ASMA KHALID, HOST:
The Syrian capital, Damascus, is twinkling today. Christmas trees have popped up on the streets, and there's even a manger seen in the old city. The rebel group that toppled the Assad regime has Islamist roots. It has pledged to respect Syrians of all faiths, including Christians, who make up a small minority. But still, some Christians remain fearful. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi has more.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Arabic).
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Hundreds of Syrian Christians took to the streets of Damascus this week.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "Raise your cross up high," they chant. Videos of the demonstration on social media show armed men in the back of pickup trucks. They were protesting after a Christmas tree was set on fire in the middle of a square in a city in central Syria. Local HTS officials condemned the incident. They said the culprits were not Syrian and that the tree would be put back up, but that did little to assuage the worry.
UNIDENTIFIED CONGREGATION: (Singing in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: A few dozen people gather in an ancient Orthodox church deep in Bab Tuma, the Christian neighborhood of Damascus. It's the Sunday before Christmas. Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. The air is thick with incense.
UNIDENTIFIED CONGREGANT #1: (Singing in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: Faces somber, the faithful cross themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED CONGREGANT #1: (Singing in non-English language).
JOHN X: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: Patriarch John X delivers his sermon. He prays for peace and stability in Syria.
JOHN X: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "We pray for the new government to accomplish this peace for Syria and every Syrian," the priest says.
JOHN X: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "Abandon fear," he says. "No one should be afraid."
(APPLAUSE)
AL-SHALCHI: The congregants applaud.
UNIDENTIFIED CONGREGATION: (Singing in non-English language).
AL-SHALCHI: After communion, they gather for coffee. Church volunteer 70-year-old Amal Ibrahim (ph) buzzes around. She puts out candles and greets latecomers. As an active member of the church, people confide in Ibrahim all the time.
AMAL IBRAHIM: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "They're afraid," she says, "and you just heard the priest. He's making sure we try not to feel afraid." HTS keeps telling minorities and religious sects they'll be protected under their leadership. The prime minister even announced that December 25th and 26th are now public holidays. Ibrahim says a couple of HTS armed members even paid her church a visit.
IBRAHIM: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "We're just coming to greet you," she says they told her, "to say we stand with you." But Ibrahim's not convinced.
IBRAHIM: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "These armed Islamists have a history," she says, "regardless of what they say."
UNIDENTIFIED CONGREGANT #2: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "When a nation is ruled by a certain religion, other religions get erased," a young man tells me."
(Speaking Arabic).
I ask for his name after we're done.
UNIDENTIFIED CONGREGANT #2: Uh.
AL-SHALCHI: He hesitates. Giving their name to a reporter isn't something Syrians are used to. A woman I speak to is adamant Christians will not be afraid. They are part of the fabric of Syria. But then she pushes my microphone away and asks me to stop recording. "The churches have been telling Christians to keep a low profile," she whispers. Meanwhile, one of the other priests, Father Boutros (ph), is trying to figure out where to put the Christmas tree in the church this year.
BOUTROS: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "Sure. I'm telling my children to keep a low profile," he says. "There's chaos now." It's not just because of the rise of HTS, but also a fear for personal safety overall.
NARY NANA: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: Sixty-nine-year-old Nary Nana (ph) tells me not to take my shoes off. She lives in a small apartment just outside of Damascus. Nana says she's been listening to the church's advice.
NANA: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "I haven't left the house since all of this happened," she says. Her voice shakes with worry.
AL-SHALCHI: Nana wasn't going to put up a Christmas tree, but she felt bad for her grandson.
NANA: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "I usually decorate the veranda with lights," Nana says. "Not this year."
NANA: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: "You can't trust him," she says, referring to HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Nana says she felt safer under the deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad.
NANA: (Speaking Arabic, crying).
AL-SHALCHI: She begins crying. "Christmas," she says, "has been stolen this year." Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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