Western inaction fuels Christian persecution in Syria and the Middle East



Reports from Syria this week reveal a horrifying wave of violence against Christians and Alawites. The terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls parts of Syria, has reportedly massacred hundreds of these minority groups. This brutal attack serves as a grim reminder of the ongoing persecution Christians face under Islamist regimes — a crisis that the international community largely ignores.

The Trump administration condemned the killings at a crucial moment. While much of the world focuses on the political complexities of the Middle East, the reality on the ground for Christians is dire. As the Syrian government has collapsed, Assad loyalists — flawed as they may be — have been overwhelmed by jihadists intent on eliminating Christians. The choice for many is bleak: convert, flee, or face death.

We can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the suffering of Christians around the world.

Let’s put the blame where it belongs. The perpetrators of this violence are no friends of freedom or democracy. HTS, originally an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, is no better than ISIS. These groups have a proven track record of targeting minorities — Christians, Yazidis, and anyone who doesn't conform to their radical version of Islam. In their world, there’s no room for dissent. Convert or die — it’s as simple and as terrifying as that.

The situation in Syria isn’t just about two warring factions. It’s about innocent people paying the price for geopolitical blunders that have spanned decades. Bashar al-Assad’s regime, itself a brutal dictatorship, had relied on sectarian divisions to maintain power. But when the West, particularly under the Obama administration, empowered elements of the so-called Arab Spring — only to watch them devolve into radical Islamic regimes — we set the stage for more massacres.

History repeats itself

The same pattern played out in Libya: Western intervention, followed by chaos, and the rise of violent extremists. The tragedy in Syria is no different. The same forces that were once seen as “freedom fighters” are now the ones persecuting Christians with impunity.

The past few years have seen a drastic decline in Christian populations across the Middle East. In Iraq, the number of Christians has fallen from 1.5 million to fewer than 200,000 since the rise of ISIS. In Syria, the Christian population has dropped from over a million to fewer than 300,000 — a number likely to decrease further if current trends continue. Meanwhile, Boko Haram has killed more than 12,000 Christians in Nigeria over the past five years.

The West’s inaction in response to this persecution is maddening. Thousands of Christians are being slaughtered, yet Europe and other Western nations seem more concerned with political correctness than with protecting those who are being killed for their faith. Why aren’t these refugees being granted asylum? Why do those fleeing regimes that commit such atrocities receive less attention than others escaping different conflicts?

Why are Christians forgotten?

The conflict in Syria isn’t a matter of simple political alignment. Neither side can claim to be the “good guys.” Bashar al-Assad is a bad actor, but so is the opposition. Both have blood on their hands. Meanwhile, Syrian Christians are caught in the crossfire of a proxy war, abandoned by the international community.

In 2024 alone, nearly 5,000 Christians were killed worldwide for their faith. This isn’t just a tragic statistic — it reflects a long-standing pattern of violence. The slaughter of Christians in Syria is merely the latest chapter in this ongoing tragedy.

Time to step up

The question now is: What are we going to do about it? We can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the suffering of Christians around the world.

The Trump administration has made it clear that these atrocities cannot go unnoticed. It’s time for the rest of the world to step up and take a stand, not just for the people of Syria but for all those facing persecution under the hands of radical Islamist groups.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that when we ignore the suffering of minorities, it only sets the stage for more violence. We must act before it’s too late.

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Trump admin condemns butchery of Syrian Christians, Alawites reportedly by regime-aligned jihadists



The Trump administration is demanding accountability in Syria following reports that the terrorists now running the war-ravaged nation and their allies have resumed their slaughter of non-Sunni Muslims, Christians, and other minorities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Sunday, "The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days."

"The United States stands with Syria's religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families," continued Rubio.

Rubio added in his Sunday statement, "Syria's interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria's minority communities accountable."

'We should take the opportunity to celebrate it, and pay tribute to those who brought it about.'

Turkish-backed Islamic militants toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime in December — an act former President Joe Biden called "a fundamental act of justice." The group was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization that has long brutalized Christians and which was effectively spun off from Al-Qaeda, another terrorist organization that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated in 2012 was "on our side in Syria."

Before becoming Syria's president in late January, the specially designated global terrorist leader of HTS, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, suggested that the regime change that the Obama CIA and the Pentagon helped with was a "victory for all Syrians" and that there might be relative tolerance, including for non-Sunni Muslims and other minorities.

The terrorist fooled various American officials and media personalities.

The Washington Post's foreign policy columnist, for instance, wrote, "Syria is free. The rebels won. The people liberated themselves from tyranny." Trump critic Bill Kristol wrote, "The fall of a brutal dictator is rare enough that we should take the opportunity to celebrate it, and pay tribute to those who brought it about." Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio) expressed hope in December that under the new terrorist leadership, Syria would "be a tolerant society accepting of people from all religious confessions."

Recent mass killings and public executions have proven the Jolani regime's commitment to tolerance wanting and the nation's collective victory to have been short-lived.

'He has removed the mask, revealing his true face: a jihadist terrorist from the Al-Qaeda school.'

On Thursday, Assad loyalists who refused to surrender their weapons launched an attack on Syrian security forces near the port city of Latakia in the western region largely populated by Alawites, adherents to an offshoot of Shia Islam, and Christians. The gunmen, who were apparently Alawites, seized control of Assad's hometown, Qardaha, reported the Associated Press.

The Jolani regime dispatched tens of thousands of security forces and auxiliary fighters to the coastal region to launch a counteroffensive, killing hundreds of Assad loyalists.

According to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, security forces also killed at least 973 civilians in 39 massacres and undertook "executions based on regional and sectarian affiliation." Women and children were reportedly among the butchered civilians.

British parliamentarian Andrew Rosindell likened the violence to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and noted that "from the footage I have seen, Alawite Muslims, Christians, Druze, and other minorities are being hunted down, tortured, and murdered in cold blood," reported GB News.

"This comes as a part of the unprecedented escalation of retaliatory actions and genocide which started on March 7 in four Syrian provinces," stated the Syrian Observatory. "The bloody actions, which are still ongoing, coincide with setting fire to civilian houses and forcible displacements, while no international authorities have interfered or taken any actions so far to put an end to those massacres."

Reuters, which was unable to independently verify the watchdog group's death tolls, reported that regime officials have acknowledged the murder of civilians but blamed unorganized civilians and fighters, claiming they were trying to help security forces or take advantage of the chaos.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz tweeted, "al-Julani took off his galabiya, put on a suit, and presented a moderate facade. Now, he has removed the mask, revealing his true face: a jihadist terrorist from the Al-Qaeda school, committing atrocities against the Alawite civilian population."

While the Jolani regime has suggested it was not directly responsible for the recent massacres, the European organization Christian Solidarity suggested that Damascus called last week for volunteers to mobilize while Sunni mosques across the country called for a jihad in the coastal region.

Numerous residents in the coastal region told Reuters that thousands of Christians and Alwaites have fled in recent days, fearing for their lives. Some of those seeking to avoid executions at the hand of Sunni terrorists have apparently taken refuge at a Russian air base in Hmeimim.

Ahead of the 2024 election, President Donald Trump vowed to "protect persecuted Christians."

Vice President JD Vance echoed the president in October, writing, "The United States should fight against the persecution of Christians all over the world, and it will when President Trump is back in the White House."

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