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Population of Syria is about 90% Muslim and 10% Christians. Among Muslims, 74% are Sunni, the rest is divided among other Muslim sects, especially Alawi (who represent 10% of the total population) and Druze (6%), but also a small number of non-Druze Ismailites and Shiites, which has considerably increased due to the influx of Iraqi refugees since 2005.
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Islam:
Islam, the third monotheistic religion, has been launched by the prophet Muhammad, a descendant of a long line of prophets, including Jesus, Moses, Abraham and David (peace be upon them). Muhammad (P), have, by the angel Gabriel revealed the Koran, the word of Allah (translated the word "Allah" in the "Lord"). Islam spread like a field on fire, and was soon regarded as the main religion of Syria.
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Christianity:
There are several Christian communities, which, on a whole is about. 8 to 10% of the Syrian population. Christianity in Syria is divided into three parts: Catholic Churches, Orthodox and Protestants. The Catholic churches are divided as follows: Greek Catholic, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Chaldean Catholics, Maronite Catholics and Latin Catholics. All have their own patriarch, while the highest position is the Pope at the Vatican. The Orthodox churches are divided into Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox. These churches also have their own patriarchs, although the Armenians are headed by a patriarch of Armenia. Protestants are few and are under the supervision of a Thinodus (level of priesthood). Their representation in the academic and economic life of Syria far exceeds the percentage of their population.
Christians of Syria is highly recognized and holidays include Christmas, New Year and Easter. The Armenian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas January 6. As Easter is celebrated on two different dates, the date of the customary West (celebrated by the Catholic churches, Protestant and Armenian Orthodox), another date is celebrated by the Syrian Orthodox Church and Greek.
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Judaism:
There is also a small Syrian Jewish community which is mainly limited to Damascus remains of a former 40,000 strong community. After the UN plan to partition Palestine in 1947, there were pogroms against Jews heavy Damascus and Aleppo. The Jewish property confiscated or burned and after the establishment of the State of Israel, many fled to Israel and only 5,000 Jews were left in Syria. Of these, 4,000 left over after agreement with the United States in the 1990s. In 2006, there are only a few hundred Jews left in Syria.
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Religious sites:
The Umayyad Mosque:
This grand mosque stands at the heart of the old city at the end of Souq al-Hamidiyeh. It was built by the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid ibn Abdul Malek in 705 AD when Damascus was the capital of the Arab-Islamic Empire .
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It was built on the site of what has always been a place of worship: first, a temple for Hadad, the Aramean god of the ancient Syrians 3,000 years ago, then, a pagan temple (the temple of Jupiter Damascene) during the Roman era. It was then converted into a church dedicated to John the Baptist when Christianity spread in the 4th century. Following the Muslim conquest in 635, Muslims and Christians agreed to partition them, and they began to perform their rituals side by side.
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When al-Walid decided to erect an impressive mosque suited to the greatness of the Arab state "whose like was never built before, nor will ever be built after" as he would have said he negotiated with the Christian community of Damascus, and undertook to build a new church for them (St. John's) and give several pieces of land for other churches, if they have waived their right to their share of the mosque. They accepted. It took ten years and eleven million gold dinars, and a large number of masons, artists, builders, carpenters, marble-layers, and painters to complete. It became a model of architecture for hundreds of mosques throughout the Islamic world. Salient features of this are the three minarets built in different styles, the upper parts have been renovated during the Ayyubid, Mameluke and Ottoman. The mosque has a large room prayer and a vast courtyard. The interior walls are covered with mosaic panels made of colored and gilded glass, portraying scenes from nature. The dome is gray-blue, celebrated for its magnificence. The prayer hall contains domed shrine venerated by Christians and Muslims, the tomb of St. John the Baptist.
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St. Paul's Church
It commemorates the memory of St. Paul, whose name was Saul of Tarsus, charged by the Romans to persecute Christians. As he approached the village Daraya, a burst of blinding light took her to there, and he heard Jesus Christ ask him "Saul, why do you persecute me? It was a vision of faith .
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He was taken unconscious to Damascus, in the presence of Hananiah (Ananias St.), a disciple of Christ, and became one of the staunchest advocates of Christianity. His Jewish peers decided to kill him, but he hid in a house by the city wall. The church is located on the site of his escape. He traveled to Antioch, Athens and Rome, after a brief stay in Jerusalem, and continued to teach the gospel until his death.
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