Syrian Transitional Government
Attn: The Honourable Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria
Sent by email through the Syrian Foreign Ministry
Dear Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and members of the Syrian Transitional Government,
The Hellenic Canadian Research Institute (Hellenic Institute) expresses our deep dismay after viewing a video [1] and reading reports that circulated online on August 21, 2025, that show an anti-Christian incident that took place at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Ananias in Damascus. The Syrian Minister of Culture, Mohammed Yassin Saleh, visited the church as part of a tour led by the Minister in the Al-Midan neighborhood, accompanied by Islamic chanter Moatasem Al-Asali, who brazenly chanted Islamic hymns about Jesus inside the Greek Orthodox Church - a highly inappropriate and disrespectful act within a sacred Christian space.
Attn: The Honourable Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Syria
Sent by email through the Syrian Foreign Ministry
Dear Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and members of the Syrian Transitional Government,
The Hellenic Canadian Research Institute (Hellenic Institute) expresses our deep dismay after viewing a video [1] and reading reports that circulated online on August 21, 2025, that show an anti-Christian incident that took place at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Ananias in Damascus. The Syrian Minister of Culture, Mohammed Yassin Saleh, visited the church as part of a tour led by the Minister in the Al-Midan neighborhood, accompanied by Islamic chanter Moatasem Al-Asali, who brazenly chanted Islamic hymns about Jesus inside the Greek Orthodox Church - a highly inappropriate and disrespectful act within a sacred Christian space.
Video still of Moatasem Al-Asali (L) and Syrian Minister of Culture Mohammed Yassin Saleh (R) During the incident, the Islamic chanter audaciously declared: “Jesus came to proclaim the coming of Muhammad.” Such words, spoken inside a Christian Orthodox church, are not only deeply offensive but also a blatant violation of the Christian faith of the indigenous Rūm (Levantine Greek) community.
The Minister’s visit was neither an act of cultural exchange nor a celebration of religious coexistence. Rather, it was a public display of Muslim dominance over Christians and a breach of mutual respect that should define the new Syrian society. How would the Islamic chanter and the Minister feel if a Christian priest entered the Umayyad Mosque to openly offend Muhammad, the founder of Islam? How would the Muslim majority in Syria feel? Would it be welcomed or celebrated by them? Certainly not. This disparity highlights the disrespectful nature of this incident, the racist undertones and the double standards it entails.
This is a clear desecration of the sanctity of a Christian church and an insult to all Syrian Christians, whether Rūm or not. The Ministry of Culture’s role is to protect Syria’s rich diversity and promote equal citizenship, not to facilitate acts that undermine religious sanctities and mutual respect.
Mr. Minister and members of the Syrian Transitional Government, there must be accountability and respect for all faiths in the new Syria. Therefore, we call upon the Syrian Ministry of Culture to issue a formal apology to the Christian community for this egregious act, and for your colleague, the Minister of Culture, to step down for participating in this anti-Christian incident. Such conduct in the 21st century is totally unbecoming of a high-ranking government minister as it damages social cohesion, and contradicts the fundamental principles of mutual respect and religious tolerance that should be at the core of Syrian society.
As a Canadian organization, we also call upon the Syrian government to immediately implement a Canadian-style process for "Truth and Reconciliation" in which the Muslim majority could learn and come to terms with the centuries old plight of the indigenous Christians, Alawites, Druze and other Syrian minority groups, and for an acknowledgement by the Syrian government of the profound, ongoing impacts of religious and cultural persecution suffered by them, addressing both the trauma and the systemic racism that these groups face in Syria.
Hellenic Canadian Research Institute (Hellenic Institute)
CC:
Global Affairs Canada
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic (A6 Directorate)
League of Arab States
World Council of Churches
Members of Parliament of Canada (Select list)
Members of the European Parliament for Greece
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch*
Canadian Hellenic Congress
American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association
Hellenic American Leadership Council
Genocide Watch
International Association of Genocide Scholars
Greek Genocide Research Center
The Minister’s visit was neither an act of cultural exchange nor a celebration of religious coexistence. Rather, it was a public display of Muslim dominance over Christians and a breach of mutual respect that should define the new Syrian society. How would the Islamic chanter and the Minister feel if a Christian priest entered the Umayyad Mosque to openly offend Muhammad, the founder of Islam? How would the Muslim majority in Syria feel? Would it be welcomed or celebrated by them? Certainly not. This disparity highlights the disrespectful nature of this incident, the racist undertones and the double standards it entails.
This is a clear desecration of the sanctity of a Christian church and an insult to all Syrian Christians, whether Rūm or not. The Ministry of Culture’s role is to protect Syria’s rich diversity and promote equal citizenship, not to facilitate acts that undermine religious sanctities and mutual respect.
Mr. Minister and members of the Syrian Transitional Government, there must be accountability and respect for all faiths in the new Syria. Therefore, we call upon the Syrian Ministry of Culture to issue a formal apology to the Christian community for this egregious act, and for your colleague, the Minister of Culture, to step down for participating in this anti-Christian incident. Such conduct in the 21st century is totally unbecoming of a high-ranking government minister as it damages social cohesion, and contradicts the fundamental principles of mutual respect and religious tolerance that should be at the core of Syrian society.
As a Canadian organization, we also call upon the Syrian government to immediately implement a Canadian-style process for "Truth and Reconciliation" in which the Muslim majority could learn and come to terms with the centuries old plight of the indigenous Christians, Alawites, Druze and other Syrian minority groups, and for an acknowledgement by the Syrian government of the profound, ongoing impacts of religious and cultural persecution suffered by them, addressing both the trauma and the systemic racism that these groups face in Syria.
Hellenic Canadian Research Institute (Hellenic Institute)
CC:
Global Affairs Canada
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic (A6 Directorate)
League of Arab States
World Council of Churches
Members of Parliament of Canada (Select list)
Members of the European Parliament for Greece
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch*
Canadian Hellenic Congress
American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association
Hellenic American Leadership Council
Genocide Watch
International Association of Genocide Scholars
Greek Genocide Research Center
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