As Western diplomats consider establishing ties with the rebels who have seized power in Syria, a religious minority is carrying out its own diplomatic efforts to ensure the protection of its members as the country rebuilds.
A representative of the group, the Druze, recently traveled to Washington to meet with lawmakers, members of the Biden and Trump administrations and diplomats to plead their case.
“We are very worried about the future,” Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif said in an interview in Washington, where he urged U.S. officials to prioritize protecting Syria’s 1.2 million Druse as part of their commitment with the country’s new government.
In December, after a long civil war, a coalition of Syrian rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad and established an interim government. The rebellion ended a brutal regime, but for Western countries, one problem remained: the Islamist group that led the uprising once had ties to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State and was therefore officially designated a terrorist organization. .
Rebel leaders renounced their old alliances and pledged to build a Syria tolerant of other faiths. And Western officials, eager to begin reconstruction, have expressed openness to working with the Islamist group now in power, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
But members of Syrian minority groups like the Druses, who practice a branch of Shiite Islam and are also found in Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, remain skeptical. The spiritual leader of the Druze in Syria, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, expressed his distrust in a recent interview with a German television channel about the promises of tolerance offered by Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Shara.
Sheikh Tarif, his Israeli counterpart, suggested that Mr. al-Shara was not acting quickly enough.
“He speaks kindly,” Cheikh Tarif said. “What I hear is that the West is enthusiastic and they like what they are saying. But there are a lot of fears among minorities. We want these declarations to be confirmed by actions. »
Mr. al-Shara tried to distance himself from his group’s jihadist roots, promising to draft a new constitution, expressing relatively moderate political positions and seeking to reassure Syria’s minorities. In the southern district of Sweida, for example, a Druze woman was newly appointed governor.
But some observers have suggested that Mr. al-Shara might be content with mere posturing aimed at opening the flow of foreign aid. Already, some measures taken by his new government – such as radical changes in school textbooks – have raised concerns in Syria over its stated commitment to religious diversity.
Sheikh Tarif said that in his meetings with Western officials he had pushed for much-needed economic aid to Syria and for sanctions on the country to be lifted – but only subject to evidence that the new government is respecting its commitments. He said he was also trying to position the Druze community in Syria and across the Middle East as a key partner of Western nations aiming to influence outcomes in the country and the region.
For centuries, the Druze have survived across the Middle East in part due to their political integration into the countries where they live, while maintaining their distinct religious practices. In Syria, they played an important historical role, leading a revolt against French rule in 1925, this was considered the country’s first nationalist uprising.
“The Druses paid a high price for Syria’s independence,” Sheikh Tarif said.
When the uprising against Assad’s regime began in 2011, some Druze rallied behind rebel groups, although community support was mixed, fearing that jihadist groups fighting the regime would prove hostile to their beliefs. Druze fighters took part in the rebel offensive that toppled Mr. al-Assad.
In Israel, the Druze community of about 150,000 people led by Mr. Tarif has protested in recent years against the far-right government’s adoption of a law that marginalizes minorities. “There are a lot of things to improve,” he said. But Tarif rejected criticism of recent moves by the Israeli military to seize territory in Syria near its border, saying Israel was acting to ensure its own security.
He noted that Druze commanders and soldiers had lost their lives while fighting as members of the Israeli army in the conflicts sparked by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and recalled the deaths l t summer of 12 Druze youths in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights who were killed by a Hezbollah rocket from Lebanon.
Given their presence in several countries, Cheikh Tarif said, the Druses see themselves as a potential bridge. “We can show how to live in peace,” he said.
