Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services on Tuesday for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in early December, in an early test of the new Islamist rulers' pledges to protect the rights of the country's religious minorities.

The church bells still ring in Syria’s ancient Christian enclaves, but their sound carries a bittersweet resonance. Two weeks after the surprise fall of the regime of the Syrian tyrant, Bashar Al-Assad — toppled by an offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — Syrian Christians stand at a crossroads of hope and dread.

The burning of a Christmas tree by armed men in the Syrian city of Hama has caused concern among Christians. Many fear they may become targets of Islamic factions after the fall of the Assad regime. According to the "Daily Mail,

Christian leaders fearful of provoking Islamists Several incidents recorded of intimidation of Christians New HTS rulers giving assurances of religious tolerance Scars of war and dictatorship unlikely to heal quickly DAMASCUS,