Religious Minorities in Secular Autocratic Arab Regimes: The Political Discrimination of Christians in Syria

Abstract

The main focus of this article is the political discrimination and/or exclusion of Christian minorities in Syria, with a particular focus on the era of Hafez al-Assad. It begins by analyzing the characteristics of the political regime in the pre- and during Hafez al-Assad era and then tackles and measures the level of state secularization from 1950 until the al-Assad period. Political discrimination against the Christians of Syria will then be measured and identified to understand better how and why secular regimes in the Arab region discriminate against religious minorities at a political level, in this case, the Christians of Syria.