Christian Minority Shrinking In Syria

The number of Christians in Syria is falling, according to an op-ed by writer and lawyer Michel Shammas which the All4Syria website published on August 3.



Syria’s chief Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Ahmad al-Hassun, recently declared that the number of Christians has doubled since 1967.



However, based on research conducted on the minority, Shammas estimated that the number of Christians has declined to 1.5 million from two million in 1980.



He noted that the number of Christians in the Arab world generally was on the decline, citing emigration and growing concerns about Islamic extremism in the region. Local Christians, he said, often bear the brunt of tensions and conflicts between western and Muslim countries.