4/15/2025 Syria (International Christian Concern) — Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria’s debts to the World Bank in a move that signals a new level of engagement and support from the wealthy Gulf country, according to Reuters. The payment may allow Syria to receive grants for reconstruction efforts and to support its fledgling government in a critical moment for the country. 

Other Gulf Arab states have announced plans to support Syria, complicated by a global network of sanctions imposed on the country during the despotic Bashar al-Assad regime, which stretched from 2000 to 2024. 

According to Reuters, Syria owes the World Bank about $15 million in loans that must be paid before it becomes eligible for grants or other forms of assistance. 

In December 2024, rebel groups led by Ahmed al-Sharaa seized the government, which had long trampled on human rights and persecuted civilians based on their political, ethnic, and religious affiliations. While al-Sharaa’s new government has promised to protect religious minorities and their place in society, such an inclusive effort must overcome decades of tension between communities and is far from a sure conclusion. 

The international community has been hesitant to lift sanctions on Syria, preferring instead to wait and see what type of government al-Sharaa can create. The EU lifted sanctions in February, but many other governments and regional bodies have been slower to provide relief as it remains to be seen how effectively the government will be able to protect religious and ethnic minority communities. 

Al-Sharaa met with Christian leaders in December 2024 following several attacks against Christian places of worship and Christian symbols. The meeting, which was publicized by the state-run Sana news agency, was widely seen as a sign of inclusion and an implicit statement of support for a community that has long been attacked and marginalized in Syria, including by groups affiliated with HTS. 

Despite the outward signs of progress, some remain concerned that today’s relative freedom could be short-lived. “This may be the calm in the eye of the storm,” a Damascus-based priest told The Wall Street Journal. 

Of particular concern to Christians and other minorities has been the question of whether their rights will be enshrined in the Constitution. While a permanent constitution has yet to be implemented, a transitional constitutional document released in March suggests that earlier verbal rhetoric about respecting the rights of women and religious minorities has remained an important pillar of the new government. Still, the document concentrates power in the presidency and is explicit in its deference to Islamic law. 

“The religion of the President of the Republic is Islam,” Article III declares, and “Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation.” This language is slightly starker than Syria’s previous constitution, which cited Islamic law as simply one source among others. 

The constitution also declares protection for “all divine religions” and guarantees the right of the people to engage in religious practice so long as those practices do not disturb the public order. While the practical effect of this provision, caveated as it is, has yet to be discovered, it seems to indicate that the government intends to tolerate Christians and at least some other religious minorities. 

As the international community watches to see what type of government will replace the Assad regime, hundreds of thousands of religious minorities in Syria are watching, too. For them, the new government’s respect for religious freedom is an intensely personal unknown. 

Should al-Sharaa continue to signal support for the rights of Christians and others, that would be a fundamental shift for the better. But that outcome is far from guaranteed, and a reversion to his old ways when he worked with the Islamic State group and al-Qaida would be disastrous for these already vulnerable communities that suffered so much under Assad.

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