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Syria: Maronite Christians
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Of the non-Muslims in Syria, most are Christians, primarily Greek and Armenian Orthodox. Religious minorities include Druze, who follow a religion related to Islam, and a community of approximately 1000 Jews. 70% Sunni Muslim, 12% Christians (mostly Orthodox and Greek Catholic) and 18% other minority groups including Jews and Druzes.
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The population of Syria is predominately Arab (90%), with large minorities from other ethnic groups: Kurds, Armenians, Circassians and Turks. The official language is Arabic, but other tongues that are occasionally understood include Kurdish, Armenian, Turkish, French and English. The Syrian Republic is officially secular, but in nonetheless greatly influenced by the majority religion of Islam (90% of the population, split between 74% Sunni Muslim and 16% other Muslim). There is a large Christian minority that amounts to about 10% of the population.
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Most Arabs in Syria are Muslim. Sunni Muslims make up about 74% of the population, with other Muslim sects (mainly Druze and Alawite) composing 16%. The remainder are mostly Christian, although there is a small Jewish community.
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In 1832–33, Ibrahim Pasha, the son of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, annexed Syria to Egypt. Egypt held Syria until 1840, when the European powers (particularly Great Britain) forced its return to the Ottomans; during this time Syria's economy was revived and numerous schools were established. During the rest of the 19th cent. the Syrian economy was modernized somewhat and educational opportunities were increased. However, conditions were far from good, and growing resentment of Ottoman rule developed among the Syrians. After bloody fighting between Christians and Druze, Lebanon (largely inhabited by Christians) was given considerable autonomy in 1860.
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For centuries, Saint Simeon was a high place of Christianity in Syria and drew thousands and thousands of pilgrims and worshipers of the Saint. The young shepherd Simeon became a stylite, a man who lived his Christianity by self inflicting the incredible punishment of having to live perched on top of a 25 metre high column for 36 years.
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Maronite Christians