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Syria is home of several strong religious communities, reflecting a long history and centuries of development, but also conflicts.

Coexistence between religious groups is largely peaceful, but the different religious groups are often concentrated to certain regions, where sometimes the smaller minorities form regional majorities. Around Latakia, Alawism dominates and around the Druze mountain Druze religion dominates.

Religious structures of Syria are largely secular in nature, political leaders of Syria have removed many traditional institutions.

Popular religion in Syria is strong, and to some extent shared between different religions and sects. Amulets and charms are carried by many individuals, and there are local cults with shrines which are explained as reverence of holy men and women. Although a specific cult and shrine may be immediately linked to one religion, it is common that people of another religion visits and take part in the rituals.

Islam

Islam counts by far for the majority of Syria's population, and is dominated by the Sunni branch. The Alawites are considered Muslims, although their faith differs strongly from Sunni and Shi'i. Syria's Shi'is belong to the Twelver branch.

The juridical system of Syria employs both Sharia law and civil law.

Sunni

The Sunnis live all across the country, only occasionally do they not constitute the majority.

Most Sunnis are Syrian Arabs, about 80%, but there are major groups of Kurds, Turkmens, Circassians and Palestinians.

The dominant madhhab (school) of Sharia (law and theology) is Hanafi.

Since 1949, the Syrian state has been in control of religious institutions like the waqfs, and has curtailed the growth of many local institutions.

Alawism

Sunni and Shi'i Muslims include the Alawism in the larger Islamic family, the Alawites call themselves Muslims, but their faith is very different from anything Islamic. The reason for all of this, is the Syrian constitution that demands that president of Syria must be a Muslim. In 1974, the Alawite community got the formal acceptance for being Muslim.

Alawites largely live in the region of Latakia and in the Nusayriyah mountains.

Twelver Shi'i

Twelver Shi'i Islam of Syria is mainly concentrated to the region between Homs and Aleppo, making up a considerable minority of the region of Hama.

Christianity

Christianity is mainly found in Damascus and Aleppo, but also with a major community around Hassake. Christians are more urbanized than Muslims. They generally pursue better education, have higher income and are more active in politics.

In 1920, about 30% of the population were Christians, today the count for less than 10%. Emigration and lower birth rate than among Muslims is the background for this.

One of eleven Syrians are Christians, and the high number of different orientations here tell clearly about the complexities of Syrian history. Among the churches found in Syria are Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic (which is organized between a number of sub-churches: Armenian, Chaldean, Latin, Maronite, Melkite and Syrian), Anglican and Protestant. The largest of these are the Syrian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic.

There is a strong sense of community between the Christian groups, brought together from generations facing hardship from the country's Muslim majority.

Syria has a strong monastic tradition.

Druze religion

The Druze mainly live in the southernmost mountainous region of Syria, the Druze mountain, where they constitute 90% of the entire population. 120 villages have only Druze inhabitants.

The Druze have a substantial community in Syria, a group usually not considered to be Muslims. As a matter of fact, the Druze of Syria outnumber the Druze community of Lebanon.

Yazidism

Syria also has a tiny group of Yazidis, living near the town of Sinjar, close to the border to Iraq.

Judaism

A small group of Jews live in Damascus. Their number today is generally referred to as about 200. Jews of Syria are reportedly discriminated by the authorities, and not permitted to emigrate. Still, official politics secure the protection of the Jews and their synagogues.

The constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government discourages public proselytism and carefully monitors groups it considers to practice militant Islam. There is no official state religion; however, the constitution requires that the president be Muslim and stipulates that Islamic jurisprudence is a principal source of legislation.

All religions and orders must register with the Government, which monitors fundraising and requires permits for all religious and nonreligious group meetings, except for worship. The registration process can be complicated and lengthy, but the Government usually allows groups to operate informally while awaiting the Government's response.

Recognized religious groups, including all governmentally-recognized Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities, receive free utilities and are exempt from real estate taxes and personal property taxes on official vehicles.

There is a de facto separation of religion and the state. The Government generally refrains from involvement in strictly religious matters and religious groups tend not to participate in internal political affairs.

The Government allowed a greater use of religious language in public spaces, including the placement of banners bearing religious slogans at the site of prominent public landmarks during religious holidays and during the controversy over the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in European newspapers.

The Government sometimes encouraged negative - even violent - expressions of Islamic religious sentiment, at least in part to curry favor with the Syrian Sunni majority.

The Government selects moderate Muslims for religious leadership positions and is intolerant of and suppresses extremist forms of Islam.

Generally does the government not prohibit links by its citizens with coreligionists in other countries or with an international hierarchy; however, it prohibits contact between the Jewish community and Jews in Israel. Western Christmas, Orthodox and Western Easter, as well as four Muslim religious holidays (Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic New Year, and the birth of the Prophet Muhammad) are official national holidays.

The Government primarily cited tense relations with Israel as the reason for barring Jewish citizens from employment in the civil service, serving in the armed forces, and for exempting them from military service obligations. Jews were the only religious minority group whose passports and identity cards noted their religion. They must obtain the permission of the security services before traveling abroad. Jews also faced extra scrutiny from the Government when applying for licenses, deeds, or other government papers. The Jewish community is prohibited from sending historical Torahs abroad under a law against exporting any of the country's historical and cultural treasures. This created a serious problem for the dwindling Jewish community concerned for the preservation of its religious texts.

Witnesses and branded it a "politically motivated Zionist organization." The Government bans Witnesses from employment in the civil service, receiving religious literature by post, and traveling abroad. They are also prohibited from holding worship services; however, individual members of Jehovah's Witnesses continued to practice their faith privately.

Proselytism is not prohibited by civil law; however, the Government discouraged such activity which it deems a threat to the relations among religious groups. Foreign missionaries were present but operated discreetly. In the past, some proselytizers were prosecuted for "posing a threat to the relations among religious groups." Most charges of this kind carried sentences of imprisonment from five years to life, although often such sentences were reduced to one or two years. There were no reported cases of any prosecution on this charge during the last four years.

Government policy officially disavows sectarianism of any kind; however, in the case of President Asad's Alawi Muslim group, religion can be a factor in determining career opportunities. For example, Alawis held dominant positions in the security services and military that were disproportionate to their percentage of the population.

References

Syria - International Religious Freedom Report 2006 // U.S. Department of State URL: https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71432.htm

International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 // U.S. Department of State URL: https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper

Religion in Syria // Looklex encyclopedia URL: http://looklex.com/e.o/syria.religions.htm

Народы и религии мира: Энциклопедия / Гл. ред. В. А.Тишков. — М.: Большая Российская энциклопедия, 1998. — С. 928. — ISBN 5-85270-155-6.

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