http://www.smh.com.au/world/christians-in-fear-of-syrian-rebellion-20120823-24orn.html
Christians in fear of Syrian rebellion Date August 24, 2012 a.. Alexandra Sandels, Patrick McDonnell ZAHLE, Lebanon: For most of the refugees streaming across the border into Lebanon, the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, is to blame for the violence at home, and the rebel effort to oust him is laudable. For the traumatised Christians among them, it is often the opposite. The rebellion, led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, has stirred profound concern among Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of Syria's population. Some say they detect an increasingly radicalised Islamist strain among the rebels that makes them fear for their future. Although many young Christians sympathise with the rebellion, most are believed to still support the beleaguered government, viewing it as a guarantor of minority rights, even as it represses free speech and crushes all political opposition. Among those who have fled into neighbouring Lebanon are Christians from the town of Qusair, just across the border from Lebanon in war-ravaged Homs province. Advertisement They say they were tired of threats and public taunts of being ''unbelievers'' and ''dogs of Assad''. They recount being forced to attend rallies against Mr Assad. ''If the [government opponents] had acted peacefully, maybe we would have sided with them,'' one woman says. ''But they were terrible. They looted and robbed.'' Like much of what is happening in Syria, the stories recounted by Christian refugees are difficult to confirm. No Christian refugees interviewed wanted even their first names used. All hope to return home some day and fear reprisals. Many have lost homes and relatives, a fate shared by their former Sunni neighbours. But for some, that's where the common ground ends. Mindful of the persecution of Christians and the rise of Islamist extremists in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, a secular autocrat like Assad, some Christians fear they will become a similar target, especially as the conflict engulfs Syria's two biggest cities, Aleppo and Damascus, each with large Christian populations. Christian groups around the world have expressed concern. Pope Benedict XVI has called repeatedly for an end to the violence. He plans to visit Lebanon in mid-September, despite concerns the violence has begun to spill across the border. ''We hope we will not have the same situation as in Homs,'' Aleppo's Chaldean Christian bishop, Antoine Audo, said. ''That could be a disaster for us.'' Christians have generally tried to stay out of the conflict, with mixed success. Various reports have surfaced of attempts by Assad's regime to arm Christian communities against the rebels, allegations denied by the government and the Christian hierarchy. It seems clear from interviews with Christian refugees that Qusair, once a thriving provincial city of 40,000, became a sectarian-tinged battleground. ''In Qusair, there was a real Christian-Islamic clash,'' said Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, an Italian Jesuit who worked for decades in Syria. ''Inside the revolution, there has been a penetration of clandestine jihadists, extremist groups with a cultural background that allowed them to practice confessional hate,'' Father Dall'Oglio said from Beirut last month. Many opposition leaders protest that their goal is a secular, democratic Syria where the rights of all minorities are protected. The uprising ''is not against Christians or any minority'', said George Sabra, a Christian opposition activist affiliated with the Syrian National Council. ''The Islamist current in Syria is a moderate one.'' Los Angeles Times Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/christians-in-fear-of-syrian-rebellion-20120823-24orn.html#ixzz24Ouy1E8a [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
