Originally published at National Catholic Register
This incident has reportedly prompted many Christian families to leave the town, as no entity is ensuring their safety anymore.
In the weeks since Syria’s government was overthrown, the Christians of Maaloula, a historic town in western Syria known for its Christian heritage, have been living with an intensifying fear for their safety, exacerbated by a recent incident involving a Christian and a Muslim family. But what is the full story, and what is the reality for Christians in Maaloula right now?
A church source, speaking to ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, on condition of anonymity, said that after former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime regained control of Maaloula about 10 years ago, it prohibited some Muslims from entering the town due to their collaboration with the Al-Nusra Front in carrying out killings, kidnappings, and acts of vandalism targeting Christians and their churches. But following the regime’s collapse, these individuals returned to the town, exerting pressure on Christians under the pretext that Christians had displaced them.
“Some of those who had been expelled caused problems, and Christians were viewed as aligned with the previous regime,” the source explained. “Yet ironically, their joy at its fall was greater than others’,
