40-foot Jesus Statue Erected In War-torn Syria

A giant bronze statue of Jesus has gone up on a Syrian mountain, amid a conflict rife with sectarianism in the Asian country.
The statue on the Cherubim mountain is 12.3 metres tall and stands on a base that brings its height to 32m, according to the estimate of the organisers of the project.
That the statue with Jesus standing, arms outstretched, made it to Syria and went up without incident on October 14 is remarkable.
The project took eight years and was set back by the conflict that followed the March 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
Christians and other minorities are all targets in the conflict, and the statue's safety is by no means guaranteed. Worse still, it stands among villages where some fighters have little sympathy for Christians.
When asked why they decided to put up a giant statue of Christ in the midst of such setbacks and so much danger, organiser Samir al-Ghadban quoted a Christian church leader Syria's Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yaziji as telling him, because "Jesus would have done it".
Al-Ghadban said that the main armed groups in the area – Syrian government forces, rebels and the local militias of Sednaya, the Christian town near the statue site – halted fire while organisers set up the statue, without providing further details.
Rebels and government forces occasionally agree to ceasefires to allow the movement of goods.
They typically do not admit to having truces because that would tacitly acknowledge their enemies.
It took three days to raise the statue.
Photos provided by organisers show it being hauled in two pieces by farm tractors, then lifted into place by a crane.
Smaller statues of Adam and Eve stand nearby.
The project, called I Have Come to Save the World, is run by the London-based St Paul and St George Foundation, which al-Ghadban directs.
Russians have been a driving force behind the project – not surprising given that the Kremlin is embattled Assad's chief ally, and the Orthodox churches in Russia and Syria have close ties.
Al-Ghadban, who spoke from Moscow, is Syrian-Russian and lives in both countries.
Al-Ghadban said he began the project in 2005, hoping the statue would be an inspiration for Syria's Christians.
He said he was inspired by Rio de Janeiro's towering Christ the Redeemer statue.
Majority Sunni Muslims dominate the revolt in Syria, and jihadists make up some of the strongest fighting groups.
Other Muslim groups along with the 10-per cent Christian minority have stood largely with Assad's government, or remained neutral, sometimes arming themselves to keep hardline rebels out of their communities.