Fr Jacques Mourad There is still much uncertainty in Syria. A month and a half after the ousting of Bashar al Assad and the seizure of power by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani and his Islamist rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (Hts), on the one hand scepticism seems to prevail, the fear of a leap backwards towards an imposition of liberticidal lifestyles and laws or measures disrespectful of minorities such as the proposal of some circles close to the government (partly denied) according to which school books should have a much more Islamic matrix. On the other, there is an air of novelty, of rebirth after more than fifty years of dynastic rule and 13 years of bitter war, of a desire to return to the mosaic of cultures, faiths, ethnic groups that Syria has represented for centuries. The churches are living this moment with trepidation. But if at first it was disquiet that prevailed, as time passes, a sense of greater hope begins to peep out.
The Synodal Times, in order to delve deeper into how the Christian community is living this phase and to have an authoritative opinion on the current evolving political moment, turned to Jacques Mourad, Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs since March 2023. A monk of the community of Deir Mar Musa, founded by the Jesuit Paolo Dall’Oglio (who disappeared on July 29, 2013 while in Raqqa, at that time the Syrian capital of the so-called Islamic State, and has never been found), Fr Jacques had been kidnapped by a commando of jihadists in May 2015 and had endured long months of captivity, first in isolation and then together with more than 150 Christians from Quaryatayn.
Certainly today the situation for us presents elements of concern”
Your Excellency, what is the situation in Syria?
“Concretely, it is not easy to identify the situation in Syria now. It’s been a little over a month, it’s really still early. it’s true, there is real fear, we don’t know if we are moving towards the best or if we are going backwards, but at the same time I can tell you for sure that there are signs of hope. For me personally everything is happening it is a general improvement compared to the previous regime, there is no comparison to the condition we Syrians experienced under the Assad regime.
Yes, it is true, compared to other population groups, we Christians could not complain so much, but let us not forget that so many Christians have also disappeared, ended up in prisons, have been tortured, so many have been affected by the war and have been victims. We are an integral part of this people who have suffered all these years. Certainly today the situation for us presents elements of concern: we cannot pretend that all of a sudden religious fanaticism has disappeared, but at least we do not have the same fear that we have experienced so many times before”.
In the days immediately following the Hts’ seizure of power you expressed a feeling of serious concern about what was happening and fears for the future, what made you at least partially change your mind?
“When they took Aleppo I imagined a different scenario because for days there was heavy bombing, I feared more action by the Russians and I imagined the beginning of a new war, Aleppo had been already destroyed, there had been many deaths and I feared a similar situation. Believe me, in those days the fear of a return to war was palpable, among all the citizens of Syria, not just the Christians. I also imagined a further flight of Christians from Aleppo and thus the definitive disappearance of our millennial presence, the end of our history. But when the whole country was liberated and the fighting ended, we entered a new phase we could observe a real liberation of the country. Everything has changed. Today, there are still many acts of violence and revenge, humiliation, especially against the Alawites (the Shiite minority group that the Assad family belongs to, loyal to the former regime ed.) which is unacceptable to me as a man and as a Christian. But what Jolani said: “The revolution is over, and we have to build a country and a government” suggests that we want to do this together and move away from the level of mere revenge. As I said earlier, acts of vengeance persist on the ground and I believe it is urgent to do something about it. As a Church, the real problem is that we would like to do something, but the work of reconciliation is not at all easy because there are still so many armed groups around, and they have different aims and interests.”
We can count on many people among our faithful who are well educated and can help in the management of power in the future”
Mohammed al-Jolani recently wanted to meet representatives of the Christian churches, how did it go?
“All the bishops of Syria met with Jolani and it was a very positive meeting. I was not able to be there but many bishops were there and all the participants came back with a positive impression. They talked about everything, even acts of violence, and it was a sincere dialogue. As Christians we try to do something together, to make a contribution of our own and we hope to reach agreements, even among us Christians who are sometimes divided. It is clear that there is total agreement on one point, and that is that we are all opposed to the birth of an Islamic state.
At the same time, we can count on many people among our faithful who are well educated and can help in the management of power in the future. But I would like to emphasise one thing: we are the ones who must get busy and choose our role in the Syrian government of the future, we must not wait for them to choose for us, we must try to work for it. There are only a few of us left (about 300,000, mostly Greek Orthodox, ed), but we can play a fundamental role.”
You, are a deep connoisseur of the context of Islamic extremism also because of a painful event that involved you in May 2015 when you were kidnapped along with other Christians by Daesh. Are those who have taken power in Syria today a continuation of that political Islam or are they different?
“They are not ISIS. At the same time, I do not believe they can bring Syria to a fully democratic level as the people want and deserve. But they have done a great job to liberate the country after some 14 years of bloody war, there is a value in these young Syrian soldiers who have put their lives on the line, who have lived a long time in exile and care about their homeland. Hopefully they will fully understand that their role has been of great value but that they are not the ones who can form the government of Syria’s new phase alone. I cannot imagine Jolani as the president of the country because it would be wrong to have him governed by a military leader. He can play an important role of course in the future government but not be the president.”