A statue of the Virgin Mary overlooks the Christian village of Maaloula in western Syria on May 28, 2025. (Credit: by Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour)
“ISIS is back!” Joumana al-Saleh cried out in panic on July 12 from her shop, located across from Saint Elijah Church in Douala, a working-class, predominantly Christian neighborhood in Damascus.On June 22, she narrowly escaped a suicide bombing during mass, claimed by the obscure Saraya Ansar al-Sunna group. The attack killed 25 people and left the community deeply traumatized. Our editorial How do we tell the story of the new Syria? “We didn’t feel safe before, and we don’t feel any safer today,” said her husband, George. “Yesterday, the old regime bombed entire cities — including churches and mosques — to destroy the country. Today, the Douala attack is a targeted terrorist operation, designed to divide Syrians.”The interior of Saint Elijah Church, bearing the marks of the suicide bombing that killed 25 people on July 12 in...
“ISIS is back!” Joumana al-Saleh cried out in panic on July 12 from her shop, located across from Saint Elijah Church in Douala, a working-class, predominantly Christian neighborhood in Damascus.On June 22, she narrowly escaped a suicide bombing during mass, claimed by the obscure Saraya Ansar al-Sunna group. The attack killed 25 people and left the community deeply traumatized. Our editorial How do we tell the story of the new Syria? “We didn’t feel safe before, and we don’t feel any safer today,” said her husband, George. “Yesterday, the old regime bombed entire cities — including churches and mosques — to destroy the country. Today, the Douala attack is a targeted terrorist operation, designed to divide Syrians.”The interior of Saint Elijah Church, bearing the marks of the suicide bombing that killed 25 people...