During a visit to Rome, the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs reflects the situation in Syria following the recent massacre targeting the Alawian community on the West Coast.
Olivier Bonnel and Kielce Gussie
Ahmed al-Shara, a transitional period in Syria, signed the constitutional declaration on March 13th. This will abolish previous administrations and constitutions, with elections set to take place within “4-5 years.”
This came in a month’s context, marked by the massacre of about 1,600 (mainly Arawyans) in the western part of the country by the armies of transitional governments supported by radical Islamic sects.
During his visit to Rome, Archbishop Jacques Mourad, Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs in central Syria, shared his concerns about the country’s future in an interview with Olivier Bonnell of Vatican News.
Not the true face of Islam
In light of the massacre, Archbishop Morado explained, “Unfortunately, the violent acts and massacres have not finished.” The fact that they still happen questions the “integrity of this government.” This is because “there is a huge difference between speeches given and reality,” and the government is “operable or unable to control the country.”
What is happening in this country has a negative impact on Islam in a country like Syria. Archbishop Morad argued that Islamophobia existed “because these violent acts, these massacres, these faces that present Islam in a negative way.” He emphasized, “Islam is not at its core.”
The archbishop said it was not a conflict between Christian minorities and Islam, as more than half of the population is Sunni Muslim. Rather, he pointed to a more sibling and peaceful relationship between the two groups.
The new constitution
The new constitution and transitional government put the country under Islamic law. The archbishop said he disagreed with this, but “the question is not whether Syria should be Islam.”
Archbishop Morad said the problem was, “Islamic law does not respect individual freedoms, and there are many differences between human rights and Islamic law.” He argued that Islam cannot be a source of legislation as Syria has a wide range of ethnic and religious groups, and because ADN does not consider these differences.
As a result, the archbishop explained that many Syrians feared and did not trust the government. He said, “We feel like strangers in our country,” so immigration is a conversation topic for many people.
One fundamental issue lies in the fact that the transitional government did not include all the different groups when discussing the new constitution. “So we are very far from democracy and freedom,” he emphasized.
Working together
In Aleppo, Christians have submitted a joint declaration to the new government that represents the entire Christian population. However, Archbishop Murad pointed out that there is some kind of harmony among Christians, but this type of initiative and unity cannot be applied anywhere or in any situation.
“We tried to organize a parliament for Christians along the lines of conferences, like other churches in the world,” he explained. However, he said it has not been going well yet, as “there is no true general desire to speak in one voice between us.”
Syria is the key to world peace
Archbishop Morad argued that “the reason we live in Syria today is due to a lack of responsibility from the international community.” He said, “Since Syria is the key, we first challenged the world population to achieve peace in Syria.
The archbishop said one step to achieving this peace was to lift international sanctions. He emphasized the need to clarify why they were imposed first. If they were introduced as a deterrent against the Assads, they would no longer need them. Lifting sanctions means helping people get back on their feet. It “means reopening work and projects, ensuring people have an opportunity to live out of their work.”
After removing the sanctions, he emphasized that Syrians needed four resolutions: food, healthcare, education and housing issues. With all this in mind, Syria’s reconstruction can begin by focusing on creating “a well-developed country, not a half-beered country, as it is today.”
