Image: Under Syrian President Assad's rule, Christians have had extensive freedom, plenty of Bibles and have been able to engage in politics.
I interview Johannes just as peace talks on Syria are taking place in Geneva and the Assad regime on one side and Al Nusra and Islamic State on the other are fighting over Aleppo, where many Christians live.
We start by talking about the West's view on Syria, where especially at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, the West supported what they considered to be democratic rebel groups.
The so-called moderate and Islamist insurgent groups cooperate
Johannes Schwab says: "There is a fluid transition between the so-called moderate and Islamist rebel groups, as it has been revealed that the 'moderates' and Islamists have been working together to try to close the Assad regime's supply line between Damascus and Aleppo.
Card no. 1 shows Syria before Russia's support for Assad. The blue arrows show Turkey's open borders, through which Islamic State (gray area) and the Al Queda related Al Nusra (green) get fighters and supplies. Turkey has closed its borders to the Kurds (yellow area) who are fighting against Islamic State.
Second, they have cooperated to maintain their own supply line that begins in Turkey in the province of Hatay with the capital Antakya (Antioch) and goes to the Al Nusra area north of Latakia and Idlib in Syria. Thirdly, the so-called moderates and the Islamic State cooperate to maintain the supply line from Kilis-Jarabulus in Turkey to Raqqa in Syria, the capital of the Islamic State.
Card no. 2 shows Syria after Russia's military intervention. Note that Al Nusra (green area) and Islamic State (gray area) have declined and a supply line has been secured from Aleppo to the northwestern (yellow) Kurdish area. Also note that the Kurdish area has become much larger.
When the civil war began, secular and even Christian groups were part of the now fragmented Free Syrian Army (DFSH) and some Christians hoped that this movement could bring more freedom, but when they saw that Islamist extremists dominated and brutally fought all non-Sunnis, they switched sides and distanced themselves from the DFSH and supported Assad instead.
What is the path to peace in Syria?
Christians and Muslims, even moderate Sunnis, say that the extremists still get all their supplies from Turkey. Therefore, if Islamic State is to be defeated, these supply lines from Turkey must be shut down. Putin has bombed convoys of trucks traveling from the Islamic State into Turkey.
Image: Turkish journalist Can Dündar was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison on May 6, 2016 for proving that Turkey was smuggling weapons to Islamic State.
Will Assad win an upcoming election in Syria?
John continues: A pastor told me that 80 % of Christians will vote for Assad as he is the only one powerful enough to unite the country. Even a pastor who suffered under Assad and had his church closed has said he will vote for Assad.
The West only listens to rebel spokesmen. For example, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London [which has often been quoted in Danish media, ed] is part of the Sunni Muslim lobby fighting against Assad. The Observatory only draws attention to bombings of rebels, not when the rebels bomb the other side.
On my last trip to Syria, I spoke to a highly educated Sunni Muslim judge. He is not an extremist and is reasonable. He said: "Many Sunnis will vote for Assad. We Sunni Arabs have destroyed this country. If we Sunnis win, there won't be peace for a long time. First we will have to kill all non-Sunnis, and then different Sunni schools will fight among themselves. Assad is the best right now. Before the civil war, we didn't know if our neighbors were Shia or Sunni - it's the Sunni rebels who have created division in Syria."
The judge also told me: "Why should I support Islamic State? They just kill and steal. The Islamic State bought the support of ordinary Sunnis by saying: "You can steal your neighbors' property - from the Christians and the Yazidis".
Christians, Kurds, Yazidis and educated Sunni Muslims know that Assad is a dictator and don't agree with everything he does - including his brutality - but they would rather elect him as the best person to bring peace than suffer the extreme brutality of the Islamic State. That's why they appreciate Putin's support for Assad.
Christians, Kurds, Yazidis and educated Sunni Muslims know that Assad is a dictator and don't agree with everything he does - including his brutality - but they would rather elect him because, strange as it may sound, he can best bring peace than suffer the extreme brutality of the Islamic State. That's why they also appreciate Putin's support for Assad.
Without Assad, there is no Syria, and alternatively, the country is likely to split into several parts, including Alawite, Kurdish, Yazidi and IS-controlled parts.
The highly educated support Assad
Assad's supporters are the highly educated, while the Sunni supporters are the uneducated or poorly educated. Well-educated Sunni Muslims who initially supported the Islamic State are disappointed as the introduction of Sharia has meant that the education system has been destroyed because the Islamic State wants to turn back time 1000 years and establish a caliphate. They are disappointed and support Assad because under his leadership education and research are respected and promoted.
Europe welcomes low-skilled Syrians
As a result, the migrants coming to the West are not educated and some are even illiterate, especially the Syrians. Note that many of the recent arrivals say they are fleeing Assad, not Islamic State, because they fought against Assad and collaborated with Islamic State while still living in Syria. They were fleeing from Russian bombs. Those who are not interested in progress in Syria have gone to Europe. The question is whether they will be a gain for Europe.
But surely it can't just be because the Sunnis have a strong lobby that the West is biased against Assad?
The West is interested in economics and the Sunni states that support the Islamic State and other rebels represent major trading partners for the West, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Shia side, to which Assad belongs, does not represent a large market for Western exports. The West sacrifices all its principles and values for economic gains.
Middle Eastern Christians are disappointed with the 'Christian' West
Middle Eastern Christians are more value-driven than economy-driven. The Middle East is generally far more value-driven than economy-driven. I don't know anyone in the Middle East who has abandoned their faith. Christians boldly put a cross in the car window. We in the West have abandoned the values and our faith that have brought us peace, reconciliation and economic prosperity after two world wars. Middle Eastern Christians are disappointed in Western Christians. Syrians - Alawites, Yazidis and Christians alike say that the so-called Christian West supports the Sunni side - because of trade opportunities and strategic interests.
I don't know anyone in the Middle East who has abandoned their faith. Christians boldly put a cross in the car window. We in the West have abandoned the values and our faith that have brought us peace, reconciliation and economic prosperity after two world wars.
Orientals are driven by principles and will sacrifice economics for principles, while the West sacrifices principles for economics. That's why the West doesn't understand Middle Eastern countries. We think economics is everything, but money can't buy everything.
That's why we don't understand the terrorists in our countries. They may be well-integrated and well-educated, but they may come out as terrorists because Muslims consider principles more important than money.
Thank you for the interview - the thoughtful and knowledgeable project manager has brought interesting news about the complex situation inside Syria - and provided a nuanced perspective on Putin and Assad. Finally, it should again be noted that the interview is in no way an endorsement of Putin or Assad in general, as there is much to disagree with, including Assad's very anti-Israeli policy, but is merely an analysis from the perspective of Syrian Christians.
