Syrian Christians could be condemned to extermination

An Islamist regime post-Assad after an attempted attack on Syria by the U.S. could recreate a Christian as genocide suffered by the Armenians nearly a century ago. An attack on Syria by the U.S., France and get some allies to weaken the government of  Bashar al-Assad  and even overthrow, says an article in the magazine The American Conservative '.

"From the ruins emerge radically anti-Western regime that might kill or expel millions of Christians and Alawites. This would be a political catastrophe, religious and humanitarian unprecedented since the Armenian genocide of nearly a century ago, "he adds.

According to the publication, it is puzzling that the U.S.  Seems to be determined to eradicate Christianity in one of its oldest cores on a sensitive historical moment. And, although Syria has a Sunni Muslim majority, also hosts major minority communities as Christian and Alawite, among others, which together represent more than a quarter of the population. These communities have for centuries in Syria, where the Muslim and Christian were always closely linked to each other. However, the current crisis represents a serious threat to these minorities.

Although Christianity originated in Galilee and Judea, soon spread to Syria . After the First World War, Christians concentrated increasingly in the Arab country, which benefited from French protection. Since the 1960s, Syria has been a Baathist state, which in practice has meant the hegemony of religious minorities, who dominate the country's military and intelligence apparatus. Hafez al-Assad, president from 1971 to 2000 and father of the current president, was Alawite, but during the 1990s, five of his seven closest advisers were Christians.

The country, says the website of the magazine, it has remained a "genuine refuge for religious minorities," which does not happen in the rest of the region, and today many Christians fear that in the future a strictly Islamist or Salafist abrupt end to the era of diversity. Worsens As the conflict in Syria increases the number of Christians fleeing en masse from their homes by threats, kidnappings and killings carried out by the rebels. This Wednesday extremist group members Nusra Front attacked the Christian village of Maalula old, located northeast of Damascus.