Arab expert: Regime change in Syria will be bad for Christians

By David Kerr
Rome, Italy
Aug 5, 2011

 (CNA).- One of Rome’s leading experts on Christianity in the Arab world says the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria would create a worrying future for Christians in the country.

“If the rebels succeed Syria will become an Islamic country,” said Naman Tarcha, Director of the Bocca della Verita Cultural Center in Rome, to CNA on Aug. 5. The center exists to promote Arab art and culture, particularly that of Arab Christianity.

“Western television seems to suggest that this is a pacifistic revolution but most Christian Syrians know that’s not the case. They see the armed gangs gathering outside the mosque after Friday prayers particularly in cities like Hama,” said Tarcha who himself hails from the city of Aleppo in northern Syria.

His comments come only a day after U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, accused Syrian security forces of having killed some 2,000 people since the anti-government protests against President Assad began in March. She also restated her belief that the Assad regime has lost legitimately. the rest