In the News–A Spiritual Perspective August 13, 2012 Issue

Prayer that goes beneath the surface in Syria

Gloria Onyuru

Damascus, Syria

The news these days is rife with strife in Syria. Government troops and rebels clashed in Damascus, the capital city, after a recent bombing killed several top government ministers. And although the United Nations has been doing what it can to get a peace plan in place, their workers have faced many obstacles and much danger. 

The bitter conflict going on there could be seen as originating in the divergent beliefs held by the adherents of the two great religious divisions of Islam: Sunni and Shi’ite (also known as Shia). Members of the Syrian government (including President Bashar al-Assad) and the Syrian army are predominately Alawite (a Shi’ite sect). By contrast, Sunni Muslims make up approximately three-quarters of today’s Syrian population, and the present-day rebels and former members of the Syrian Army are Sunnis.