Religion in Syria

People tend to think of countries like Syrian as having only one type of religious practice. This, of course, is not true. Though Syria is dominantly Muslim (about seventy five percent of the 22 million people), and more specifically Sunni Muslims, there are other religions that exist there; Christians, Druze, and Alawites to name a few¹. From this perspective, Syria is home to a variety of people with a variety of beliefs. As it normally happens when a diversity of people cohabitate a place, tensions can often give way to dispute. In the 70s, Syria saw Hafez al-Assad. who was Alawite Islam, rise to power, and along with him came the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, a power that also held influence in Iraq. He quickly took hold of the political reigns and become the Syrian leader². This new order and religious guidance brought about chaos and turmoil for Syria. Within 15 years, Hafez al-Assad became responsible for the largest massacre of a native people by an Arab leader when he ordered the quell of a rebellious city called Hama, and the immediate execution of anyone who opposed him, namely the Muslim Brotherhood, a politically active group that is considered a terrorist organization by the government of Syria, as well as Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The death count of this massacre is between 10 and 40 thousand. Actions like this show why it is important for a country to learn to mesh together the multifaceted populations that call it home. For Syria, this has become great problem. People have heard negative things about the Middle East in recent years, often hearing that terrorists and warfare are rooted in religious practice. This kind of fallacy has created a stigma on Middle Eastern religion, Syria included. People now tend to think of all Muslims as terrorists-at-heart, that civil wars and killing and hatred are all born of a singular religious belief. While, some wars and some hatred actually are due to religious differences, it is a drastically erred conclusion to say that they all have to do with religion. With such a bad rep, it is imperative that people begin to understand that being religious in the Middle East does not make you evil, as much as living in America does not make you a money-grubbing snob.

1: http://www.dw.de/religious-divides-deepen-in-syria/a-16624528

2: https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2013/08/2648161/