As Western diplomats attempt to establish ties with rebels who have taken power in Syria, a religious minority is making its own diplomatic efforts to ensure security for its members while the country rebuilds.
Druze, a representative of the group, recently went to Washington to meet with lawmakers, members of the Biden and Trump administrations and diplomats to plead their case.
“We are very concerned about the future,” Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif said in an interview in Washington, where he urged US officials to prioritize protection for Syria’s 1.2 million Druse as part of their engagement with the country’s new government. requested.
In December, after a long civil war, a coalition of Syrian rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad and installed an interim government. The rebellion ended a brutal regime, but remained a problem for Western countries: the Islamist group leading the rebellion once had ties to al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and as a result is officially classified as a terrorist organization. Was named.
Rebel leaders have abandoned their old alliances and vowed to build a Syria that is tolerant of other beliefs. And Western officials, eager to begin reconstruction, have expressed their openness to working with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group now in power.
But members of Syrian minority groups such as the Druze, who practice a branch of Shia Islam and can also be found in Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, remain skeptical. The spiritual leader of the Druse in Syria, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, expressed caution In a recent interview with a German broadcaster on the promises of tolerance offered by Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
His counterpart in Israel, Sheikh Tarif, suggested that Mr. al-Sharaa was not moving fast enough.
Sheikh Tarif said, “He is speaking well.” “I hear West is excited and they like what he says. But there is a lot of fear among the minorities. We want statements to be followed by action.”
Mr al-Sharaa has tried to distance himself from his group’s jihadist roots, promising to draft a new constitution, expressing a relatively liberal political stance and trying to reassure Syria’s minorities. . For example, there was a Druse woman in the Sweda district of South recently appointed governor,
But some observers have suggested that Mr. al-Sharaa may be merely paying lip service to open the flow of foreign aid. Already, some steps taken by his new government – such as sweeping changes to textbooks – have raised concerns within Syria about his perceived commitment to religious diversity.
Sheikh Tarif said that in his meetings with Western officials, he was pressing for much-needed economic aid to Syria and the lifting of sanctions imposed on the country – but only conditional on evidence that the new government would meet its commitments. Still working. He said he was trying to establish the Druse community as a key partner of Western countries in Syria and the entire Middle East with the aim of influencing outcomes in the country and the region.
For centuries, the Druse have survived throughout the Middle East by integrating politically into the countries where they live, even while keeping their religious practices separate. In Syria, he has played an important historical role, leading rebellion against french rule In 1925, it was seen as the country’s first nationalist rebellion.
“The Druse paid a high price for Syria’s freedom,” Sheikh Tarif said.
When the rebellion against the Assad regime began in 2011, some Druze aligned with rebel groups, although support from the community was mixed, with concerns that jihadist groups fighting the regime would prove hostile to their beliefs. Druse fighters took part in the rebel offensive that ousted Mr al-Assad.
In Israel, the Druse community of about 150,000 people, led by Mr. Tarif, has in recent years protested against the far-right government’s adoption of legislation that marginalizes the minority. “There is still a lot to improve,” he said. But Mr. Tarif rejected criticism of the Israeli military’s recent moves to seize territory in Syria near its border and said Israel was committed to ensuring its security. Is working for.
He said Druse commanders and soldiers had lost their lives fighting as members of the Israeli army in the conflict that led to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the deaths of 12 young Druse last summer. Remembered. Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that were hit by a Hezbollah rocket from Lebanon.
Given their presence in many countries, the Druze consider themselves a potential bridge, Sheikh Tarif said. “We can show how to live in peace,” he said.