As Western diplomats explore the possibility of establishing ties with the rebels who have seized power in Syria, a religious minority has led its own diplomatic push to ensure protection for its members as the country rebuilds.
A representative of the group, the Druze, recently traveled to Washington to meet with lawmakers, members of the Biden and Trump administrations and diplomats to plead their case.
“We are very worried about the future,” Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif said in an interview in Washington, where he urged US officials to prioritize the protection of Syria’s 1.2 million Druze as part of their engagement with the new government of village.
In December, after a long civil war, a coalition of Syrian rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad and established an interim government. The rebellion ended a brutal regime, but one problem remained for Western nations: The Islamic group that led the uprising once had ties to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and as a result was officially designated a terrorist organization.
Rebel leaders have renounced their old alliances and pledged to build a Syria tolerant of other faiths. And Western officials, eager for reconstruction to begin, have expressed their willingness to work with the Islamist group now in power, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
But members of Syrian minority groups 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-Hajari, expressed distrust in a recent interview with a German broadcaster towards the promises of tolerance offered by Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Shara.
Sheikh Tarif, his counterpart in Israel, suggested that al-Shara was not moving fast enough.
“He is speaking well,” Sheikh Tarif said. “What I hear is that the West is enthusiastic and they like what they say. But there is a lot of fear among minorities. We want the statements to be confirmed by the facts.”
Al-Shara has sought to distance himself from his group’s jihadist roots, promising to draft a new constitution, expressing relatively moderate political positions and seeking to reassure Syria’s minorities. In the southern district of Sweida, for example, a Druze woman was recently appointed governor.
But some observers have suggested that al-Shara may be engaging in simple posturing aimed at opening up the flow of foreign aid. Already, some moves taken by his new government – such as radical changes to textbooks – have raised concerns in Syria about his declared commitment to religious diversity.
Sheikh Tarif said that in his meetings with Western officials, he pressed for much-needed economic assistance for Syria and for the lifting of sanctions imposed on the country, but only on the condition that the new government keeps its commitments. He said he also sought to position the Druze community in Syria and across the Middle East as key partners for Western nations aiming to influence outcomes in the country and the region.
For centuries, the Druze have survived throughout the Middle East, in part by integrating politically into the countries where they live, while keeping their religious practices distinct. In Syria, they played a significant historical role, leading an uprising against French rule in 1925 that was seen as the nation’s first nationalist uprising.
“The Druze paid a high price for Syria’s independence,” Sheikh Tarif said.
When the uprising against Assad’s regime began in 2011, some Druze aligned themselves with rebel groups, although community support was mixed, with concerns that jihadist groups fighting the regime would prove hostile to their beliefs. Druze fighters took part in the rebel offensive that deposed Mr al-Assad.
In Israel, the Druze community of around 150,000 people led by Tarif has protested in recent years against the far-right government’s adoption of a law that marginalizes minorities. “There is a lot to improve,” he said. But Tarif rejected criticism of recent moves by the Israeli army to seize territory in Syria near its border, saying Israel was acting to ensure its own security.
He noted that Druze commanders and soldiers lost their lives fighting as members of the Israeli army in conflicts triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and recalled the deaths last summer of 12 young Druze in the Golan Heights controlled by Israel who were killed by a Hezbollah rocket from Lebanon.
Given their presence in several nations, Sheikh Tarif said, the Druze see themselves as a potential bridge. “We can show how to live in peace,” he said.