Syriac-Aramean MP Yusuf Aydin calls on Swedish government to take timely action to protect minorities in Syria

STOCKHOLM — Syriac Member of Swedish Parliament Yusuf Aydin, in his speech during a Riksdag Foreign Affairs debate, highlighted the increasing persecution and violence facing Christians worldwide. Aydin cited a report by the Catholic organization Open Doors, which states that more than 380 million Christians worldwide in more than 50 countries are persecuted for their faith. He called for stronger international action to protect religious freedom and minorities.

Aydin (Christian Democrats, KD) made a special appeal to Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard to attend to the situation of Christians in Syria and that the Swedish government exert pressure to ensure that they are equally represented in the political transitional process following the fall of the Ba’ath regime and the seizure of power by the Islamist Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham which has now taken over the government.

A growing threat to Christians in the Middle East

Yusuf Aydin stressed that Christian communities especially in the Middle East are at risk of disappearing from their ancestral lands as a result of decades of conflict, instability and targeted violence. The Kristdemokraterna MP pointed to Syria and Iraq as prime examples of this crisis, where the Syriac (Chaldean-Aramean-Assyrian) population has drastically decreased in number. He warned that the loss of these communities would mean not only a demographic shift, but also the erasure of centuries-old cultural and historical heritage. It would be a great loss to the region and the world if the Aramaic language, once a lingua franca and the language Jesus Christ spoke, was to disappear. Thousands of years of ancient cultures are threatened.

Aydin argued that recent geopolitical shifts, including the weakening of Iran and its regional influence in Syria and Lebanon, as well as the fall of Syria’s former dictatorship, present a rare opportunity to reshape the region. He urged Sweden and the European Union to take immediate responsibility for the Syrian file by pushing for an inclusive democratic state that safeguards the rights of all ethnic and religious groups. He called for a constitution that genuinely represents the aspirations of all Syrians, ensuring the full recognition and protection of minority communities. Without such measures, Aydin warned, the region risks further fragmentation and the permanent loss of its diverse heritage.

Yusuf Aydin has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of Middle Eastern Christian minorities, particularly those affected by war and persecution. He holds the dossier on international religious freedom for his party. Earlier this month he attended the International Religious Freedom Institute conference in Washington. In August 2024, he and Syriac Member of Dutch parliament Isa Kahraman attended a conference on the persecution of Christians in Rome where they also had an audience with Pope Francis.