Syria’s dictator has appointed a Greek Orthodox general as his new minister of defense: Christians may face retribution

By Jill Duchess

8/31/2011 Syria (Catholic Herald) – Amid the chaos and carnage in Syria what is happening to the Christian community there? No end seems to be in sight to the torture and slayings ordered by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime which, in five months has left over 2,200 Syrians dead, 3,000 missing, 14,000 imprisoned and 12,000 injured.

The Christian community in Syria, which dates back to the time of St Paul and his conversion on the road to Damascus, makes up 10 per cent of Syria’s population of 22.5 million. Since 1970, the Assads, who are Alawite, a small Shia Muslim offshoot, have stayed in power with a coalition of religious minorities, including the Christians – allies together against the huge Sunni majority. Christians are favoured in many ways. There are now three Christians (two Catholics and one Greek Orthodox) in the government and churches, like mosques, get free electricity and water.

A Catholic news agency in Rome has written that the majority of Christians in Syria have continued to back Assad’s authoritarian rule, stressing that this contrasts with the majority of Christians in Egypt who were supporters of the Arab Spring revolution. But, as foreign journalists are banned in Syria, such a statement can only be an assumption. I personally found that many Christians, fearful of the network of spies and informers, are terrified of the consequences of talking even anonymously.

But one Christian definitely in favour of the regime is the army general Dawoud Rajiha. On August 8, Assad swore him in as minister of defence. General Rajiha, an active member of the Greek Orthodox Church, took over from General Ali Habib, an Alawite. Al-Jazeera reported that Habib’s sacking was due to disagreement with Assad’s regime over the use of force against protesters.

Appointing a Christian as the supreme military chief in charge of the brutal crackdown to keep Assad in power could be seen as a cynical act: a desperate move to widen Assad’s power base and make him look non-partisan. But General Rajiha’s new position may well put Christians in the firing line. If Assad falls there could be retribution against Christians because of his role. On the other hand, in a power vacuum General Rajiha, along with other military men, could find himself running the country.

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