There is still speculation and uncertainty about the post-Assad Syria, as no one forgets the Salafist past of the rebel group that has taken power, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

In an interview with international media, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, leader of the rebel group formerly linked to al-Qaeda and the country's new visible face, said that “the priority is to rebuild”.

“Our project is for Syria. We are recovering a country that has been torn to pieces in all sectors”, he stressed.

However, the remaining international sanctions on Syria, HTS's status as a terrorist group, clashes in some areas with pro-Assad supporters and the discovery of crimes by the authorities of the regime make the transition process fragile.

First Christian protests

Several Christian voices in the country have expressed concern over the Salafist past of the Al-Jolani-led group.

“We do not want to be second-class citizens” some have said, while others fear that “a new monster will throw the other monster out”, in reference to the replacement of the Al-Assad regime by an extreme Islamist government.

In recent days, these uncertainties have grown after the burning of a Christmas tree in Al-Suqaylabiyah, which has sparked protests across the country, including in the capital Damascus.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the authors of the incident are alleged to be former jihadist fighters who have been arrested. In response, the new transitional government decreed the 25th and 26th as public holidays.

“Our first concern is to get people to return home, whether from abroad or displaced people in Syria. We need to secure this transitional period”, pointed out Al-Jolani in the interview.

A new constitution

However, those fears will not go away until a new constitution is approved, something that many Christians in the country are also calling for, such as Protestant pastor Abdallah, who serves in a Christian Alliance church in Aleppo.

“We Christians look to the future and stress the importance of a new constitution that is suitable for all segments of society”, he underlined.

But for the new government, “it is premature to define the exact form of the new regime we are putting in place”.

“Writing a new constitution will take time. Elections could be held, but as things stand we don't even know how many voters there are in Syria” , he aded.

That is why, according to Pastor Abdallah, “although the situation is safe now, there is fear that some will try to establish an Islamic state under Sharia law” .

Living in a Syria without Al-Assad

Others are concerned about the power vacuum that the Assad family saga seems to have left behind.

As a Syria expert working for the Christian NGO Open Doors pointed out, a large part of the population is under 50 years old and has never lived “in a country without an Assad in power” .

The memory of the dictator is still very much alive in Syria. As the transition begins, evidence of atrocities committed during the regime continues to emerge.

The new Syrian government has just arrested Mohamad Kanjo Hassan, a senior Al-Assad official who, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, signed the death sentences of thousands of people in summary trials.

“We must prosecute Bashar Al-Assad, his family and his aides, and establish processes to confiscate their unlawfully obtained assets”, stated Al-Jolani.

The search for Kanjo Hassan coincided with an ambush by Al-Assad supporters on members of the new Interior Ministry that left at least 17 people dead in the province of Tartus.