A Druze leader aims to secure a place for Syrian minorities

As Western diplomats explore the possibility of establishing ties with the rebels who have seized power in Syria, a religious minority has been conducting its own diplomatic campaign to ensure protection for its members as the country rebuilds.

A representative of the Druze group recently went to Washington to meet with lawmakers, members of the Biden and Trump administrations, and diplomats to plead their case.

“We are very concerned about the future,” Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif said in an interview in Washington, as he urged US officials to prioritize protecting the 1.2 million Druze in Syria as part of their dealings with the country’s new government.

In December, after a long civil war, a coalition of Syrian rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad and installed an interim government. The rebellion put an end to a brutal regime, but for Western countries a problem remained: the Islamist group that led the uprising had ties to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and as a result was officially designated a terrorist organization.

Rebel leaders have abandoned their old alliances and pledged to build a Syria tolerant of other beliefs. Western officials, eager to begin the reconstruction process, have expressed openness to working with the Islamist group now in power. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

But members of Syrian minorities such as the Druze, who practice a branch of Shiite Islam and can also be found in Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, remain skeptical. The spiritual leader of the Druze in Syria, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri Express caution In a recent interview with a German television station about the promises of tolerance made by the de facto Syrian leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

Sheikh Tarif, his counterpart in Israel, indicated that Mr. Al-Sharaa did not move quickly enough.

“He speaks well,” Sheikh Tarif said. What I hear is that the West is excited and they like what he has to say. But there is a lot of fear among minorities. “We want words to be translated into action.”

Mr. Shara has risen He sought to distance himself From his group’s jihadist roots, he promised to draft a new constitution, expressing relatively moderate political positions and seeking to reassure minorities in Syria. In the Suwayda region in the south, for example, there was a Druze woman Recently appointed governor.

But some observers have suggested that Mr. Sharaa may be engaged in merely taking a position to open the flow of foreign aid. Already, his new government has made some moves – e.g Radical changes in textbooks – Raised concerns within Syria about its stated commitment to religious diversity.

Sheikh Tarif said that in his meetings with Western officials, he was pressing for much-needed economic aid to Syria, and for sanctions imposed on the country to be lifted – but on the condition that proof was provided that the new government was meeting its commitments. He said he is also trying to position the Druze community in Syria and throughout the Middle East as key partners for Western countries aiming to influence outcomes in the country and the region.

For centuries, the Druze have managed to survive throughout the Middle East partly through political integration into the countries in which they live, even while keeping their religious practices distinct. In Syria, they played an important historical role, leading A Revolution against French rule In 1925 it came to be seen as the country’s first nationalist uprising.

Sheikh Tarif said: “The Druze paid a heavy price for Syria’s independence.”

When the uprising against the Assad regime began in 2011, some Druze joined rebel groups, although support for the sect was mixed, with concern that jihadist groups fighting the regime might prove hostile to their beliefs. Druze fighters took part in the rebel offensive that ousted Mr. Assad.

In Israel, the Druze community of about 150,000 people, which Mr. Tarif leads, has protested in recent years against the far-right government’s adoption of a law. Minorities are marginalized. “There is a lot to improve,” he added. But Mr. Tarif rejected criticism of the Israeli army’s recent moves to seize land in Syria near its borders, saying that Israel was working to ensure its security.

He pointed out that Druze leaders and soldiers lost their lives fighting as members of the Israeli army in the conflicts sparked by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and pointed to the killing of 12 Druze youth last summer in the West Bank. Israeli-controlled Golan Heights who were killed by a Hezbollah missile from Lebanon.

Sheikh Tarif said that because they are present in several countries, the Druze consider themselves a potential bridge. “We can show how to live in peace,” he said.