To Protect Syria’s Christians, The U.S. Must Clear the Path for Economic Recovery

Sanctions relief could help preserve one of Christianity’s oldest communities

By Marlo Slayback, Director of Programs at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute

In 1867, Mark Twain journeyed to the Holy Land and Damascus, a trip he immortalized in his novel The Innocents Abroad. He described the city’s ancient age, writing that it had “looked upon the dry bones of a thousand empires, and will see the tombs of a thousand more before she dies.”

When Bashar al Assad, Syria’s autocratic president of more than two decades, was toppled after a series of lightning attacks by militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), my Syrian Christian family rejoiced alongside Syrians of all faith backgrounds. The Assad dynasty, which had been in power for more than half a century, was ingloriously relegated to Syria’s tombs, another “empire” come and gone.

Since that day, American spectators of the extraordinary event have expressed their concern for the fate of Syria’s religious minorities, especially its Christians, and have questioned the role of the U.S. in the next chapter of Syrian history. Ahmed al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria’s caretaker government, has spent the weeks following the toppling of Assad messaging the new government’s desire to cultivate a Syria for all Syrians, where minorities in the predominantly Sunni country would be respected rather than treated as second-class citizens or worse. These statements are intriguing because a cursory look at HTS and al-Sharaa’s past would raise anyone’s eyebrows: HTS is a U.S. designated terrorist group, and al-Sharaa was once an al Qaeda militant. It was only a decade ago that ISIS was destroying churches and kidnapping Christians in Syria, so the wounds are still fresh, and all eyes are on the caretaker government to ensure the safety of minorities. 

But the story of Syria’s dwindling Christian community is a complicated one not easily explained through the lens of just religious persecution, although that is certainly a threat that foreign governments should continue to monitor. Desperate economic conditions have motivated tens of thousands of educated and skilled Christians to leave Syria, resulting in a brain drain that has hollowed out historically Christian villages. U.S. sanctions intended to cripple the Assad regime stifled economic recovery in Syria by design, compounding the devastating effects of Assad’s corruption and mismanagement that resulted in not only an exodus of Christians but of Syrians of all faiths.  

With the Trump administration back in the White House, the seismic change in Syria’s government presents an opportunity for the U.S. to clear the path for Syria’s reconstruction, potentially allowing Syrians in the diaspora, Christians among them, to return home. Given the strain on resources that the large influx of refugees caused our European allies, Syria’s reconstruction is also a humanitarian and security matter for the U.S. 

American Christians, in particular, need to care about the future of Syria, as this is a matter of preserving the presence of Christians in the land where Saul became the Apostle Paul, and where there are Christians who still speak the dialect of Aramaic that Christ Himself spoke. The population of Syrian Christians has diminished from 10% of the 23 million population pre-war to roughly 2%, placing those who remain in an even more vulnerable position, if the economy doesn’t recover.

For Syrian Christians, hope is potent and those I’ve spoken to have described a “honeymoon” period in the time since Assad’s fall, but laced their enthusiasm with caution. Seeing construction amid rubble, affordable food and gas prices, a stronger currency, a recovering tourism industry, and job creation would encourage many of them to stay or return. Economic stability and functional social services would also help protect against extremism, which can often compound other resentments. U.S. policy on the matter can fit into President Trump’s America First agenda, which seeks to avoid any of the past excesses and miscalculations that have proven ineffective or damaging in the Middle East, by lifting sanctions that would clear the path for commercial development and international investment while still maintaining sanctions on any of Assad’s assets. 

American nation-building adventurism in Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrated that our invasions and meddling can’t export democracy to the region, but instead led to mass carnage and even the decimation of Christianity in Iraq, where only a few hundred thousand Christians remain due to the destabilizing effects of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. An America First approach to Syria would apply limitations informed by these disastrous past mistakes, which included the heedless treatment of ancient Christian communities who became collateral damage in an intervention that planted the seeds for terror groups like ISIS.

The U.S. is already beginning to look at ways to engage with Syria’s transitional government. In January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed sanctions on Syria at his confirmation hearing, and noted that there is an opportunity now to put Syria on the path toward stability, potentially by using sanction removal as a “tool.” He also remarked that if the U.S. misses this opportunity, then adversaries like Russia and Iran may use the moment to their advantage. Lifting sanctions can function as leverage to ensure that Syria’s government develops a functional government predicated upon the rule of law and a system of checks and balances while also demonstrating its commitment to pluralism, religious freedom, and counterterrorism.

The immediate goal must be to build enough confidence in Syrians, so that they can stop the hemorrhaging of skilled and educated people who could aid in the economic recovery. In many Christian towns, young, skilled Syrians have left or plan to leave the country for places that can offer more job opportunities and financial stability. According to the United Nations, more than 90% of Syria’s 23 million citizens live in poverty. Fuel shortages, spiraling inflation, lack of healthcare, and daily electricity outages have left Syrians with little recourse. In my family, my educated cousins, who often speak fluent English in addition to two or more other languages, have mostly left Syria. If Syria’s Christian community is to last another twenty years–let alone two more millennia–the U.S. must allow the nation the chance to recover and attract investment. 

The transitional government has made clear that it wants to establish its legitimacy and attract necessary investment into rebuilding Syria after being one of the most sanctioned countries in the world. It can’t afford to renege on its promise to protect religious minorities if it wants to end its status as a pariah state. Safety is a precondition for prosperity, and to truly prosper Syria must embrace its Christians and be a welcoming place that those who left want to return to. Without entangling itself in another Middle East quagmire that costs Americans dearly in treasure and blood, the U.S. can facilitate Syria’s reconstruction so that Syrians of all faiths can determine the future of their country.