Posted on 04/24/2011 9:43:54 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
DAMASCUS, Syria — In the days leading up to Easter Sunday, Syria’s Christian community should have been busy preparing. This year, however, signs of festivities were hardly visible.
Following anti-government protests that have been violently suppressed, leaving about 300 people dead, street parades and other forms of public celebration have been declared illegal by authorities.
Meanwhile, fear is mounting among the nation’s Christians that the uprising that has rocked this tightly controlled country over the past month will bring them only misery.
For decades, the government of President Bashar al-Assad has protected Christian interests by enforcing its strictly secular program and by curbing the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In recent years, Assad has visited the town of Maaloula and other Christian communities to pray and pass on messages of goodwill. At Christmas, he addresses Syria’s Christians, carrying similar tidings. Assad is himself from the minority Alawite sect, a branch of Shia Islam, and many Christians feel they can relate to him.
Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria’s population, have largely stayed out of the anti-government protests, fearing what change could bring.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If the US is supporting Assad’s opposition,it’s a sure thing that they’re Islamists and things will indeed get worse for the Christians. Bush did the same in Iraq, but it was out of naivete. Bambi, on the other hand, actively seeks this result.
We were wrong to invade Iraq. Saddam was a secular Arab Strongman.
As I’ve been saying ( not writing) can’t find many Jews so they murder and slaughter the next best thing, wonder if they hand out sweets, meanwhile the scum in chief says and doses NOTHING! RE: His Libyan affair: haw many have died since he decided to intervene for no apparent reason?
Uh huh. Same thing in Egypt - but I don’t recall them publicising it then.
The whole article could be rewritten replacing Syria for Egypt. But where was that article????
The idea that Assad, who is a brutal dictator, is somehow a protector of the Christian community does not sound right. He is a puppet of Iran and Hezbollah and which are Islamists and he has helped to destroy Lebanon, which was actually a diverse country.
So what if he’s anti-USA. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t respect and protect the rights of the Christian Minority in Syria. Sort of like Saddam in Iraq.
...street parades and other forms of public celebration have been declared illegal by authorities... Assad has protected Christian interests by enforcing its strictly secular program and by curbing the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. In recent years, Assad has visited the town of Maaloula and other Christian communities to pray and pass on messages of goodwill. At Christmas, he addresses Syria's Christians, carrying similar tidings. Assad is himself from the minority Alawite sect, a branch of Shia Islam, and many Christians feel they can relate to him. Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population, have largely stayed out of the anti-government protests, fearing what change could bring.
It sure doesn’t sound right but the article is from the WaPo which is no friend of Christians and probably would love to make them look bad by connecting them to Assad.
Most of the Christians in Iraq fled to Syria because it was safer after the US took over.
Think about that.
I agree. Saddam didn't go out of his way to make life difficult for Christians. That vile cabal running Iraq uses them for target practice.
The beast rises in the east
All of these movements against middle eastern governments are for a more radicalized version of Islam to take over.
Yep. At the time I supported President Bush’s invasion of Iraq. But looking back, things would had been better if Saddam was left in place.
There are mine fields in Syria - however, the Assads were and are puppets of Iran and are heavily involved in terror in Lebanon. Don’t forget that Lebanon’s Christian population was much larger and had more influence. Now the country is run by Hezbollah and Iran which are one and the same - and Syria!
“So what if he’s anti USA”? Did you actually write that?
Ron Paul makes a good point, we need to stay out of other countries’ affairs except for maybe Afghanistan.
Actually, I think it is time to bomb Afghanistan and leave (you have heard of the recent great prison break out). That situation if hopeless. I note that Pat Buchanan is suddenly saying that we should help keep Assad in Syria because he would “protect the Christians”!!!!! Oh, he did concede, by the way, that Assad is a stooge for Iran (a country that hates Jews and Christians). Assad is a butcher - period. Sometimes he kills one group, sometimes another, but he does kill.
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