Minority Rights in Flames: The Urgent Need for Humanitarian Action in Syria
The dramatic video was on the internet on December 25, 2024, the intact shrine of the holy man, Sheik Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein Al- Khasibi in Aleppo was demolished. This sacred site, venerating the founder of the Alawite sect, was violently attacked: five attendant on the site were brutally killed, their bodies mutilated and the shrine was burnt. The circulation of the video spurred deep anger and the feeling of personal insecurity of the Syrian Alawites who regarded the attack as the threat to their lives and faith.
Following this act of barbarism, calm protests took place in more than one Syrian province: Lattakia, Tartus and Homs. These protests mainly conducted by citizens of Alawite origin demanded justice and continued lack of sectarian violence. But more than it, the reaction from the incumbent powers mostly the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham was equally harsh. While chasing the outlaws, HTS forces violently suppressed protesters, which caused confrontation leaving at least two people killed and four security forces injured.
This attempt to quell the protests only serves to prove tendencies of abuse of the rights of religious minorities in Syria. Studies show that the going of Alawite, Druze, and Christian parties is becoming daily abuses of their rights, and their religious and historical sites are most prone to destruction. The destruction of the Al-Khasibi shrine is also not unique in the country; however, it represents the increasing trend of extremism, violent acts against vulnerable persons.
Thus, human rights organizations are equally in a terrible need of coming out in the defense of these violations. That is why the international society has a moral right to urge other countries and the population not to violate religious temples and humiliate the latter. This posture does not deter the executioners, but rather increases the pain and persecution of the needed groups.
Shifting focus on ethnicity and minority, current regime proved itself to be contrary to their rights and embracing the suppression of opposition, thus calling for humanitarian intervention. If this is left unabated, the violence is set to escalate and repression, human rights abuses and fully-fledged civil strife will engulf the region and the already dire humanitarian situation in the region will deteriorate considerably.
Lastly, the facts pertaining to the burning of Al-Khasibi shrine and the measures taken to suppress the freedom of assembly and guarantee the expression of the Shia community’s rights indicate quite clearly a violation of human rights and religious freedom . In this regard, it is incumbent upon such human rights agencies as well as the global society independently demand the protection and respect of all Syrian people despite their faith or nationality.
Following this act of barbarism, calm protests took place in more than one Syrian province: Lattakia, Tartus and Homs. These protests mainly conducted by citizens of Alawite origin demanded justice and continued lack of sectarian violence. But more than it, the reaction from the incumbent powers mostly the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham was equally harsh. While chasing the outlaws, HTS forces violently suppressed protesters, which caused confrontation leaving at least two people killed and four security forces injured.
This attempt to quell the protests only serves to prove tendencies of abuse of the rights of religious minorities in Syria. Studies show that the going of Alawite, Druze, and Christian parties is becoming daily abuses of their rights, and their religious and historical sites are most prone to destruction. The destruction of the Al-Khasibi shrine is also not unique in the country; however, it represents the increasing trend of extremism, violent acts against vulnerable persons.
Thus, human rights organizations are equally in a terrible need of coming out in the defense of these violations. That is why the international society has a moral right to urge other countries and the population not to violate religious temples and humiliate the latter. This posture does not deter the executioners, but rather increases the pain and persecution of the needed groups.
Shifting focus on ethnicity and minority, current regime proved itself to be contrary to their rights and embracing the suppression of opposition, thus calling for humanitarian intervention. If this is left unabated, the violence is set to escalate and repression, human rights abuses and fully-fledged civil strife will engulf the region and the already dire humanitarian situation in the region will deteriorate considerably.
Lastly, the facts pertaining to the burning of Al-Khasibi shrine and the measures taken to suppress the freedom of assembly and guarantee the expression of the Shia community’s rights indicate quite clearly a violation of human rights and religious freedom . In this regard, it is incumbent upon such human rights agencies as well as the global society independently demand the protection and respect of all Syrian people despite their faith or nationality.
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