A Response to the Syrian Revolution
Watching the incredible events in Syria over the past month and the ensuing developments and repercussions has brought up many thoughts and emotions. On November 27, 2024, a coalition of Syrian revolutionary factions led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive against the Assad led government. The Assad family has ruled over Syria from 1971 when Hafez Al-Assad became president in 1970 through the Ba’ath party. His son, Bashar, took over after he died in 2000 and has ruled Syria in a dictatorial fashion with repression and authoritarian rule.
To understand the mindset of this revolution and the condition of the Syrian people, we have to briefly survey the the demographics of the nation as well as how the Assad family has ruled it for the past five decades. Syrian Arab Sunni muslims make up about 70-75% of the population with Christians around 10%, Alawites at 10% and the remainder consisting of minor ethnoreligious groups. The Assad family comes from the Alawite sect, a minority group closely related to the Shia branch of Islam. The question remains, how could a single family associated with a political party called the Ba’ath party from a religious minority group control a predominantly Sunni majority nation for so long? The answer is that the Assad family developed a Stalinist-style personality cult around Hafez and then Bashar which they used to control the nation in a totalitarian style rule. They appointed leaders from the minority Alawite sect to control all the major spheres of Syrian society including the political and military branches. Thus the Assad family governed Syria with an iron fist and stole the wealth of the nation over decades while financing their luxurious lifestyle.
When the Arab Springs, a series of antigovernment protests over the Middle East, began in the early 2010s it reached the borders of Syria in January of 2011. At that time, Syria was considered as the most restrictive police state in the Middle East. Mass protests and civilian uprisings throughout Syria against the Assad rule led to a decades long civil war in which Bashar al-Assad used mass arrests, police and military violence and brutal crackdowns to maintain his power. Massacres, tortures and crimes against humanity characterized the civil war with estimates that Assad killed as many as 600,000 of his own people to stay in power. As the protests continued, the Ba’ath party led by Assad were able to keep their position with help from the Iranians, Hezbollah and the Russians.
On December 8, 2024, Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow and the Assad regime was finally overthrown. The Syrian revolution orchestrated by HTS and led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani was welcomed and celebrated by many in the nation. Jolani declared a new day of hope for a war torn nation. He proclaimed that HTS was not a terrorist group and that he would not turn Syria into another Afghanistan. He portrayed a moderate expression of Islam with laws to govern the nation and a desire to enter into relationships with the international community.
As the days passed by after the euphoria of freedom swept through the nation, reports and videos began to emerge of gruesome sectarian violence. The revolutionary forces were hunting down the Alawites in revenge, killing them in broad daylight. HTS and other militia groups once again started mass killings of ethnic and religious minority groups especially targeting Christian believers. The “new” tolerant leaders of Syria who spoke of a new day of hope for the people were using the same murderous tactics and methods that the previous Assad regime had used to eliminate their opposition, all those that were different than they were.
Syria is going through an all too familiar cycle through history where the oppressed, marginalized or totally new group comes into power and immediately begins to kill and eliminate their opposition. Unfortunately, we have witnessed this same cycle of brutal regime changes far too many times even in the modern Middle East. Hearing testimonies and watching videos posted on social media of celebrated brutality and open evil made my heart heavy as the realization came again of the darkness of the human heart.
Beyond the factions between Sunni and Shia and the deception of Islam, in one way the only winner of this revolution is the Devil! He hates God and human beings made in the image of God both saved and unsaved. The unquestioned beauty and marvel of humanity is that each one is uniquely created in the image of God, representing and carrying the glory of God. Thus the Devil antagonizes and turns mankind upon each other to torture, maim and kill one another for all kinds of differences. All the while the Devil is rejoicing that mankind is operating and manifesting his nature to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).
As we witness history unfolding before our eyes and the chronic cycle of suffering, 2 conclusions burn in my heart. The first is that we must see and discern beyond the natural events of warring militias, governments and political agendas in evaluating and taking sides. Our hearts must break and mourn over the persistent aggression against humanity of all races and religions. We must discern and acknowledge the Devil as the chief culprit behind the scenes motivating the hearts of men to persecute and kill one another.
The second conclusion is the absolute necessity of Jesus Christ and His Gospel as the only solution to the incurable disease of human selfishness and sinfulness. This is not to minimize the role of governments, diplomacy and human aid. However, the more I witness the depravity of the human heart manifested without restraint, the more convinced I am that Jesus alone can save, cleanse and turn the human heart. Thus, we must pray and contend for the exaltation of Christ and the spreading of the Gospel in Syria for all peoples.
