27. Juni 2012

 

Ausführliche Informationen zur Lage von ChristInnen entnehmen Sie bitte folgenden Anfragebeantwortungen des Australian Refugee Review Tribunal (MRT-RRT)

·      MRT-RRT - Australian Refugee Review Tribunal - Country Advice: Country Advice Syria – SYR40197 – Situation for Christians, 18. April 2012 (verfügbar auf ecoi.net)

·      MRT-RRT - Australian Refugee Review Tribunal - Country Advice: Country Advice Syria – SYR40198 – Women – Christians – State Protection, 18. April 2012 (verfügbar auf ecoi.net)

 

Die folgenden Ausschnitte aus ausgewählten Quellen enthalten Informationen zu oben genannter Fragestellung (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am 27. Juni 2012):

 

·      USDOS - US Department of State: July-December 2010 International Religious Freedom Report, 13. September 2011 (verfügbar auf ecoi.net)

„There were reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice. There were occasional reports of tensions among religious groups, some of which were attributable to economic rivalries but exacerbated by religious differences. Muslim converts to Christianity were sometimes forced to leave their place of residence due to societal pressure.“ (Introduction)

„The country has an area of 71,498 square miles and a population of 21 million. Sunnis constitute 74 percent of the population and are present throughout the country. Other Muslim groups, including Alawites, Ismailis, and Shia, together constitute 13 percent. The Druze account for 3 percent of the population. Various Christian groups constitute the remaining 10 percent, although there are estimates that the Christian population, mostly due to migration, may have dropped to 8 percent. […]

The majority of Christians adhere to the Eastern Orthodox groups that have existed in the country since the earliest days of Christianity. The main eastern groups belong to the autonomous Orthodox churches, the Uniate churches (which recognize the Roman Catholic Pope), or the independent Nestorian Church. […]

Most Christians lived in urban centers in and around Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Latakia, although significant numbers lived in the Hasaka governorate in the northeast section of the country. During the reporting period, thousands of Iraqi Christians came to Syria to escape targeted violence in Iraq.“ (Section I)

„The government restricted full freedom in religious matters, including proselytizing and conversion. The government does not recognize the religious status of Muslims who convert to other religions; however, Christian converts to Islam were accorded official recognition. In the event of a conversion to Christianity, the government still regarded the individual convert as Muslim and still subject to Sharia (Islamic law). A Muslim woman cannot marry a Christian man, but a Christian woman can marry a Muslim man. If a Christian woman married a Muslim man, she was not allowed to be buried in a Muslim cemetery unless she converted to Islam. If a person wants to convert from Christianity to Islam, the law states that the presiding Muslim cleric must inform the prospective convert's diocese.“ (Section II)

„Social conventions and religious proscriptions made conversion relatively rare, especially Muslim-to-Christian conversion, which is technically illegal. In many cases societal pressure forced such converts to relocate within the country or leave the country to practice their new religion openly.

Some members of the Christian community perceived employment discrimination in the private sector to be a growing problem.

Some Christians expressed concern that the growing number of evangelical Christians could upset the balance between faiths achieved by the state and with the Muslim majority. Some Christians stated that they believed that societal tolerance for Christians was dwindling and that this belief was a major factor for the recent surge of immigration of Syrian Christians out of the country.” (Section III)

·      BBC News: Guide: Syria's diverse minorities, 9. Dezember 2011

„About 10% of the population is estimated to observe Christianity, with the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches making up the largest denominations. Christians are spread throughout the country, with sizeable populations in Damascus, Homs and Latakia.

Predominantly Christian villages, such as Saydanaya and Maalula, exist on the outskirts of Damascus, in addition to the coastal towns of Safita.

Christians are considered to enjoy a relatively high degree of religious tolerance. They worship freely and hold some senior positions in government.

It is widely believed that most Christians have so far abstained from taking part in the protests out of fear that an Islamist government would deny them religious privileges.

Syrian media have used clerical figures such as Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim to support the government position. President Assad reportedly met Christian leaders shortly after the unrest began and warned that their future was more secure with him in power. Christian leaders have addressed pro-government rallies, voicing their backing for the authorities and urging Syrians to engage in dialogue.“

·      CRS - Congressional Research Service: Syria: Unrest and U.S. Policy, 24. Mai 2012

„The Sunni Muslim majority has been at the forefront of the recent protests and armed opposition to the Alawite-led regime, with Syria’s Christians and other minority groups caught between their parallel fears of violent change and of being associated with Asad’s crackdown. […]

The Christian Community — Syria’s various Christian communities fear that the uprising will lead to a sectarian civil war and that they could be subjected to violent repression, just as Islamist extremist groups have targeted Iraqi Christians since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Syria’s Christians, consisting primarily of Greek Orthodox along with some smaller sects, comprise approximately 10% of the Syrian population. Most Syrian Christians speak Arabic and traditionally have identified with Arab nationalist movements, which they see as an alternative to Islamic fundamentalism. At the same time, like other Christians in the Middle East, many Syrian Christians feel some affinity for Europe and the United States on religious and cultural grounds. Christians have been well represented in Syrian government organizations under the Asad regime. At present, Christians appear to be taking a cautious approach to the uprising. While some have remained supportive of the Asad regime and grown more so as sectarian violence has increased, others are rumored to be assisting opposition movements, including local armed elements and the Free Syrian Army. Syria’s Greek Orthodox Patriarch, Ignatius IV Hazim, patriarch of Antioch and All the East, has taken a cautious approach, recently arguing that ‘the harmful effects of any foreign intervention in our affairs would touch Christians and Muslims alike.’“ (S. 1-24)

·      Die Presse: Syrien: "Wir hoffen, dass Assad gewinnt", 19. Juni 2012

„Unter den Minderheiten hat der syrische Machthaber Bashar Assad weiterhin viele Anhänger. Die Christen in Aleppo fürchten sich vor dem, was nach dem Sturz des Regimes kommen könnte. […]

Im Café Baron im Zentrum Aleppos sitzen drei junge christliche Armenier, die die Fußball-Europameisterschaft verfolgen und Wasserpfeife rauchen. ‚Wir hoffen, dass unser Präsident gewinnt‘, erklärt der 25-jährige Gero. ‚Assad beschützt uns. Wir haben unsere Religion, unsere Kirchen, Schulen und Gemeinden.‘ Für ihn und seine Freunde ist die FSA eine Bande von Banditen und Terroristen, so wie es die Regierung propagiert. ‚Wir wissen doch genau, was in Homs passiert ist‘, ergänzt er mit ernstem Blick. Dort habe die FSA Christen vertrieben.

Die drei Armenier plagt die Ungewissheit, wie der Bürgerkrieg enden wird. Sie fürchten vor allem radikale Islamisten. ‚Wir haben bereits Drohungen im Internet erhalten, zu verschwinden‘, erzählt der Innenarchitekt Kevoc. Einige der etwa 50.000 christlichen Armenier Aleppos seien bereits ins Ausland geflüchtet, und viele würden daran denken. ‚Aber wohin sollen wir gehen?‘, wendet Gero ein. ‚Syrien ist unsere Heimat, hier sind unsere Familien, hier ist unser Leben.‘

Nicht weniger nachdenklich ist Vater Joseph, Priester der Griechisch-Orthodoxen Kirche, einer Gemeinde, der in Aleppo rund 20.000 Menschen angehören. ‚Mein Sohn ist erst vergangenen Freitag mit seiner Familie nach Venezuela ausgereist, nachdem ihm europäische Länder kein Visum gegeben hatten‘, erzählt er traurig. Jede Familie in seiner Gemeinde überlege, ins Ausland zu flüchten. Und wer es sich leisten könne, tut das auch. Auch für Vater Joseph waren die Vorgänge in Homs der Auslöser seiner Furcht. ‚Vor sechs Monaten hat man die Christen dort vertrieben und ihre Häuser angezündet. Zehn Menschen wurden getötet.‘ Mittlerweile seien nur noch etwa 30 Familien dort, die man am Ende gehindert habe, die Stadt zu verlassen.”

·      BBC News: Syria's Christians caught in the middle, 6. April 2012

„As the year-long conflict polarises Syrian society, Omar Abdel-Razek from BBC Arabic finds an Orthodox Christian community worried it could face trouble from both the government and opposition.

‘The university has become a battlefield between the supporters and the opposition of the regime.’ That was what Lena (not her real name), a medical student at the University of Aleppo, had said in her email informing me that she will not be able to meet me at campus as agreed. She continued: ‘As a Christian, both sides are suspicious of me. In fact I'm not with or against the regime.’ […]

While some Christian intellectuals have openly opposed President Bashar al-Assad and were imprisoned by his regime, it seems that the majority fear the unknown if the regime were to collapse. They cite the situation of Christians in Iraq and recently Egypt as the basis for their fear.

The Syriac Orthodox Church was once one of the major Christian churches in the Eastern Roman Empire; […] Their number has decreased now to 140,000 according to Father Gregorious Yohanna Ibrahim, the Metropolitan of Aleppo. […]

I asked Father Gregorious Yohanna if some Christians side with the regime because of fear. ‘Look, we have concerns, we have great concerns, we can't wish the Iraqi model for anyone and the Christians of the region also feel uneasy with what happened in Egypt recently,’ he said. ‘Our concerns are not related to who will come to power, we are afraid that whoever will come may close their eyes and ears, or will not like to deal with us,’ he continued. ‘We don't fear the Islamists, we fear the violent extremists who will not accept the other,’ he said.“