By Amr Abdullah

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services on Tuesday for the first time since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in early December, in an early test of the promises of the new Islamist rulers to protect the rights of religious minorities in the country.

The service was held amid tight security due to concerns of violence against Christian sites, with several pickup cars belonging to the current ruling Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) parked around the church.

The pews of Lady of Damascus Church in the Syrian capital were filled with a mixed congregation of young and old, holding candles as hymns filled the air and echoed through the church.

Hours before the service, hundreds of protesters in Damascus gathered to denounce an incident in which a Christmas tree was set on fire in the northern countryside of Hama governorate in west-central Syria.

Carrying wooden crosses, they chanted “We are your soldiers, Jesus”, “With blood and soul, we sacrifice for Jesus,” and “The people of Syria are one.”

Protester Laila Farkouh said: “We are protesting to demand our rights and condemn … The burning of the Christmas tree, and attacks on churches.. We will not accept it.”

De facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa has told Christians and other groups they are safe in a Syria run by his HTS, a former al Qaeda affiliate.

Although himself a former leader of a Sunni Muslim Islamist group, which views Christians as infidels, Sharaa quickly shed his jihadist uniform and switched to business suits in the new appearances.

He told visiting Western officials that HTS would not retaliate against the former Assad regime, whose senior figures were largely drawn from the Alawite sect of Islam, nor suppress any other religious minority.

But many Christians are still not convinced.

The burning of the Christmas tree is one of many incidents targeting Christians since the fall of the regime.

On Dec.

In a separate incident, Reuters reporters saw dozens of SUVs driving through Bab Touma, a predominantly Christian neighborhood in Damascus, blasting jihadist songs from their speakers.