christian community in northeast Syria may have been irrevocably damaged, argues a new report by Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ).
While Christians in areas largely unaffected by war, such as Qamishli and Derik (al-Malikiyah), continue to thrive, cities which came under the control of Islamic State (ISIS), al-Nusra Front, or Turkish-backed forces have been nearly emptied of their indigenous Christian populations.
Under ISIS rule, Christians in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor were made to pay the ‘jizya’, a religious tribute for non-Muslims. In Raqqa, the annual jizya price was equivalent to 14g of gold for the wealthy, 7g for the middle class, and 3.5g for poor families, says one resident interviewed by STJ. Christians were also forbidden from practicing their religion in public, were forced to adapt to conservative Islamic dress, and had their religious buildings desecrated.
Where once Raqqa boasted of a Christian community of around 11.000 and Deir ez-Zor region of 3.000-5.000, today, Raqqa’s Christians do not exceed 100, while those of Deir ez-Zor seem to have all but disappeared. Most emigrated into AANES- or Syrian government-controlled regions, or fled the country entirely. Most never came back.
The Assyrian Christians of the Khabour Valley, northeast of Hasakah – once a vibrant community of over 20.000 – was decimated by an ISIS attack in 2015, which kidnapped hundreds and displaced thousands more, as a recent North Press report outlined.
Christians living in northern Syria were further displaced by subsequent Turkish attacks on the region. Afrin’s emerging Protestant Christian community has been nearly entirely displaced. Turkey continues to periodically shell northeast Syria, too, especially the Christian-majority Khabour Valley.
The AANES has enshrined religious plurality in its so-called ‘Social Contract’, akin to a constitution. Since it took over administration for nearly a third of Syria, Christians there have been able to observe their religion openly. Certain government positions are reserved for religious minorities; the Khabour Assyrians have been able to form their own armed militia. This new system attempts to overcome the usual domination of a ruling sect over the others so widespread in the Middle East.
The AANES is also careful to portray itself as catering to religious minorities. In Raqqa, the local administration rebuilt one of the city’s churches, damaged during the war against ISIS, with the help of the Free Burma Rangers, an American missionary group-cum-humanitarian militia, even before it broke ground on restoring the city’s famous Uwais al-Qarni mosque. In Qamishli, three large churches dominate the skyline (one remains in construction). Derik and Kobani, too, have brand-new churches.
“We are living in heaven,” one Christian interviewee tells STJ. “We perform our religious observance openly and safely. We decorated a large Christmas tree in Ayn al-Arab/Kobani with the help of the AANES, which provided us with everything we needed, starting from cranes and ending with electricity.”
The Autonomous Administration’s care for its Christian minority has not gone unnoticed. Nadine Maenza, former president of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, called on her government and the international community to stand by the AANES, which offers “among the best religious freedom conditions in the Middle East.” Maenza is currently visiting northeast Syria, including Raqqa and the Khabour Valley. In one video posted to Twitter from Raqqa, she called on the aforementioned parties to halt “Turkish attacks [which are] debilitating the region, causing ISIS to rise again,” and threatening religious minorities.
Despite the AANES’ best efforts, most Christian emigrants have not returned. Many fear Turkish attacks or the implementation of a 30 km-deep ‘security zone’, which would envelop nearly all remaining Christian pockets in northeast Syria. A possible armed conflict between Syrian government forces and the AANES-linked Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) also looms large. In addition, Christians in northeast Syria are affected by a debilitating economic crisis and spiralling inflation like the rest of Syrians.
Some members of the Assyrian community have also complained that the AANES is seizing the property of absentee Christian landlords. An AANES official quoted by STJ did not deny the occurrence of such cases, but said they were isolated and based on “individual abuses of power.”
The region currently ruled by the AANES has historically been a safe haven for persecuted Christians, from Armenians fleeing the Ottoman genocide (1915-7), to Assyrians escaping the Seyfo genocide (1914-5) and Iraq’s Simele massacre (1933). Under the right conditions, AANES-controlled northeast Syria may yet return to its roots as a tolerant region offering protection for at-risk communities.