More than 80 Christian leaders signed a letter to President Donald Trump ahead of his historic White House meeting Monday with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, urging him to remember the plight of persecuted Christians, Druze and other religious minorities in Syria.
“With the visit of Syria’s new President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, scheduled for November 10, 2025, we urge you to address directly the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites in Syria, notably in the greater Suwayda area,” said the Nov. 7 letter, which can be read on the website of the advocacy group Save the Persecuted Christians.
Dede Laugesen, president of the Colorado-based organization, wrote the letter to Trump, describing him as “the only major world leader fighting for religious freedom” and highlighting his recent attention to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
“These religious minorities [in Syria] face ongoing violence, death, displacement, starvation, and water and medical deprivation, all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists,” the letter continued.
Expressing gratitude for the Trump administration’s recent announcement that humanitarian aid is being rushed to southern Syria, the letter expressed urgency for more to be done “to prevent impending catastrophe” as winter approaches.
The signatories urged Trump to secure al-Sharaa’s commitment to opening a secure humanitarian corridor from Hader to Suwayda in southern Syria.
“This corridor will enable safe and secure aid delivery and civilian evacuation, signaling the new government’s commitment to minority rights and stability,” they wrote.
Signatories include Dr. Ben Carson and Eric Metaxas, both members of the White House Religious Liberty Commission; former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback; Family Research Council President Tony Perkins; Pastors Rob McCoy, Jack Hibbs and Rob Pacienza; Faith & Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed, and others.
Al-Sharaa’s visit marks the first time a sitting Syrian president has visited Washington, D.C., since Syria gained independence in 1946.
A former leader of al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, al-Nusra Front, al-Sharaa rose to power after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied militant groups ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last December, who fled to Russia when his regime collapsed after 25 years.
Al-Sharaa has since distanced himself from his former extremism and pursued U.S. alignment, which has led to steps that include his removal from U.S. and United Nations terror lists as well as Syria’s anticipated formal entry into a U.S.-led coalition to fight a resurgent Islamic State in the region.
On Saturday, Syrian security forces conducted nationwide preemptive raids against suspected Islamic State operatives, detaining dozens. Officials claim to have intercepted information suggesting the brutal terrorist organization, which controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria a decade ago, is preparing new attacks.
In June, dozens were killed in a suicide bombing at a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus that occured during a Sunday morning service, furthering concern among advocates about whether al-Sharaa is doing enough to protect Christians and other minorities.
In March, hundreds of people were killed in Syria’s Alawite coastal areas amid fighting between pro-Assadist militias and the government’s forces in the area. At least a dozen factions under the command of the government participated in the killing of civilians in the March fighting, according to Reuters. Some of the killings involved sheer brutality and torture, including one man whose heart was ripped out of his chest.
The Christian population in Syria has crumbled in the last decade-plus since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Speaking recently in Rome, Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Nabek, who heads the Syriac Catholic Church in central Syria, warned that Christianity is disappearing from Syria amid a mass Christian exodus and “disastrous political and economic situation.”
Aid to the Church in Need estimates that Christians in Syria have plummeted from about 2.1 million in 2011 to around 540,000 in 2024.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
More than 80 Christian leaders signed a letter to President Donald Trump ahead of his historic White House meeting Monday with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, urging him to remember the plight of persecuted Christians, Druze and other religious minorities in Syria.
“With the visit of Syria’s new President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, scheduled for November 10, 2025, we urge you to address directly the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites in Syria, notably in the greater Suwayda area,” said the Nov. 7 letter, which can be read on the website of the advocacy group Save the Persecuted Christians.
Dede Laugesen, president of the Colorado-based organization, wrote the letter to Trump, describing him as “the only major world leader fighting for religious freedom” and highlighting his recent attention to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
“These religious minorities [in Syria] face ongoing violence, death, displacement, starvation, and water and medical deprivation, all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists,” the letter continued.
Expressing gratitude for the Trump administration’s recent announcement that humanitarian aid is being rushed to southern Syria, the letter expressed urgency for more to be done “to prevent impending catastrophe” as winter approaches.
The signatories urged Trump to secure al-Sharaa’s commitment to opening a secure humanitarian corridor from Hader to Suwayda in southern Syria.
“This corridor will enable safe and secure aid delivery and civilian evacuation, signaling the new government’s commitment to minority rights and stability,” they wrote.
Signatories include Dr. Ben Carson and Eric Metaxas, both members of the White House Religious Liberty Commission; former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback; Family Research Council President Tony Perkins; Pastors Rob McCoy, Jack Hibbs and Rob Pacienza; Faith & Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed, and others.
Al-Sharaa’s visit marks the first time a sitting Syrian president has visited Washington, D.C., since Syria gained independence in 1946.
A former leader of al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, al-Nusra Front, al-Sharaa rose to power after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied militant groups ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last December, who fled to Russia when his regime collapsed after 25 years.
Al-Sharaa has since distanced himself from his former extremism and pursued U.S. alignment, which has led to steps that include his removal from U.S. and United Nations terror lists as well as Syria’s anticipated formal entry into a U.S.-led coalition to fight a resurgent Islamic State in the region.
On Saturday, Syrian security forces conducted nationwide preemptive raids against suspected Islamic State operatives, detaining dozens. Officials claim to have intercepted information suggesting the brutal terrorist organization, which controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria a decade ago, is preparing new attacks.
In June, dozens were killed in a suicide bombing at a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus that occured during a Sunday morning service, furthering concern among advocates about whether al-Sharaa is doing enough to protect Christians and other minorities.
In March, hundreds of people were killed in Syria’s Alawite coastal areas amid fighting between pro-Assadist militias and the government’s forces in the area. At least a dozen factions under the command of the government participated in the killing of civilians in the March fighting, according to Reuters. Some of the killings involved sheer brutality and torture, including one man whose heart was ripped out of his chest.
The Christian population in Syria has crumbled in the last decade-plus since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Speaking recently in Rome, Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Nabek, who heads the Syriac Catholic Church in central Syria, warned that Christianity is disappearing from Syria amid a mass Christian exodus and “disastrous political and economic situation.”
Aid to the Church in Need estimates that Christians in Syria have plummeted from about 2.1 million in 2011 to around 540,000 in 2024.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to jon.brown@christianpost.com
