“Positive meeting, we will be an integral part of the new Syria”

It was ”a very positive meeting” which, last December 31st, the Latin bishop and apostolic vicar of Aleppo, Monsignor Hanna Jalloufhad with the de facto leader of the new Syria, Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani. ”He has shown himself to be very, very open towards Christians and this makes us happy,” said Jallouf all’Adnkronos referring to the meeting that al-Jawlani wanted with ”all the religious leaders of the Christian community in Syria on the last day of the year”. On that occasion ”he assured us that as Christians we will be an integral part of the new Syria” and said he wanted to ”work for the good of all Syrians”.

The first concrete steps are already being seen, explains the bishop. ”We have several signs that things will go well, little by little better and better, I would say very well”, says Jallouf, explaining that he has ”been able to peacefully celebrate Christmas and New Year”. Furthermore, he adds, ”al-Jawlani created a commission for the university of Aleppo made up of five Muslim men and two Christians”. For the future, towards which ”there is optimism”, Jallouf explains that ”during the meeting at the Presidential Palace in Damascus we gave al-Jawlani two documents, one prepared by the patriarchs of Damascus and one by the bishops of Aleppo”.

The documents contained ”the contents that as a Christian community we ask to be integrated into the new Syrian Constitution”. Not only ”the rights linked to freedom of worship”, but also respect for ”women’s rights, the right to work, the right to equality”, he explains.

Regarding the fears linked to the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Hts), Jallouf states that ”it is certainly not true, as has been said, that they have come to kill Christians, to slaughter them”. Of course, he admits, ”there are people on the ground who arrived with al-Jawlani and who are not at his level”. Furthermore, ”they are not all Syrians, nor do they have his mentality”. But optimism remains dominant at the Franciscan college in Aleppo: ”it takes a while” and at present ”every problem that arises is solved”.