On 23 March 2011, Moaz Al-Khatib gave an interview on Al Jazeera TV during which he made a call for an end to the violence carried out by the security services against Syria's peaceful demonstrators.

On 5 April, Al-Khatib made a speech during a funeral in Duma, where he said that "We, Sunni, Shia, Alawite, Druze, Ismaili, Arab, Kurd, are all one body. I am saying to you that Alawites are closer to me than many people; I know their villages where they live in misery and with injustice. We are speaking freely for every human in this country (...)"

President Bashar Al-Assad is of Alawite descent, a Syrian sect which constitutes a branch of Shia Islam. Despite being a minority, the Alawis have predominated among the top military and intelligence positions in Syria since Hafez Al-Assad came to power in 1971. On the other hand, Syria's civilian government is largely led by a Sunni majority, which constitute approximately 74% of the population.

Since protests began on 15 March 2011, human rights defenders and political activists, have been arrested in a State-sponsored crackdown. Protestors are demanding that their fundamental human rights be respected and continue to denounce the violence used by security forces against peaceful demonstrators.