Syria’s de facto sovereign meets with the leader of the Druze community in Lebanon and provides assurances to minorities

Speaking to Druze leaders from Lebanon on Sunday, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is currently acting as president of Syria, tried to ensure minorities that they would be safe after Islamist rebels overthrew Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago.

As Sharaa put it, Syria was entering “a new era far removed from sectarianism,” which meant that no religious group would be shut out.

As leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Sharaa oversaw the main force that ousted Assad in December. Some people in Syria and other countries are afraid that he might create strict Islamic law in a country with many minority groups, including Druze, Kurds, Christians, and Alawites.

We’re proud of our religion, history, and Islam. Embracing Islam does not mean excluding people of other religions. Al Jadeed, a Lebanese news station, reported that he told Jumblatt, “On the contrary, it is our duty to protect them.”

Speaking at the meeting, Jumblatt, a well-known Druze leader and veteran politician, said that Assad’s removal should lead to better ties between Syria and Lebanon. Druze are an Arab religious group that follows a branch of Islam.

Along with wearing a suit and tie instead of the combat fatigues he wore as a rebel, Sharaa also said that he would send a government team to the Druze city of Sweida in the southwest, promising to help the people there and praising Syria’s “rich diversity of sects.”

Because Sharaa wants to calm people’s fears about Syria’s future, he has been hosting a lot of foreigners lately and has promised to put rebuilding Syria, which was destroyed by 13 years of civil war, at the top of his list of priorities.