Minority Shia Group in Syria Open to Gospel at Time of Persecution

The Alawites, a Shia offshoot and religious minority in Syria, are open to the gospel as they face violence and displacement. The group reveres Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, believes in reincarnation, and teaches that women are excluded from heaven.

“Alawite people are so curious about the gospel,” said Pierre Houssney of Horizons International. “We’re praying with them, we’re preaching to them and they’re very open to the message. So this is a huge gospel opportunity, as well as a humanitarian crisis.”

During his time in power, Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, granted his people unfair advantages in jobs and education. Now that he’s gone, public anger has turned against them. The crisis intensified when Sunni militant groups entered Alawite-majority areas, often shared with Christian communities, and began massacring residents. “Now they’re just getting downtrodden and massacred and driven out,” Houssney said.

SYRIA: thousands of Druze university students are forced to flee Damascus for the Druze-dominated region of Sweida.

In the past weeks, over 700 Druze were massacred.

It’s heartbreaking to see these young Druze abandon their studies due to Islamist threats.

Will Western… pic.twitter.com/2gASmfPo3l

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) May 8, 2025

The wave of violence and reprisal hasn’t been limited to the Alawites alone. Other religious minorities, including ancient Christian and Druze communities, have also come under increasing threat as the new Islamic regime consolidates power. In recent months, Druze villages in southern Syria have been targeted in raids by extremist factions, forcing thousands to flee. Christian enclaves, many dating back centuries, have been ransacked or abandoned entirely.

In the midst of this turmoil, Israel has quietly stepped up efforts to defend both Druze and Christian communities along its northern border, filling a void left by the silence of Western nations. Israeli officials have facilitated cross-border aid, medical care, and even covert evacuations for those at immediate risk. “We cannot stand by while our neighbors are threatened solely because of their faith,” one Israeli security source told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the operations.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has so far remained conspicuously silent on the plight of Syria’s religious minorities. In a move that has drawn criticism from human rights advocates, the White House recently lifted a slate of sanctions that had been imposed on the new Islamic regime in Syria, signaling a shift in US policy priorities. The administration’s focus has largely been on counterterrorism and broader regional stability, with little public comment on the fate of the Alawites, Druze, or Christians.

Fleeing for their lives, many Alawites escaped to Lebanon with vehicles, carts, mules, or on foot – anything to remove them from the threat of slaughter. Some have taken shelter in graveyards, facing desperate conditions unreported by most world media outlets, and with no clear plan or hope of safely returning to the towns they’ve called home for hundreds of years. Local ministries are doing what they can, but resources are limited. The most urgent needs are food and hygiene supplies.

“As quickly as we can, as sustainably as we can, to try to run the race for the gospel and meet the people in their time of need, which also often coincides with their time of spiritual openness,” Houssney said.

Alawite refugees in Lebanon often fall off the global radar, but their needs are real. Among them are both new believers and sincere seekers of truth. “Find a group that can work among the Alawites in North Lebanon and support that group,” Houssney said. “What I know is that I can’t ripen a people group, but I can respond to God’s ripening. I can’t make the Holy Spirit move into a group at a certain time, but when I see the Holy Spirit moving, I can follow that.”

The fate of Syria’s religious minorities now hangs in the balance, caught between shifting alliances and uncertain international resolve. With the US stepping back and Israel acting largely alone, advocates warn that the window to provide aid and protection may be rapidly closing.

–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice