A gravely mistaken narrative is taking shape among American Christians and MAGA-devotees. William Wolfe, a former Trump official and the current the Executive Director at the Center for Baptist Leadership, asserts, without substantive evidence, that the American “neoconservative” establishment and mainstream media are engaged in a campaign to rehabilitate the image of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the leading Islamist and U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization at the center of the new Syrian transitional government, at the expense of Syria’s Christians.
While the mainstream media certainly falls short in its reporting on anti-Christian violence abroad, the narrative advanced by Wolfe and others totally fails to hold Assad accountable for the totality of brutal violence committed under his dictatorship. Portraying Assad’s regime as a “golden age” for Christians and religious toleration blatantly ignores how the Assad regime oppressed and weaponized these communities for his own political gain. Oppression under Assad was indiscriminate towards his victim’s religious beliefs and propaganda that the regime was a protector of religious minorities is what fueled the sectarian conflict that has ravaged Syria. Furthermore, the Assad regime actively assisted Iran’s campaign of terror waged upon Christians in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and beyond. Evil is evil, and Christians have a spiritual duty to condemn its perpetrators rather than downplaying it compared to perceived “greater” evils.
There is basically zero evidence to suggest that the West is seeking to rehabilitate the image of HTS. One can read profiles of HTS’s leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Atlantic, not to mention Providence, to see that Western media outlets are most certainly not whitewashing the brutality of Syria’s new leadership. That American journalists exercise cautious optimism about the future of Syria does not equate to portraying these Islamist militants as “good guys” or the silent apathy as asserted by Wolfe.
Furthermore, unless the Turkish government represents “the West,” HTS has certainly not been embraced in any meaningful sense by Western powers. Instead, it is primarily Turkey and Qatar that have provided financial, material, and logistical support to Islamist militants in Syria as well as around the world. Both countries are major U.S. regional partners—and in Turkey’s case, a NATO ally—yet they continue to actively support terrorist organizations around the world which vow to wage jihadist terrorism against the U.S. and our allies. The portrayal of HTS as moderates mostly stems from these corners rather than the U.S. mainstream media, which has consistently highlighted HTS’s Islamist jihadism in their reporting.
But worse than being misleading, blaming this recent violent episode, which targeted various religious minorities, on the “failure of establishment foreign policy” as Wolfe puts it, actually further endangers Christians in Syria. By portraying the decade-long conflict in Syria as an interminable battle between religious minorities and the Sunni majority, Wolfe has reinforced the false perception that Christians are necessarily Assad loyalists which is exactly what invited this violence upon numerous religious minorities in Syria. In the case of the recent outbreak of violence, it is unclear to what extent Christians and other religious minorities were targeted, though they certainly were in the worst attacks, which bore resemblance to the atrocities of ISIS. A thorough investigation is the only way to truly understand the scope of the violence and thus far there has been minimal action to back up the Syrian transitional government’s public statements to this effect.
Christian advocacy group In Defense of Christians, is not alone in urging caution about mischaracterizing the recent violence in Syria; experts from Open Doors have also spoken out on how this narrative poses a direct risk to Christians in Syria. The truth is that Wolfe’s article misrepresents the Assad regime’s relationship with Christians. Assad never had any special place in his heart for Christians, he weaponized these communities to perpetuate his power and stoked sectarian hatred against religious minorities. William Wolfe’s premise that the options for Christians are either to be in the ruling coalition under a dictator or face genocide is a false premise. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria is clear evidence that Syrians are capable of preserving the coexistence and toleration that has defined their society for centuries and that U.S. policy has consistently supported this goal.
Reducing the shortcomings of our nation’s response to religious violence to hatred of Christians does nothing to provide support to these communities. Instead, American Christians should urge the U.S. government to pressure the Syrian transitional government and its foreign sponsors, Turkey and Qatar, to ensure a thorough investigation of the recent violence, in addition to taking substantive steps towards an inclusive and democratic constitution in Syria in consultation with all of Syria’s religious communities. It is unacceptable that a NATO ally actively supports Islamist foreign terrorist organizations. Turkey must be made to recognize that the Syrian military cannot be dominated by Islamist terrorists without posing a serious risk to the national security of the U.S., its regional allies, and Near East Christians. This is where American Christians should focus their outrage while also considering how to productively advocate for Christians in Syria rather than spreading unfounded, dangerous narratives.
