Matthew Barber is a contributor for Syria Comment, a blog about Syrian politics, history, and religion. https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/contributor/matthew-barber/rss en ISIS Religious & Ethnic Groups Sat, 07 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Matthew Barber https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2013/09/07/jabhat-al-nusra-and-other-islamists-briefly-capture-historic-christian-town-of-maloula https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2013/09/07/jabhat-al-nusra-and-other-islamists-briefly-capture-historic-christian-town-of-maloula Ma’loula (or Maaloula) is one of those unique places you may be lucky to visit—or perhaps were lucky to have visited, were you fortunate enough to have been in Syria before the conflict began.