Syria (MNN) — Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, attacks against Alawites and other minority ethnic and religious groups in Syria have become more common.

Under the Alawite leadership of former President and dictator Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian civil war continued for 14 years. It saw ethnic struggles as each group tried to protect itself or advance its own interests, often through violence and by claiming different areas.

Between Sunni Muslims and the Alawite sect of Shia Muslims, Pierre Houssney with Horizons International says, “[There’s] a lot of build up of bitterness and hatred between groups, so the groups that were in control before, now that there’s been regime change, they’re becoming the victims of violence.”

In these areas of violence against minority religions like the Alawites, other minorities in the country, such as Christians, are also victims of ethnic violence.

Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria, urges the new government to act. The commission calls for an end to the violence and protection of places of worship.

The Syrian government has incentives to comply with the UN: it seeks to gain legitimacy as a country.

This time marks a transition period from a dictatorship that was against the West to a government seemingly eager to please the international community and gain recognition as a legitimate state.

“They’re trying to clamor for that UN approval,” says Houssney. “They want to get funding. They want to get World Bank involvement; they want to participate in the world economic system. But, the human rights issues have to be solved if they’re going to get into those places of benefit.”

Despite this, it is unclear how much control the new government has over the country.

Houssney says it’s too soon to tell how this new government will impact ministry in Syria. In the past, it’s been difficult to operate gospel-oriented activities there due to the regime.

“We’re up in front of a time of uncertainty in Syria,” says Houssney. “It’s possible that gospel inroads are about to open up into Syria, and so it [could] become a very open country to the Gospel.

“It’s possible that good opportunities for the gospel are about to open up, but it’s also possible that the government could end up becoming more Sunni extremist-oriented, and that could actually make it more dangerous for the gospel to go out.”

Syria’s government is also offering opportunities for religious charity groups to register. This could be positive, as it offers legitimacy, or dangerous, as organizations remain unsure of the government’s true motivations.

Please pray for peace and for the ethnic violence in Syria to end. Pray that the government will prioritize the stability and prosperity of their country, laying aside violence and creating inroads for the gospel. Pray for the protection of Syrian believers who are in Alawite communities, who are now living in fear. Pray that they will be bold and experience supernatural protection. 

 

Header photo of shadowed Syrian flag is a representative stock photo (Courtesy of Abdalhady Mansour via Pexels)