Syria–Damascus

1. When and how did Islam enter Damascus?

Islam entered Damascus in the mid-7th century, during the early period of conquests following the death of Muhammad. In 634, at the Battle of Yarmouk, the Byzantine Empire was defeated and the defensive line of the Syrian region collapsed, and in the following year, 635, Damascus surrendered to the Muslim forces through negotiation without a major battle. The Islamic forces did not destroy existing Christian facilities, and they took control of the city relatively peacefully by guaranteeing freedom of religion to Christians on the condition of paying jizya (a tax).

2. Were there religious groups or powers that resisted when Islam was introduced? If Christianity existed before Islam, why did Christianity decline?

The main resisting forces were the Byzantine Empire and the Christian communities of the Syrian region, but they were unable to continue strong resistance due to internal divisions and political exhaustion. Internal cohesion was weakened by sectarian divisions (such as Miaphysitism and Nestorianism), regional defense collapsed due to the military and political weakening of the Byzantine Empire, and the tolerance of Islamic rule and its economic incentive (the possibility of maintaining one’s faith upon payment of jizya) gained the support of the inhabitants. In other words, military weakness + internal division + the relative stability of Islamic rule were the core causes of the decline of Christianity.

3. What position did Islam take after the World Wars?

After the Second World War, when Syria gained independence, Islamic forces maintained social influence by participating in nationalist and anti-colonial movements. However, after the secular Ba'ath Party regime came to power in 1963, their political influence was greatly restricted, and Islam continued its role more in the social and cultural spheres than in politics. After the outbreak of civil war in 2011, some Islamic forces again emerged as political and military actors.

4. What is the most influential Islamic school in Damascus, who is its central figure, and what is the core of his teaching?

Damascus has traditionally been Sunni-centered, and among them the Shafi‘i school and the Hanafi school have had the greatest influence.

A representative figure is the scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, who was active in Damascus. The core of his teaching was to return to the Qur’an and Hadith as the primary sources, to reject saint veneration and superstitious practices, to emphasize pure tawhid (the oneness of God), and to advocate the necessity of reform in religion and society as a whole.

5. What influence does Islam have on Syria, and what is the role of Damascus in the Islamic world?

Islam has played a central role in the formation of Syria’s culture, language (Arabic), legal system, social norms, and national identity. It has also become a central element in shaping social order by creating a structure of religious coexistence together with Christians, Druze, and others.Damascus was once the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate and a center that shaped early Islamic civilization, and it functioned for a long time as a scholarly center of theology, jurisprudence, and Sufism. As a result, it continues to be recognized as a historically and culturally symbolic core region in the Islamic world to this day.