ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
In Syria, it's the first Christmas since the end of the Assad regime. The group HTS swept to power some three weeks ago, stunning people in and outside of Syria. HTS has struck a moderate tone, pledging tolerance and acceptance for all, including the country's small Christian population. But some people are skeptical of those promises. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi is in Damascus. Hi there.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Hello.
SHAPIRO: What's it like in Damascus this Christmas Day?
AL-SHALCHI: So, I mean, even though this is a Muslim-majority country, Syrians are taking Christmas pretty seriously. Since I arrived in Damascus almost three weeks ago, after the regime fell, there's been Christmas decorations in hotels and restaurants. Christmas trees popped up in squares in the city. There was a cardboard nativity scene being built when I visited Bab Tuma, the Christian neighborhood of Damascus. There was even this guy dressed in an ill-fitting Santa Claus outfit, selling balloons and taking pictures with kids.
It's also a public holiday. The new prime minister, who belongs to the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, announced that everyone had the day off today and tomorrow. But then, this morning, churches were pretty empty. My colleague, Diaa Hadid, left a report at a church this morning and left early to beat what we thought would be the crowds going to church. But she breezed right through the Christian quarter, and she said that the church she visited was barely full, and that is probably a symptom of this fear some Syrian Christians are feeling after HTS took power.
SHAPIRO: Are the sermons this Christmas Day addressing some of those fears?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, I went to an Orthodox church in Bab Tuma, and it was, you know, ornate. The priests wore glittery crowns, and the air inside smelt like incense. And in his sermon, the patriarch prayed for peace in Syria but also prayed for the new government to accomplish this peace for Syrians. He then told people, you know, very sternly, look, abandon fear. Don't be afraid, he said. And that order didn't come from nowhere. You know, I heard that fear when I spoke to individual Christians. One man refused to give me his name, for example, after telling me he was worried the new government may impose Islamist rule.
Another woman was adamant to tell me on the record, you know, we aren't afraid. Christians are an essential part of this country. But then she pushed my mic away and said, don't record this, but the church is telling us to keep a low profile. Like, don't decorate your homes too much or celebrate too overtly. And, anecdotally, I did hear that some Christians haven't been putting up Christmas trees or decorating their balconies, you know, with lights like they normally would. And then, a couple of days ago, a video of a Christmas tree being set on fire in a central city in Syria went viral, and Christians broke into a large protest in Damascus. Some were carrying guns on the back of pickup trucks. So, you know, that didn't really help, Ari.
SHAPIRO: Interesting. What's the government saying about these fears?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, regarding the tree, a local HTS official condemned the attack and said that the tree would be put back up. And the leadership, in general, has been making many statements about protecting minorities and religious sects. And that was echoed yesterday when I sat down with the Damascus governor, Maher Marwan. I asked him about the fears I heard from Christians. This is what he had to say.
MAHER MARWAN: (Speaking Arabic).
AL-SHALCHI: Marwan said that his message to Christians was that they were all on the same path, that he wanted equality for all, dignity for all. He said that he wouldn't deprive Christians from those rights. He also told me that he had instructed some of his security forces to guard the Christian quarters. And, Ari, our NPR team witnessed this one night when we went to Bab Tuma. An armed man wearing fatigues tried to enter the market area, and he was actually stopped by another armed man who looked like he was from HTS. So, you know, there appears to be some attempt to provide some order. But, you know, like worried Christians told me, they want to keep seeing actions on the ground and not just words.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi, reporting from Damascus, thank you.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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