Syria: Former Jihadist Now in Power Courts Christians

Ahmad al-Chareh
In search of international recognition, the leader of the main Islamist faction that has taken power in Damascus received representatives of the Christian communities on New Year's Eve.
Was this a real opening or a smokescreen to reassure the international community in order to discreetly impose a hardline version of Islam? We still lack the perspective to interpret the gesture made on December 31, 2024 by Syria's new strongman.
"The head of the new Syrian administration Ahmad al-Chareh is meeting with a delegation from the Christian community," as stated on Telegram by the General Command of the coalition led by the former "rebels" of the HTC, the Sunni Islamist organization Hayat Tahrir Al-Cham - the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2026 - which largely contributed to overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad on December 8.
It was a man dressed in Western style, in a suit and tie, who gathered around him, on New Year's Eve, the representatives of the Catholic Church and the autocephalous or Anglican confessions. A few weeks ago, Ahmad al-Chareh was still called by his jihadist fighter name Mohammed al-Joulani, posed in fatigues wearing a turban, machine gun in hand.
While his power is not sufficiently assured, the new Sultan of Damascus must ensure the broadest support of an international community worried about a resurgence of activity of the Islamic State (IS) organization and its emanations in Africa or the Caucasus. A resurgence facilitated by the fall of the Alawite regime that had reigned unchallenged in Syria for more than half a century, posing as the protector of minorities - particularly Christian - while repressing all dissent.
But to consolidate his power, the former jihadist who has reached the top of the Syrian state must take up the challenge of rebuilding the country by relying on all citizens of good will: hence the increase in gestures of reassurance towards minorities who are worried after recent incidents.
As reported in a dispatch from Agence France-Presse, at Christmas 2024, hundreds of Christians in Damascus took to the streets to demonstrate their discontent with an act of anti-Christian vandalism: a Christmas tree had been set on fire in a small town in central Syria.
The act perpetrated by masked men – foreign fighters from a jihadist group, according to an NGO – had been condemned by a local HTC official. Similarly, thousands of Syrian Alawites – a dissident denomination of Sunni Islam – demonstrated on December 25 in several cities across the country after a video showing an attack on one of their shrines.
But the new Syrian government now intends to show its credentials, especially as foreign diplomats are starting to flock to Damascus. On a visit to Syria on January 3, 2025, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs declared that he was “reaching out” to the new regime with “clear expectations,” particularly regarding the ability to “integrate all communities in their diversity.”
In the meantime, Ahmad al-Chareh, aka Mohammed al-Joulani, is installing HTC men in key positions in the new administration. In the course of 2025, once Syria has left the spotlight, the real intentions of Bashar al-Assad’s successor should become more clear.
(Sources : Agence France-Presse/Radio France International – FSSPX.Actualités)
Illustration : Mfa.gov.ua, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons