Syria (MNN) — Tensions in Syria are rising, and the Druze – one of the country’s smallest minorities – are caught in the middle.
The Druze are both an ethnic people group and a religious offshoot of Islam. There are also ethnically Druze Christians.
Reports say about 1,000 Druze were massacred recently. But Pierre Houssney with Horizons International says, according to his local Druze sources, “It was really more like 3,000 people that were killed in clashes between the extremist factions that claim to be government and the Arab Bedouins and the Druze.
“There’s a lot of ethnic tension right now, and definitely minorities throughout Syria are feeling very vulnerable.”
Why now? Houssney says a lot of the tension comes in the wake of the latest government transition after former President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster. In the chaos, extremist groups see an opportunity for power through violence.
A gathering of the people and residents of Daraa city in Al-Karama and Al-Hurriya Square after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. (Caption, photo courtesy of Mahmoud Sulaiman/Unsplash)
Houssney shares from Druze Christians, “They are not confident that this new leader of Syria is actually walking the walk that he’s talking. So he’s saying that Syria is for everyone [and] Syrian Christians should be protected and all of that, and all the minority groups will be just fine. But at the same time, he’s not protecting them.”
The Druze militia has taken a defensive stance against their attackers, and there are even talks of seeking independence.
Houssney says, “The Druze are currently arming themselves, organizing themselves, and bracing to repel any attack or encroachment. One Druze leader that I’m in touch with actually said that there’s no way that the Druze community is going to accept being part of the new Syria that emerges after all this.”
Please pray for an end to the violence, and for Druze and Syrian Christians to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel amidst unrest. Pray for believers to point the Druze people ultimately to spiritual freedom in Christ.
“My hope is to share those personal connections and what I’m hearing from Druze people on the ground, especially the believers, and just pass that on to the world, because news that you can trust these days is very difficult to find.” Houssney adds, “That’s part of why I appreciate Mission Network News.”
Header photo: Ein Al-Asad, a Druze locality on a hillside. (Photo courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash)
