Syrian Archbishop: Christians at risk, Syria drifts toward Afghanistan-like model

During an event held in the Italian capital, Rome, to discuss the 2025 World Religious Freedom Report organized by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Archbishop Julian Yacoub Murad issued a stark warning that the Christian presence in Syria “is slowly dying,” adding that its disappearance would be “a huge loss for the country.”

Murad said that the Church in Syria is living in “an unbearable situation that cannot continue,” amid the continued migration of thousands of Christians seeking better living conditions.

Estimates cited by the organizing foundation indicate that the number of Christians in Syria has declined from about 2.1 million in 2011 to roughly 540,000 in 2024.

He attributed this decline to the failure of local and international efforts to curb the wave of emigration, stressing that “the reasons are not related to the Church, but to the catastrophic political and economic situation.”

He added that halting this “population hemorrhage” requires “a clear political model of governance and a security system that restores people’s confidence,” warning that the country “is heading toward a version of Afghanistan.” He continued: “We have not yet reached that level of violence, but we are not far from it.”

Murad affirmed that Syrians “do not enjoy religious or political freedom,” and that they suffer from “violence, revenge, and tragic events that undermine every effort to end the bloodshed.”

He called on “people of goodwill to take practical steps to end violence and achieve justice,” arguing that “the absence of justice is the result of sixty years of separation between the state and the people.”

He added, “People have lost trust in the local government and the international community. We trust only in God.”

In another context, Murad expressed concern over a possible peace treaty with Israel that would involve giving up the Golan Heights, warning that such a move “would deprive the inhabitants of Damascus of water sources and leave them dependent,” and questioning the fate of “human-rights values that guarantee fair decisions for both sides.”

He urged the international community to adopt a clear and firm stance on events in Syria, and called for cooperation between local and international organizations with educational and cultural institutions to confront the “culture of fear” through training programs that promote legal awareness and judicial independence.

Murad explained that the Church in Aleppo is organizing “forums to prepare citizens to take on political roles when conditions allow,” in order to help transition from “a single authoritarian system to a democratic one.”

He stressed that the Church “insists on its right to perform this role in a country rich in its history and civilization,” but acknowledged that Catholics today “feel like strangers in their own homeland, which is an unbearable feeling.”

It is worth noting that Archbishop Murad was kidnapped in 2015 by ISIS mercenaries while serving in the town of Al-Qaryatayn in the Homs countryside, and he spent several months in captivity before managing to escape with the help of local Muslims.

A-H 

ANHA