At the end of 2024, over thirteen years since the onset of Syria’s protracted civil war, the country’s political landscape dramatically shifted when a rebel coalition toppled the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Religious freedom conditions had suffered over the course of the civil war under a variety of state and nonstate actors. Now, in the months since the fall of the Assad regime, freedom of religion or belief faces ongoing nationwide challenges as Damascus continues its political transition under members of U.S.-designated terrorist organization HTS, itself a violator of religious freedom. Meanwhile, Turkey’s military strikes and support for Islamist militias pose additional threats to diverse religious communities in the north and east. In its 2025 Annual Report USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State add Syria to the Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom. 

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, Former USCIRF Chair and current President of the IRF Secretariat Nadine Maenza will join USCIRF Commissioner Maureen Ferguson to discuss findings from Ms. Maenza’s recent travel to Syria, including Damascus, where several religious communities face ongoing threats to religious freedom as Syria continues its transition.  

Read USCIRF’s 2025 Annual Report chapter on Syria and 2022 factsheet on Religious Freedom in Syria Under Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and listen to USCIRF’s 2022 Spotlight episode on HTS’s religious freedom violations. 

With Contributions from:

Veronica McCarthy, Public Affairs Specialist, USCIRF