New Delhi, March 23 -- Crowds of Syrians rallied Sunday to protest authorities' efforts to limit the sale and consumption of alcohol in Damascus, reflecting rising anxiety in the cosmopolitan capital that Syria's new Islamist government may threaten long-held secular freedoms.

Hundreds of residents from a range of religious sects poured into a grassy square in Bab Touma, a Christian neighborhood in Damascus, chanting "Syrians are united!" and brandishing signs that urged the government to safeguard personal liberties and religious minorities.

"This is not about whether we want to drink alcohol, this is about personal freedom," said Isa Qazah, a 45-year-old sculptor from the area who joined the protest along the medieval stone lanes near...