Archbishop of Homs: Syria is key to global peace

By Olivier Bonnel and Kielce Gussie

Syria's transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a constitutional declaration on March 13. With it, the former regime and constitution were abolished and elections set to take place within “four to five years.”

This came in the context of a month marked by the massacre of almost 1,600 people—mainly Alawite—in the western part of the country by the armed forces of the transitional government, supported by radical Islamic sects.

During a visit to Rome, Archbishop Jacques Mourad, the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs in central Syria, shared his concerns about the future of the country in an interview with Vatican News' Olivier Bonnel.

Not the true face of Islam

In light of the massacre, Archbishop Mourad explained that "unfortunately, violent acts, massacres, are not over." The fact that they still happen call the “sincerity of this government” into question because “there is a big difference between the speeches made and the reality" because either the governement is "being manipulative or they are incapable of managing the country.”

What is happening in the country negatively affects Islam in a country like Syria which has never "had the face of fanatical Islam," he said. Archbishop Mourad argued that Islamophobia exists “because of these violent acts, these massacres, these faces that present Islam in a negative way.” He stressed that "Islam, at its core, is not like that."

With more than half of the population being Sunni Muslim, the Archbishop described not conflict between the Christian minority and Islam. Rather, he pointed to a more fraternal and peaceful relationship between the two groups—even if “there have been very difficult, painful moments in our recent memory and even history.”

A new Constitution

The new constitution and the transitional government have placed the country under Islamic law. The Archbishop stated that he is not in favor of this but the "problem is not whether or not Syria should be Islamic."

Archbishop Mourad said that the problem is that “Islamic law does not respect individual freedom and there are many differences between human rights and Islamic law.” He argued that Islamic cannot be the source of legislation since Syria has varying ethnic and religious groups adn does not take these differences into account.

Consequently, the Archbishop explained that many Syrians are afraid and do not trust the government. Emigration is a topic of conversation for many people because, he said, “we feel like strangers in our own country.”

One fundamental issue lies in the fact that the transitional government did not include all the different groups in discussing the new constitution. “So, we are very far from democracy and freedom,” he underlined.

Working together hand-in-hand

In Aleppo, Christians submitted a joint declaration representing the entire Christian population to the new government. But Archbishop Mourad pointed out that while there is some harmony amongst Christians, this type of initiative and unity cannot be applied everywhere or in every situation. 

“We tried to organize a congress for Christians along the lines of a synod, like the rest of the Church in the world,” he explained. However, he said it has not yet worked out because “there is no real common desire among us to speak with one voice.”

Syria is the key to global peace

Archbishop Mourad argued that “what we are living today in Syria is due to the lack of responsibility from the international community.” He challenged the global population to achieve peace in Syria first, because “Syria is the key as it is the country that links all of Asia and Europe.”

The Archbishop said one step towards achieving this peace is lifting international sanctions. He stressed the need to clarify why they were imposed at the beginning: if they were put in place as a deterrence against the Assad family, then there is no longer a need for them. Lifting sanctions means helping people back on their feet. It “means restarting work and projects, and it guarantees people the opportunity to live from their labor.”

After removing the sanctions, he stressed that Syrians are in need of four things: food, medical care, education, and a resolution to the housing problem. With all this in mind, Syria’s reconstruction can begin with a focus on creating “a well-developed country and not a half-built one, as is the case today.”