Virgin Mary Destroyed
On the 31st of October, a man named Sheikh Omar Raghba was filmed smashing a Virgin Mary statue. He smashed it in a place called, the Yakubiya Village in Syria. He said that him and his fellow Wahhabis won't tolerate any form of worship except strict Wahhabism of Saudi Arabia. In the video Sheikh said ,"Allah willing, Allah alone will be worshiped in the Levant, which will be ruled only by the law of Allah. The idols will be worshiped no more in the Levant, Allah willing. Thousands of people (Arabs,and other non- Syrian Muslims) have come to join the fight against Christianity. (http://www.persecution.org/2013/10/31/desecration-of-church-in-syria-caught-on-tape/) (http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_10_31/Destroying-Virgin-Mary-statue-in-Syria-caught-on-tape-4530/)
Christians Killed in Quesayr
On August 15th, 2012, a man by the name Atallah Ibrahim Bitar was shot to death when taking food to people who had been forced into shelter from a week long bombing run. He was one out of a select few who got shot and died that day. Almost all of the 10,000 Christian people who were living in the area of Qusayr and now left that place. People still say that Qusayr is "an extremely dangerous place for those who remain and it is clear that Christians no longer feel safe in their homes." After this incident it has been reported that around 90% of people have left Qusayr. (file://pca-2/home/Students/2017/TiJohnson/Downloads/ChristiansFleeingSyria_85x11_l%20(1).pdf)
Christians in the Syrian Civil War
On August 21st, 2013, the civil war in Syria rages on. The Syrians used to be okay with living with Christians, but now they are not. In Syria, Christians are now targeted by government and rebel forces. Their only salvation is leaving the country and going to either Lebanon, Turkey, or Jordan. In Syria Christians take up about 10% of Syria's 23 Million people. Many Christians had to convert to survive. It is said that around 300 Christians have been killed in this civil war. Also with those casualties, many people have been kidnapped. In addition, a woman Agnes- Mariam de la Croix was warned of being kidnapped. She said that around 80,000 Christians had been cleared out by rebel forces. (http://www.persecution.org/2013/08/21/christians-in-syria-face-existential-threat-as-civil-war-rages-on/)
This is what the ruins look like after the civil war in Syria.
