Religious Freedom in Syria

This factsheet analyzes religious freedom conditions in northwestern Syria under the de facto governance of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate and U.S.-designated terrorist group. The rebel group continues to grow its administrative power in the northwest, including parts of the Idlib governorate, one of the last and largest strongholds against President Bashar al-Assad’s government.  Although HTS has cut formal ties with al-Qaeda and launched an active public relations campaign to rebrand itself as a legitimate civic authority, its authoritarian and ideologically driven governance—as well as its ever-evolving relations with other non-state and state actors vying for control in parts of Syria—puts northwest Syria’s religiously diverse population at continued risk.