Why Syria is important to us

Syria has been in the news almost daily for the past 17 months. More than 18,000 people have lost their lives. And recent events, including the defection of the Prime Minister and the bombing deaths of both the country’s Defense Minister and President Assad’s brother-in-law, the Deputy Defense Minister, have further deteriorated the situation.

So what do we need to know about what is happening in Syria and why?

To understand the present, we must look at history. Christians have a special bond with Syria: it was on the outskirts of Damascus that (then) Saul of Tarsus had his miraculous encounter with the risen Jesus and subsequently turned from a Christian persecutor into one of the most dynamic Christian evangelists that ever lived. And it was on Damascus Straight Street (which can still be seen today), that Paul’s sight was restored, he was baptized, and began to preach for the first time. Damascus, first mentioned in Genesis and called the world’s oldest capital city, has been continuously inhabited since around 2500 BC.

Damascus is “holy ground” for Christians.

Even today, between 10 and 20% of the Syrian population are Christians. But since the uprising is primarily a conflict related to Muslim control of the country, many Christians in the Western world do not understand the relevance to their own lives.

Father Nadim Nassar is the first and only Episcopal priest of Syrian descent in the Church of England. He is also the founder and director of The Awareness Foundation in London, a Christian education agency that seeks to help Christians become more confident in their own faith and remain open to their neighbors of different faiths in order to coexist peacefully. Due to his nationality and his work, he has a unique perspective on the situation in Syria and recently spoke with me about why the outcome is so critical, not only for the Arab world, but also for Christians and the West.

He pointed out several things that will help us understand better:

1. First, Syria is a very diverse population of Christians, Jews, and Muslims; it is a mosaic of ethnic groups, cultures and religions with dynamics that are as mixed as the country itself. And the Muslim sects are themselves quite diverse. Syria is home to a majority Sunni but has been ruled by a minority Alawite since the 1970s. A mystical sect with closely guarded beliefs that appear to incorporate pagan and even Christian traditions, the Alawites are not even considered Muslim by some. Sunni clerics. That’s how deep the division is between them.

2. Syria’s incredibly tumultuous past has brought the country to this point in history. Formerly Christian but ruled by the Ottoman Turks from 1516 to 1916, the country had 21 different governments in the 24 years before 1970, when French-trained Air Force General Hafiz Al-Assad seized power after a series of coups. The current president, Bashar Al-Assad, is his son.

3. This uprising is indicative of great unrest in the Middle East and is a continuation of the discontent represented by the Arab Spring protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco and others.

4. The geographical location of Syria is crucial. Sandwiched between Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Israel to the south, Lebanon to the west, and sharing the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea, Syria is prime real estate. The situation in Syria is very delicate because it shares a large border with Israel. What happens here affects relations not only in the Middle East, but also has repercussions throughout the world.

5. The outcome of this conflict is uncertain and less than ideal on both sides.

6. The current regime is corrupt and guilty of torture, oppression, murder, etc. This has sparked both the desire and the need for change.

7. However, the opposition is fragmented, divided and does not have a clear political agenda or strong leadership that the people can embrace as a representative. (The US State Department and the Pentagon are already in talks about how to stabilize the region when President Assad’s regime is overthrown.)

8. The Western world now supports the liberation forces, but we must not forget that we once supported Assad, Mubarek, Gaddafi, Ben Ali and other totalitarian leaderships. Our relationship with the Middle East is precarious and we need to maintain our ties there for economic, political and security reasons.

9. The Syrian conflict is the result of the dissatisfaction of its citizens and represents justified and legitimate requests. The citizens of Syria are influenced by:

10. The corruption of the current regime

11. The lack of freedom and freedom.

12. lack of civil rights

13. Lack of life and political activities.

14. The successful overthrow of other regimes in neighboring countries.

15. The climate of dissatisfaction in Syria is happening all over the world on many different levels.

For the United States, we need look no further than our own country to see similar, even frightening, trends:

1. Father Nassar told me that EGO is destroying Syria. The regime is willing to set the country on fire rather than relinquish its power. Opposition forces are fighting so hard to overthrow them that they have not addressed the question of how they will rule. People are already vying for positions of power in the new government, although they don’t yet know what it will look like. Neither side is asking the most important question: “What is best for Syria and how do we implement it?”

Aren’t we currently having a national discussion about the role of ego in Washington, Wall Street and Main Street? Aren’t we complaining that the Democrats and Republicans are more concerned with their political agendas than what is best for the nation and the people they serve?

1. Demonstrations first began peacefully in Syria and were later met with violence. The citizens of Syria were promised reforms but did not get them. This call for change later became a call for regime change.

The 2008 presidential election was won on a promise of hope and change. After almost 4 years without positive change, a large number of people are now calling for a change in the White House. We are pitting the Occupy movement against the Tea-Party movement and this has resulted in incidents of violence in our own country.

1. Father Nassar believes that what is missing in Syria is dialogue, dialogue between the regime and the protesters and dialogue between Syria and the world leadership in general. World leaders met in June to discuss the situation, but did not include Syrian representatives at the table. Nassar is calling for an international round table that includes Syria.

Conflicts and differences of opinion in the United States are increasingly aggressive and personal. We saw this recently in the response to Dan Cathy’s comments that his company supports traditional marriage. This did not spark healthy discussion and dialogue, but rather sparked outrage on both sides. People feel oppressed and react negatively. They feel that they are losing their civil rights or that they were not granted in the first place.

This intolerance and hypersensitivity set the stage for more aggressive actions, even violence. And violence simply begets more violence. Father Nassar warns us that the environment of violence is dangerous for another reason: it fosters the popularity of Islamic fundamentalists. When people are fed up and desperate, they will resort to anything to stop it, even violence. And fundamentalists and activists are in the best position to exploit the situation. Al-Qaeda has already joined the liberation forces and a recent The New York City Times The article quoted an Al-Qaeda operative: “Our great hope is to form a Syrian-Iraqi Islamic state for all Muslims, and then announce our war against Iran and Israel and liberate Palestine.” Nassar guarantees us,“Every day the bloodshed continues, we are further endangering world peace and security.”

So what is the average citizen to do?

Father Nassar gives this advice:

1. Remind our politicians that dialogue is always better than weapons. “Cartoons are never the right language.”

2. Prayer and Faith: When people unite with God in wisdom, love, and forgiveness, we can resolve our conflicts in peace. “Watch the end of Apartheid in South Africa”, he said. There was violence that led to the abolition of Apartheid, but it was the willingness of Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk to work together for a peaceful transition that finally allowed the first free multiracial elections to take place and formally ended these segregationist laws.

3. Remember that it’s okay to be different. The problem comes when we try “Cancel” another person or force them to accept our beliefs or our position.

4. Do not forget that each country and each person are precious in the eyes of God.

We think that what is happening in Syria could not happen here. But we are already seeing the wave of dissatisfaction and intolerance towards others who do not believe as we do. Combine that with a fragile economy and we ourselves are sitting on a powder keg. Fortunately, we can use the power of surveys to change our leadership when we are dissatisfied with its performance. But we are going to have to use the powers of understanding and introspection to change our attitudes towards others.

Let us take a lesson from what is happening in other countries and be a positive force for peace and acceptance, starting with our own lives, our own relationships and within our own communities. We should be leaders in peaceful change instead of resorting to the negativity and aggression that others use to achieve their goals. America was founded by people fleeing oppression; let us not become oppressors ourselves.