Largely untouched by a war that elsewhere has killed hundreds of thousands, there is a calmness in Bab Tuma, the Christian district of Damascus’s Old City. The Syriac St George Cathedral is swept, tidy and untouched by the artillery and air strikes that have pounded other parts of the capital.
The scene is indicative of a wider regime message that has grown loud in recent years – only in government-held areas do the Christians have a future.
Although it is not just the Christians. The Damascus government is adamant that only under its rule can minorities survive. It is a message that has become integral to its existence domestically and internationally.
In his Damascus office, Minister for Religious Affairs, Mohammed Abdul Sattar boasts: “There is no religion or sect on the national ID card”.
The regime itself is a minority composite, the presidential family is largely Alawite, a Shia off-shoot that comprised about 10 per cent of the pre-war population. Hammouda Sabbagh, speaker of the parliament, is the first Syriac Orthodox Christian to hold the post.
They play a prominent role in the military apparatus too – commander of the elite Tiger Forces, Brig Suheil Al Hassan, is an Alawite.
Since the onset of the war, a plethora of minorities have become increasingly close to the regime, Christian militias have fought in battlefronts from Aleppo to the eastern desert of Deir Ezzor, while Armenian and Circassian businessmen have also cast their lot in with the Al Assad regime.
Armenian MP Nora Arissian is in no doubt the government is the true defender of Syria’s Armenian community. “In Syria we live in a multicultural and harmonious society, so we do not have minority and majority. The rights of the Armenians are reserved through the constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic, and the government is acting upon the constitution.
“As long as opposition groups believe in extremism and terrorism, we believe that our lives would be in danger”, she told The National.
Syria’s Druze have been one of the few groups to sit jadedly in a grey zone during a war that has violently polarised most other communities in the country. While not fully embracing the regime, their hesitancy to embrace the armed opposition has often been cultivated by the government to demonstrate this supposed loyalty of minorities.
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Nour Radawan, director of Suwayda 24, a news site based in the Druze-dominated southern city of Suwayda, suggests to The National that the relationship is far more precarious than the regime makes out.
“People here say they don’t support the regime, but we can’t fight ISIS, Nusra and the barrel bombs at the same time. We’re not that strong, that’s why it appears we support the government. We don’t trust the regime to defend Suwayda if ISIS or Nusra come for us, that’s why we have set up our own militias.
“ISIS was on Suwayda’s border for almost three years and the regime did nothing. Many here think the regime is just using ISIS against us – that’s why we have set up our own militias”.
Dr Leon Goldsmith, author of Cycle of Fear: Syria's Alawites in War and Peace, says the importance of this government line cannot be underplayed.
“This narrative – the very superficial dualism between secular regime and Islamist opposition – has been one of the key factors in the whole crisis. It has been accepted, both among lay people and reasonable thinkers.”
He says that various minority groups’ sidling up to the regime has fostered a deepened distrust and hatred among those who sided with the opposition, noting a point of no return, especially for Alawites, in 2011, when the government began its brutal clampdown on protests.
“From that point on they were doomed to be conflated with the state’s repression, I don’t know how that can be restored.
“The regime has really destroyed the long-term prospects for their future and any long-term stability or sustainability without the regime in power.
“The thing that has created the danger for the minority groups is also now their only hope for protection in absence of international action.
“It’s like the arsonist posing as the firefighter.”
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
RACE CARD
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 (PA) Listed Dh230,000 1,600m
6.30pm: HH The President’s Cup (PA) Group 1 Dh2.5million 2,200m
7pm: HH The President’s Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,200m.
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
