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Iraqi Kurdistan Without Blinders
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At Large
A New Identity for Middle East Christians
A growing separation from the Arab world in hostile circumstances.
(Page 2 of 2)
When Syria completed its conquest of Lebanon in 1990, it made sure to incorporate Arabism into the Ta’if Agreement which ended the Lebanese Civil War. “Lebanon is Arab in belonging and identity… Lebanon, with its Arab identity, is tied to all the Arab countries by true fraternal relations,” read the agreement. Lebanon’s imposed Arabism continued during the early stages of what would become known as the 2005 Cedar Revolution. In one extreme case, those pushing for separate identity (in addition to physically threatening Palestinians) were detained for voicing anti-Arabist sentiments.
Yet, following the 2005 Syrian pullout from Lebanon, quests for separate identity among Christians were reinvigorated. Sami Gemayel, a Member of Parliament and leader in the Kataeb Party, went so far as to say, “As a Lebanese citizen my identity is Maronite, Syriac [meaning Aramean], Christian, and Lebanese.”
Even in Syria there has been a marked shift. The Assad regime first attempted to subsume non-Arab Christian identities under Arabism and then met with representatives from leading organizations which represented non-Arab Christian ethnic interests.
Christian identity battles haven’t simply been initiated as a response to Arabism, but also directed inwardly toward other Christians who’ve embraced other non-Arab identities. The battle over identity has become a common element of Internet discussion between those who ascribe to different Middle Eastern Christian ethnicities. Usually, one group will attempt to impose its name over the others. While these arguments usually begin as a quest for greater Christian unity, they often devolve into more fractious infighting.
According to David Dag, “The Assyrianists use polemics based on [false] theories against those of us who opt for the true Syriac-Aramean identity of our people.” For an Assyrian activist who wished to be called “Sargon” (after the Assyrian king Sargon II who defeated an Aramean army in 720 B.C.), “The Chaldeans manufactured an identity! It’s fake. It’s nothing but ideas to split Christians. Chaldeanism is as fake as being an ‘Aramean.’ The Christians of the East [meaning the Middle East] are Assyrian.”
In Sweden, home to one of the largest expatriate populations of Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriacs, disagreements over identity have spilled over into verbal arguments and team rivalries on the soccer pitch. In 1977 Arameanists created the Syrianska Football Club in part, as a response to the 1974 creation by Assyrianists of the Assyriska Föreningen soccer team.
Despite the differences between the identities, one element that both unites and is seen as fundamental is the push to revive the Aramaic language — or in the contemporary case, versions of neo-Aramaic.
In the early 1990s, Aramaic was taught in some Iraqi churches and after the fall of Saddam Hussein it became more commonly taught in schools catering to Christian students. As Juliana Taimoorazy of Iraqi Christian Relief Council revealed, “The truth is, if the Assyrian nation is to be kept from extinction, it is through our next generation who will live in Iraq, keeping our beloved traditions, and our sacred Aramaic language.”
On the border with Lebanon, the Israeli Maronite village of Jish has been undergoing a renewed sense of identity with Aramaic language classes. “Reviving the Aramean Syriac language in Jish is part of a whole Aramaic cause to revive our language and identity,” says Amir Khalloul, a teacher of Aramaic and a leader in the effort to revitalize the language and culture.
When asked if there was any resistance to the Aramaic language and identity program, Khalloul answered, “We encountered problems from ‘Arabized’ Christians. They want to show us and our project as threatening to the Arab identity. They think that doing so will let them gain chairs, positions, and advantages from their Arab political parties or surrounding community.” He added, “Whether they are aware or unaware of this fact, it is a language and culture for all Levantine Christians, without any exemptions.”
For the project in Jish, support came from what would appear to be an unusual source. “We have Arab-Muslim friends that support our cause and are helping us to achieve our goals,” Khalloul recounted. He wished to thank Mrs. Khatib, “She’s the headmaster of the school in Jish. Mrs. Khatib is an intellectual Arab-Muslim lady who supported us significantly to teach our Aramaic language in the school.”
In addition to Aramaic language classes, there has been an explosion of media outlets servicing Syriac Christians. In 2004 Zowaa established Ashur TV. 2005 saw the creation of Ishtar TV by the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council. From late 2005 to early 2006, Swedish-based Arameanists established the increasingly popular Suryoyo Sat. In 2011, Assyria TV was also started.
Regardless of the successes made by the Christian groups, there is still significant communal pain, especially due to regional strife and being targeted. Around half of Iraq’s Christians, mostly represented by the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac Christian sects, have been turned into refugees. Churches and Christian businesses have also been attacked. Due to political splits, Maronite power in Lebanon has ebbed in recent years. Syrian Christians fear what may happen to their community as the civil war in that country continues to get worse.
Johny Messo, president of the World Council of Arameans (formerly known as the Syriac Universal Alliance), listed some requests he would like addressed by Middle Eastern states with Aramean populations:
First of all, recognition of the Aramean people as the indigenous people of these countries — unlike Kurds for example who have stolen much of our traditional lands and annexed them to their irredentist ideology of a larger Kurdistan. Secondly, equality — we ask for a fair treatment based on constitutions which ensure our rights and duties as for all citizens and groups. Thirdly, justice for the past inflictions of maltreatment of our people — we have been persecuted, discriminated against, killed, pushed away, uprooted and, while living in the diaspora, we are now suffering again from the expropriation of our ancestral land as well as other properties that legally and historically belong to the Aramean (Syriac) people.
While there have been many positive developments for these communities, the going will be tough. With ideological infighting, a shrinking population in their homelands, and attacks against their communities, these Christian groups may find their revival a much harder prospect than what many hope for. Nevertheless, they will continue their struggle. For one Chaldean academic, “It’s what happens in the diaspora — that’s what matters. We can rebuild and return, but it will all take lots of time.”
About the Author
Phillip Smyth is a journalist and researcher specializing in Middle Eastern affairs. He travels regularly to the region. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillipSmyth.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (39) | Leave a comment
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RCV| 7.18.12 @ 6:18AM
Fascinating analysis. Thanks for the insights, Mr Smyth.
TLP| 7.18.12 @ 4:55PM
I have an idea.
Let's make them AMERICANS.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 5:19PM
A lot of them already are. Most of the so-called "Arabs" in the U.S. are Christians, of whom Maronites are the largest group. Also present are Melkites, Copts, Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Antiochian Orthodox. They have been coming here since the 1940s, and are one of the wealthiest, most successful ethnic immigrant groups in the country.
Bob K| 7.18.12 @ 6:27PM
They settled in my area of PA even earlier than that. From around the time of WWI. Mostly they came from the area around Lebanon. We have Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic and Maronite churches within a mile radius of each other. Many of them went into the salvage business and became very successful and wealthy in it. My late father in law was Syrian Orthodox. There are many physicians, lawyers, educators and small business owners in the area who have this heritage. The area is a "melting pot" and most of the grandchildren of these original immigrants have intermarried with the grandchildren of Eastern and Southern European immigrants.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 7:01AM
The secret of Middle Eastern Christians is they are not, and never have been Arabs. Rather, they are the descendants of the original Christian communities that inhabited the area at the time of the Muslim Conquest in the 7th century. Some groups have succeeded better than others in retaining a distinct, non-Arab identity: the Copts of Egypt, for example, are ethnically distinct from Egyptian Arabs, while the Maronites of Lebanon remained distinct not only from the Arabs, but also from most other Christians as a result of their isolation in the Lebanon Mountains.
Prior to the 7th century, there were hardly any Arabs in the Middle East. Roman Arabia, called Nabatea, lay on the east bank of the Jordan and was inhabited largely by Greeks, Phoenicians and Canaanites. Only a few Bedouin wandering around in a corner of Syria were true Arabs.
When the Muslims invaded and took over the Byzantine provinces of Syria and Egypt, they left the Greek governing class in place and generally didn't disturb the indigenous Christian population, which consisted of Greek and Copts in Egypt, and Greeks, Syrians and Phoenicians in Syria-Palestine.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 7:01AM
After the imposition of Sharia, there was a slow but steady trickle of conversions to Islam as Christians sought to escape the civil, economic and social disabilities of dhimmitude. On the other hand, Sharia prohibited conversion from Islam to Christianity, prohibited a Christian man from marrying a Muslim woman, and dictated that the children of a Christian woman married to a Muslim had to be raised as Muslims. Gradually, the majority religion of the area switched from Christianity to Islam, but until the 13th-14th centuries, the majority of those Muslims were themselves not Arabs.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 7:02AM
In the 13th-14th centuries, the Mamluk sultans who ran the area instituted a massive population shift that amounted to an attempt at ethnic cleansing. Considering the indigenous Christians to be a potential fifth column (contrary to propaganda, the native Christians did actively support the Crusaders), they imported thousands of Yemeni fellahin and settled them on the land, displacing the native Christians. Genetic analysis of the Egyptian population, for instance, shows most of the Arabs in Egypt are of Yemeni descent, and most have been there for no more than 600 years.
So, those Christians who remain in the Middle East are there only because they have been marrying endogenously within their respective communities, maintaining their distinct ethnicity for 1500 years.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 7:02AM
And therein lies the problem: in an attempt to assimilate themselves into Arab society, the Christians adopted the Arabic language, Arabic dress and large amounts of Arabic culture--but they are not Arabs. The Arabs know they are not Arabs, and treat them as such. Nothing they do can make them into Arabs. Even if they convert to Islam, they will still have second class status as non-Arabs in Arab countries (Islam is not a great leveler, as the oppression of African Muslims in Darfur by Arabic Muslims from North Sudan shows).
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 7:03AM
The Christians signed on to Nasser's conception of secular "Pan-Arabism" big time in the 1960s, but failed to recognize that this ideology had become moribund and was being replaced by Islamism. It caused them to remain loyal to increasingly unpopular and repressive regimes past the point where they could disentangle themselves from being identified with them (see Iraq, Egypt and now, Syria).
In short, the Christians are making the same mistake as the Jews of Germany did in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They believed that they would be accepted if they demonstrated they could be "good Germans". That did not work. The Christians are trying to be "good Arabs". That won't work either.
Stormzeye| 7.18.12 @ 8:19AM
Stuart, thanks so much for your thorough and detailed historical analysis. As an ethnic Assyrian and member of the Syriac Orthodox Church it makes me happy to know that others are aware of our existence, history and rapid disappearance in Mesopotamia as a culturally significant group of people. My father was born in the Euphrates River Valley in a town called Malatya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malatya as a subject of the Ottoman Empire in 1906 and emigrated to the US in 1920. He never failed to teach us our history, the Aramaic language and our church liturgy and theology. Unfortunately, my children know little of our history in spite of my efforts to interest them so I often feel like "The Last of the Mohicans". Thanks to you for learning and teaching the history.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 11:35AM
The plight of Middle Eastern Christians underlines the necessity of Christian unity in the third millennium. The article tended to downplay doctrinal and confessional differences among Christians in favor of ethnic and linguistic ones, but the fact remains that, even as they are under severe external pressure, the Christian community is still rent with interior divisions.
As a Melkite Greek Catholic, I am keenly aware of this. My Church is headed by Patriarch Gregorios III, whose office is just around the corner in Damascus from that of his Eastern Orthodox counterpart, Patriarch Ignatios of the Antiochian Orthodox Church. But in addition to these two primates, there is also a Syrian Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, a Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, and a Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch--each representing a particular fragment of the Christian community in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. In Egypt, there is a Coptic Pope of Alexandria, a Coptic Catholic Archbishop of Alexandria, and a Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Alexandria. In Iraq and Iran, you will find the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Chaldean Catholic Church, as well as the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 11:40AM
What divides all of these different Churches are doctrinal disputes about the nature of Christ going back to the fifth century AD. Yet for the most part, their differences are more terminological than substantive--and the signing of various "Agreed Statements" on Christology, between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and between the Catholic Church and the Church of the East--underscores their essential agreement. Yet centuries of polemics and externally sustained divisions (the last thing the Arabs and Turks wanted was Christian unity) continue to keep us apart.
There is some reason to hope, however. Most of the Churches in Syria have agreed to pool their resources to build schools, hospitals and even churches in common. Cooperation between some of them, such as the Melkite Greek Catholics and the Antiochian Orthodox, are very close indeed. But more needs to be done. Like the American colonists, the Christians need to realize they must either hang together, or all hang separately.
Stormzeye| 7.18.12 @ 7:04PM
I love your posts. Can I study with you?
Ryan| 7.18.12 @ 8:36AM
And I think that the Church in general may have realized, far too late, that we didn't give them a place to run to when all the strife began. I'm not stating that Saddam, Assad, etc, should have stayed in power...but their regimes were better for Christians than what appears to be coming.
Dai Alanye | 7.18.12 @ 12:03PM
It is necessary to recognize the difference between genetic and linguistic identities. Genetically the peoples of the Near and Middle East are quite mixed, due to millennia of invasions and folk migrations, and incidents of forced relocation (the ten lost tribes, for instance) and importation of slaves.
It's far easier to speak in terms of linguistics than genetics, but also misleading. Prior to the Arab rise in the 700s, most of the Near East spoke Semitic tongues, of which Arabic is merely one. The Persians and Kurds spoke Indo-European languages, and North Africans spoke Hamitic ones. The Arabs conquered many of these lands, and imposed their religion (Islam) but not always their language.
To refer to all these people as "Arabs," as the news media and politicians are prone to do, is highly misleading.
And then there's the matter of cultural identity, more complex yet, which Smyth concentrates on.
RCV| 7.19.12 @ 10:19AM
Great posts, Stuart. Thanks.
Appleby| 7.18.12 @ 7:03AM
Christians were warned by Christ that the day would come when they would have to face martyrdom (the term Martyr comes from a word meaning "witness", by the way) and whether it is Red martyrdom (including death) or White (which is persecution), it would come in a time when it would be necessary to stand fast for what we believe. In the same countries and in the same peoples this challenge was flung down, and today the battle is still being fought. If you can find your Bible, have a read through Genesis, and maybe First and Second Kings and Chronicles. Or if you want a good punchy argument, have a go at the Book of Amos. Climb off your supercilious hobby horse that religion is fairy tales, and read the part that's history. It's happening all around you today.
Stormzeye| 7.18.12 @ 8:33AM
Our Christian brothers and sisters have suffered martyrdom in the Middle East since the rise of Islam. It continues today. Many in my family suffered and died at the hands of the Kurds and Turks in the early days of the twentieth century but I know my co-religionists still endure more than just "dhimmitude" in that region. Christians are still killed and their land taken with impunity. Churches cannot be repaired without a permit from the government. Non-Turks, such as Armenians, Jews and Assyrians must use Turkish family names but can use ethnic first names, if they dare. The murdered Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink (Armenian first name, but family name was shortened from Dinkjian) is an example. Both the Red and the White massacres continue.
Bob K| 7.18.12 @ 11:36AM
It is a very good historical overview of Christianity in the region since the rise of Islam. But it stops short of discussing how many displaced Palestinian Christians like George Habash joined the Muslims in their opposition to the establishment of the nation of Israel.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 11:45AM
In the context of dhimmitude, the various dhimmit could rise and fall from favor and status at the whim of the Muslim overlords. Throughout the 14 centuries since the conquest, the Muslims routinely played off one group of Christians against the others, and the Christians themselves happily joined in the persecution of targeted Christian groups in the hope of currying favor and avoiding persecution themselves.
But one thing remained constant throughout: Jews were at the bottom of the totem pole. Jews were always fair game, always targets for persecution. This jibed nicely with the institutional anti-Judaism of Eastern Christianity (particularly Middle Eastern Christianity, which had to deal with large indigenous Jewish populations in Egypt, Syria-Palestine and Mesopotamia).
In 1948, most outside observers believed that the Arabs would destroy Israel in short order. Many Middle Eastern Christians agreed, and this, combined with their ingrained pattern of behavior, oriented them towards supporting the Arab cause.
Occam's Tool| 7.18.12 @ 11:57AM
George Marshall also believed that Israel would be destroyed in short order. Well, as he himself said, he received a terrible education as a youth.
Dai Alanye | 7.18.12 @ 12:09PM
Prior to the rise of the Arabs, possibly brought about by an earlier incident of global warming, the entire Near and Middle East, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and North Africa were Christian or Jewish. No reason they can't be again.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 12:21PM
Actually, the 7th century was the middle of a cold spell that began in the late third century and continued until the middle of the 10th century. The principal cause of the Arab invasions was the unification of the Arab tribes under Islam, and the imperialistic impulse of Mohammed's faith.
Dai Alanye | 7.18.12 @ 2:45PM
Although most sources date the Medieval Warm Period as starting around 800 or 900, I hold that both the rise of the Arabs and the Norse are tied to warming trends. In the former case, warming damaged conventional agriculture in the Mediterranean, leading to weakening of the dominant Christian nations, thereby allowing a takeover by relatively low-population Arabs.
A similar phenomenon is seen in northern Europe with the rise of the Germanic tribes, followed by the rise of the Norse. Warming allowed population growth and improved economies, leading to military conquest of what were previously stronger societies.
Note that Eric the Red settled Greenland in 982, presumably after significant warming had already occurred.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 5:22PM
Well, the Vikings raided Lindesfarne in 793, which is as close to 9th century as makes no matter.
Occam's Tool| 7.18.12 @ 11:56AM
Well, I pray for Christian survival, and the hope that they may realize that the Jews in Israel would make an awesome ally.
George Habash's view amazes me, consistently, with its stupidity. Thanks again, Stuart, for your analysis.
KennesawJack| 7.18.12 @ 3:13PM
Occam, for the Christians in the region, Israel will be their ONLY ally unless Christians can somehow manage to re-exert their influence in Lebanon. This mess is just beginning to come to a boil. A very long and nasty way to go for any person of truly good will in that region. As an aside, Christians in that region would be very much mistaken if they think they have an ally in the current U. S. regime.
Dimitry_Aleksandrovich| 7.18.12 @ 5:05PM
Israel, like the U.S. and the Wahhabist Saudis and Qataris are supporting regime change in Syria. Therefore they too will have blood on their hands if Assad goes and Syrian Christians, Alawites, Druze and Kurds are left to the mercy of bloodthirsty Wahhabist/Salafist scumbags who are receiving funding, training, arms and intelligence from the US and its allies like Israel.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 5:25PM
Don't drink your own pan-Orthodox bathwater. The Soviet Union is very much to blame for the present situation, having propped up the Baathists in both Syria and Iraq for ages, promoting the civil war in Lebanon which affected the Maronites and all Christian communities in Lebanon.
Dimitry_Aleksandrovich| 7.18.12 @ 9:55PM
Saddam's greatest supporter during the Iraq-Iran war was the U.S. of A Stuart. The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore, but the USA still does and has become a hyperactive meddler in foreign affairs believing this to be the unipolar world of 1992, but it is not anymore. Not by a longshot. Yes I do believe in pan-Orthodoxy, because we are not Roman Catholics and we are not Protestants and we are increasingly at odds with if not in conflict with the West (the Balkan wars of the 90's). The blame for the current civil war in Syria falls not on Russia, nor on Iran, but on the United States, the U.K., and other European powers who are working hand in hand with bloodthirsty Sunni Islamists (Salafist/Islamists) from Saudi Arabia and Qatar and power hungry Turks like Erdogan.
Dimitry_Aleksandrovich| 7.18.12 @ 12:51PM
If the U.S. and their Saudi/Qatari Wahhabist and Turkish allies succeed in overthrowing Bashar al Assad then the United States and its allies will be responsible for whatever persecution follows for Syria's Christians and other minorities. After the U.S. deposed of Saddam the ancient Assyrian and Chaldean Christian communities of Iraq were ethnically cleansed while American troops secured oil pipelines.
John786| 7.18.12 @ 6:53PM
Prior to the 7th century there were no Arabs in the ME. That just cracks me up. Prior to the 15th century there were no Christians & white people in the Americas . Prior to the germanic invasion of England in the 10 th century there was no Enlgish language... Blah.. Blah.Utter tripe and bullshit analysis. As ususal the one eyed see things through a racist and islophobic eye. It is neocon policies that threaten Christian & Muslims in the ME. I don't deny that there is a real issue here of civil rights but turning this into an anti Arab muslim thing is not going to help.
Dai Alanye | 7.18.12 @ 9:00PM
I don't understand this comment by John 1492. The Germanic invasions of Britain are believed to have begun circa 450. Before that the Angles and Saxons existed on the continent and, of course, spoke English.
With regard to the Arabs, their spread of militant Islam to other peoples -- Syrians, Turks, Kurds, Persians, North Africans and so forth -- has brought about many of the problems we face today.
Stuart Koehl| 7.18.12 @ 9:40PM
The point is, there are no Cornish or Welsh or Breton irredentist movements blowing up busses in London and launching rockets at Bristol to make the English return Britain to the Celts. The Palestinians need to accept facts on the ground and make a life for themselves.
Gary B| 7.19.12 @ 12:19AM
"The Palestinians need to accept facts on the ground and make a life for themselves."
Their leaders would have to take a cut in pay to do that.
Stuart Koehl| 7.19.12 @ 7:32AM
I might also point out that there is a quite active Muslim movement to recapture al-Andaluz, or, as we know it, "Spain". Islam does not recognize the possibility of territory incorporated into the Dar al-Islam reverting to the Dar al-Harb, hence all formerly Muslim lands--the Balkans, large chunks of central Europe, even parts of Italy--must be reincorporated into the Islamic world. That accomplished, the aim of Islam remains unchanged: the entire world must be brought into submission with the will of Allah.
Christianity teaches its adherents that their kingdom is not of this world. Judaism teaches that a small corner of the Middle East has been promised to God's chosen people. Only Islam promises its adherents global temporal supremacy, and this is the root cause of our present problems with Islam.
Dimitry_Aleksandrovich| 7.19.12 @ 1:59AM
Occam I know we're at odds most of the time, but being Jewish you should understand that the heart of the problem facing Arab speaking Christians and other non-Sunni minorities in the region is not Arab nationalism or even Islam in general but the Wahhabist (Salafist) school of Sunni Islam that is the official religion of Saudi Arabia. The Wahhabists want to cleanse the region of all non-Muslims (Christians and Jews), pseudo-Muslims (like Druze, Alawites, etc.) and especially they're old rivals the Shia Muslims. They have no tolerance for non-Muslims and persecute Shia Muslims (Eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, etc.) wherever they are in power and the Shia are not. There is no peace with the Wahhabists. Everywhere on earch where they have infected local Muslims (Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, etc.) with their radical Islamist ideology there is war. You cannot live with the Wahhabists you can only kill them.
Bob K| 7.19.12 @ 11:35AM
The news in this morning's papers about the bombing in Damascus at a meeting of Cabinet ministers and security officials of the Syrian doesn't bode well for a settlement. This seems to be turning, as some predicted, into an existential conflict for the minority Alawites. Here is another view from the other side via Asia Times.
http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NG20Ak02.html
Bob K| 7.19.12 @ 11:36AM
That would be Syrian "government."