On the Religion Report with Stephen Crittenden (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist), Rosie Malek-Yonan details the ongoing plight of Christians in the Middle East, which we have exhaustively documented here over the years:
Stephen Crittenden: The plight of Christian minorities in the Islamic Middle East is one of the 20th century tragedies to which we pay least attention.From the Copts in Egypt, to the Maronites, the Melkites in Lebanon, Orthodox and Chaldeans, the Christian population of the Middle East is a fraction of what it was, and more vulnerable than ever. Nowhere is the situation worse at the moment than in Iraq. And few groups are more vulnerable than the ancient Assyrian Christian community. In fact, this week the Italian journalist Sandro Magister, has warned of the end of Christianity in Iraq.
In early May in a heavily Christian suburb of Baghdad, a Sunni extremist group began broadcasting a fatwah over the loudspeakers of the neighbourhood mosque: the Assyrian Christian community had to convert to Islam or leave, or die. Their Muslim neighbours were to seize their property. The men were told they had to pay the gizya - the protection money Jews and Christians traditionally had to pay to their Muslim overlords - and families were told they could only stay if they married one of their daughters to a Muslim.
More than 300 Assyrian families have fled, mostly to the north into the Kurdish region of Iraq where they are not welcome either They are sleeping in cemeteries, they have no food, more than 30 of their churches have been bombed, their children are being kidnapped and murdered.
Rosie Malek-Yonan is an Assyrian-American. She is a successful film and television actor who has appeared in many popular shows including Dynasty, Seinfeld, E.R. and Chicago Hope. Her novel, The Crimson Field, is a fictionalised account of the little-known Assyrian genocide that took place at the hands of the Ottoman Turks during World War One at the same time that the better-known Armenian genocide was taking place. She recently directed a documentary film on the same subject. And last year she was invited to give testimony before the US Congress about the plight of Assyrian Christians in Iraq. Rosie Malek-Yonan spoke to me from her home in California.
Rosie Malek-Yonan: The Assyrian people are the indigenous people actually of Mesopotamia, before it even was Iraq. All of that area was Mesopotamia and is the original homeland of the Assyrians. They date back to over 6,000 years and were always concentrated in that region.
Stephen Crittenden: And Christianity was accepted by Assyrians, well virtually in apostolic times, right at the very, very beginning?
Rosie Malek-Yonan: Right. Assyrians were actually the first nation to accept Christianity as an entire nation, not just individuals, but the entire nation, and we built the first church of the east.
Stephen Crittenden: And what about language? Aramaic for church, but what language does a typical Assyrian family in Baghdad speak at home?
Rosie Malek-Yonan: Well the language that we typically speak is the modern Assyrian, which comes from the ancient Aramian, which is the language of Christ. The church liturgy still uses the ancient language, and we grew up learning it, and understanding it and knowing it, but it's not typically used at home. At home we generally will speak the more modern Assyrian dialect.
Stephen Crittenden: Now in early May, a fatwah was issued by a militant Sunni group in Baghdad, calling on the Christians in a particular suburb of Baghdad called Dora, to convert to Islam or die.
Rosie Malek-Yonan: Yes. Actually as we are speaking, I'm getting bombarded with emails, and one of them is a plea to help the Assyrians of Iraq. The women in particular - I'll just read you a little bit of this email - says the Virgin Mary put on a hijab (hijab is the covering) so why not all Christian women dress the same? They are asking all women to dress in that fashion.
Stephen Crittenden: I understand there's a lot of kidnapping and murdering of particularly of young kids?
Rosie Malek-Yonan: Absolutely. Our children are being murdered, they're being kidnapped for ransom, even when the ransom is paid they're still killed. Priests are being beheaded, nuns are being killed, and not just a beheading, they behead them, they cut also arms and legs, they hack them off and they return them in that manner. Little children, their heads are bashed with concrete blocks. This has been going on since the beginning of the Iraq War. This is isn't just an isolated incident here or there, this is an ongoing genocide.
Yes it is. Read it all.
Stunning. As I have said on other threads, the Arab League is anything but. The Arabs are the natives of the heart of the Arabian peninsula, and 1300 years ago or so, swept out and destroyed numerous cultures, languages, and religions, and then announced to the world that this was one big happy Arab Muslim family. Fascinating. So when do the National Council of Churches and all of those liberal churches utter a peep of concern about the genocide of their fellows? I guess if 2 million dead black Christians in southern Sudan doesn't bother you, nothing else will.
EliasAlucard: What all Assyrians/Syriacs need is nationalism.
Is that possible, Elias? Where can the Christians of the east make their stand?
As evil as the Muslims crimes are towards Christians, they are only being Muslims. To hate them is like hating a rattlesnake for biting you, it is only acting according to its nature. The real disgust should be aimed at George W. Bush and the US occupation authorities in Iraq. The blood of the Assyrian Christians is on their hands.
As long as the secularist Saddam Hussein and his Ba'athists were in power, the Christians were treated like every other Iraqi. In some ways the Christians were even favoured. Now the US has murdered Saddam, outlawed the Ba'ath party, and stands by silently while the Christians are exterminated.
Christ said that whatever is done to the least of His brethren is done to Him. Because of this, should God in His mercy grant me a place in Heaven, I suspect Saddam may be there but never George W. Bush. The US and its leaders will be judged for what they have done to these Christians.
Stephen Crittenden - an ABC journalist in Australia - published a full page review of three current biographies of Muhammad in the books section of the Sydney Morning Herald weekend edition 19-20 May. This is the first review of Robert's work in a major journal in Australia. The other biographies are by Karen Armstrong and Tariq Ramadan.
Crittenden is particularly severe on Armstrong - "Muhammad ... a champion of "monotheistic pluralism", "universal human rights", "complete sexual equality" and (this really is bizarre) "the individual was free and sovereign". Of course this is complete rubbish and deserves to be treated with contempt".
Ramadan fares little better - "His Muhammad is a mystic ... totally absorbed in contemplation of the Oneness of God and whose message is all about freedom and love" (sic)
"Spencer's book about Muhammad is a valuable and reliable contribution to present debates".
Alas Robert's book is not generally available on the shelf in this part of the world.
They were subject to genocide of "secular" Young Turks (I think Kurds were in on it too) just like Armenians/Greeks at that same time. Also, don't forget about British who didn't help fellow Christian Assyrians to obtain their home state when they had a chance (right after the genocide). Assyrians should have gotten their state when the Ottoman Empire disintegrated but they didn't. Bush isn't doing a damn thing for them either. Nobody is helping these people. It's criminal.
Hear hear , Serb infidel.
An absolute tragedy .
A disgrace .
A criminal act .
A ________ ( fill in naught adjective here )
But on the plus side , the muslims have demAAAAAAAcracy
so that's alright then.
HUUUUURRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!
metalstorm - that's good news about Crittenden reviewing Spencer, Ramadan and Armstrong in the Sydney Morning Herald and giving Spencer the thumbs up.
I took Robert's advice re the interview between Crittenden and Malek-Yonan and 'read it all'. Strong stuff. For the information of non-Australians: our Sydney Morning Herald (a Fairfax paper) and Radio National (a branch of our public broadcaster the ABC) are generally seen as somewhat 'highbrow', aimed at your whitecollar upper middle classes and intellectual set and often a bit left-leaning. So it's interesting to see them giving prime space to Crittenden's short, sharp doses of truth.
I'm Australian and I got my copy of 'Myth of Islamic Tolerance' at the local branch of Borders bookstore. They also had Fallaci. So keep your eyes open.
I got the 'Pig to Islam and the Crusades' over the internet.
To eliaslucard - I am deeply saddened by what is happening to Christians in Iraq. Be sure I am praying for them. What else should concerned people do? Should we urge our governments to intervene?
Elias,
As a outside observer, it looks like Assyrians (as well as Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian Christians) are their own worst enemies. They are too busy fighting among themselves to put up any real resistance against the jihad. Perhaps this current genocide may finally wake them up just like the Nazi genocide united Jews in support of their own homeland, but I'm not holding my breath. If Israel weren't so self-destructive (and led by dhimmidiots like Olmert) she could help facilitate a Christian nationalism against the Muslims among Assyrians, Lebanese, Copts, and Palestinians. Back when Israel had real leaders, she did just that with the Maronites but later betrayed them. Now we see the end results of that betrayal in Lebanon.
You're right that Russia is the only major power speaking up for the Middle Eastern Christians but the US and the West have decided to restart the Cold War and help the Muslims against Eastern Christianity (Orthodox and Catholic) whether in Iraq, in Serbia, or in Russia itself.
By the way, despite his name, Robert is ethnically Greek.
Great post , Provoslavni .
True about the Israelis miscuing badly in Lebanon - why the clumsiness ?
As pointed out , the Ruskies are the Infidels friend in the iraq , whilst "Operation Freedom" - or whatever doggy-turd-named-crap it's called - is helping the islamists finish off the Infidels once and for all.
But this genocide is perfectly okay with the Buhies coz it was democratically done . Now , I know the Christians weren't exactly having a party under Saddam . OTOH , generals in his army were church going Christians , senior party members too - What was the name of that Christian air force general under Saddam ?
NOW?
They're dog meat
Hey , here's a thought . When the last Infidel has finally been tortured to death , perhaps the islamists will hold a "mission accomplished" party on board a warship ?
And we can all go "WOOO WOOOO BUSH ROCKS , DEMOCRACY WINS
Don't take it personally , Infidels of the ME , no one gave a crap about the Serbs either .
Assyrians/Syriacs
DON'T GIVE UP! The Internet is a powerful tool especially for persecuted & dispossed people.
Bush was warned of the danger to remaining Christians before invading Iraq.Unfortunately the man has brain & attention span of a gnat-he is pulled on strings by his puppet masters.
Ordinary Americans,however, are warm hearted and
majority are CHRISTIANS. URGE YOU TO MAKE DIRECT
APPEAL [BY ANY MEDIA MEANS] TO AMERICAN PEOPLE.
As for me, I shall try and get hold of Rosie Malek Yonan's book 'The Crimson Field.'
After I know history & facts shall write to all
Christian denominations here-am an Agnostic myself but understand and am sympathetic to your
plight.
EliasAlucard-
I'm going to send a copy of the interview to my Representative and ask him to consider asylum. I urge all JWatcher's to do the same.
If we're going to take in Iraqi refugees, why shouldn't they be persecuted Christians?
Good for them, good for us.
Some comments.
1) I see that twice on this page, EliasAlucard writes about "jews", yet he has no trouble finding the Shift key to talk about "Assyrians". Why the inability to write "Jews"?
2) How do modern Assyrians feel about the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the dispersion of what are known as the Ten Lost Tribes? (It should be 8-1/2 Lost Tribes, but that's another story...)
3) I have looked at websites maintained by Assyrian nationalists and by Kurdish nationalists, and discovered an unpleasant fact: the territories claimed by Kurdistan and by Assyria are largely coterminous, covering northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey, and smaller neighboring portions of Syria and Iran. How can one have two distinct nations claiming the same territory? Could there be a single, bi-national state in this region? It seems that the relations between the Kurds and the Assyrians are not warm, which I regret. The Kurds are far more numerous, I believe, and would necessarily dominate any bi-national state. They appear to be warm to America, for several years, and if they embraced American values, might be expected to treat Assyrians respectfully, although the latter might understandably be suspicious.
4) If Turkey is hostile towards a majority-Muslim Kurdish state, they could be expected to be even more resentful regarding a majority-Christian Assyrian state on their border. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be established. Maybe a Kurdish-Assyrian federation would be more successful, if possible. Again, I don't know the history of relations between the Kurds and the Assyrians.
5) Although I am not 2000 years old, and no one else here is either, most feel comfortable saying that Aramaic was the language of Jesus, period. It's a little more complicated than that. Thanks to previous dispersions, and commerce with their eastern brethren, the Jews in the Holy Land spoke a mixture of Hebrew with a dialect of Aramaic. This is clear from reading contemporary documents like the Mish'nah and the prayer book, the Sidur, which has elements of both languages. (This is true as well of the latest portions of the Hebrew Bible.) This relation of dialects is analogous to the relation between Yiddish and German, or between Ladino and Spanish. However, when I met an Assyrian Christian in my hometown, I discussed words which I thought might be common vocabulary for us, but we had somewhat different pronunciations for the same words. So if we call Yiddish Judeo-German and Ladino Judeo-Spanish, we may say that Jesus, born and bred in the Holy Land, spoke Judeo-Aramaic.
Thanks for your responses. These are issues I would like to know more about. I have some responses.
1) Regarding Kurdish massacres of Assyrians, following the general themes of this website, I take it that a leading motivation was the issue of Muslim jihad against the Christians. This point has been well-expressed by Armenians vis-a-vis the genocide by the Turks. Now you have tied those two jihads together, which clarifies things for me.
2) Notwithstanding point 1) above, I am not sure what is the practical consequence of your claim: "Kurds are basically Iranians who don't want to be Iranians any more. Their language is Indo-Iranian. Their claims on Assyria is fictional, and if they occupy the Assyrians in Iraq, they will wipe out all the Assyrians left." First of all, I don't think that Persians see Kurds as Persian. More importantly, some 20 million Kurds live in the area you claim as your ancient homeland. The Assyrian nation, as far as I know, is older than the Kurdish nation. Nevertheless, what can one practically do regarding 20 million people? For example, aboriginal-indigenous Americans would have a hard time moving 300 million European-Americans, African-Americans and Asian-Americans out of America. You have to come to some accomodation with the Kurds. I understand that some Kurds are Christian. Are they willing and able to help Assyrians achieve their rights in their ancient homeland? Are they too few to be helpful? Does their ethnic identity trump their religious identity? (Compare the situation of Palestinian Christian Arabs, who are terrorized into supporting Palestinian Muslim Arabs over Israel.)
Christians...do not be afraid. Stand together and unite under Christ, our Risen Lord. Pray for the unity and brotherhood which our Lord commanded of us. We know the end of the story through Holy Scriptures. Christ conquered death. He shall smite the dragon and cast him into the pit! Pray unceasingly for the conversion of our common enemy, the muslim infidels; that they may come to a knowledge of the one True God, through Jesus Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Surak,
I'll expand on Elias' excellent explanation above with some further facts. First of all, modern Assyrians are Christians. They have been Christians for 1700 years. Therefore the God of Israel is their God. Beyond that, although the wickedness of ancient pagan Assyria is forcefully condemned by many of ancient Israel's prophets, these same Assyrians also responded to the call of the prophet Jonah as an entire people. Something that ancient Israel never did. So while the ancient tribes of Israel martyred their prophets and were judged with exile, the pagan Assyrians repented and turned to the LORD.
As for the Kurds? Their homeland is around Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran based in the city of Mahabad. In the 1950s, Iranian Kurds there declared the independence of Mahabad Republic with Soviet support. It was violently crushed.
The anncestors of the Kurds now living in Iraq and Turkey were brought there by the Turks in the 1800s. Being Sunnis, they were persecuted by the Shi'ite Qajar Dynasty in Iran for being loyal to the Ottoman Caliph. From the 1880s through World War I, the Ottomans attracted thousands of these Kurds from Iran with the promise of looting, raping, and killing Christian Assyrians and Armenians. That is why the territory of modern Turkish and Iraqi Kurdistan is the same as the most of the territory of historic Assyria and Armenia. This is a modern phenomenon, with the Kurdish claims there being less than 200 years old.
I support the right of the Kurds to an independent nation in the north eastern Iraqi district of Sulimaynia as well as the Iranian Kurdistan province. The territory around the Iraqi cities of Arbil, Kurkuk, Mosul are rightfully Assyrian just as Northeastern Turkey is rightfully Armenian. Any solution that does not restore these territories to Assyria and Armeina only rewards the Muslims with land stolen by jihad.
It is ironic that when Islamics make threats people in the West and newspapers like the New York Times (and some conservative ones too) cow to them. So do cable and broadcast media.
I bet that if these Christians were engaging in mass violence and terror the West would care.
The West would heed to their demands so as to pacify them (like they do for the Muslims).
The message seems to be that terror produces results .
What has happened to this world?!!!
"I support the right of the Kurds to an independent nation in the north eastern Iraqi district of Sulimaynia as well as the Iranian Kurdistan province. The territory around the Iraqi cities of Arbil, Kurkuk, Mosul are rightfully Assyrian just as Northeastern Turkey is rightfully Armenian. Any solution that does not restore these territories to Assyria and Armeina only rewards the Muslims with land stolen by jihad."
Provaslavni.... what about the independant sultanates of Southern Thailand that were annexed by Thailand 100 years ago, but consist largely of an ethnic Malay people??? Can it go both ways?
The plight of the Assyrians, today, is a dreadful thing. But something kind of rubs me the wrong way about restoring nationhood to a people that once claimed those lands centuries ago. (Conquest of nations has happened throughout history, and even an ethnically homegenous people like the Brits for example, are a hodgepodge of the variour groups that once staked claim to the islands throughout time.) Of course, you will say that this is what happened with Israel, and this is what opened up opportunities or at least possibilities for a people who lost their power ages ago.
Do not make assumptions, though I do not believe, as such, that Israel should be ripped from the Middle East. But where do you draw the line? Listen, I think it is a great thing that the Armenians and the Assyrians have managed to maintain their identities throurough the centuries despite being located where they are, and what they have been subjected to. You might say the Armenians have been a bit luckier, in that they have kept nationhood, whereas there is no modern Assyrian state. But when you want to talk about giving parts of Turkey to Armenia, or parts of Kurdistan to Assyrians, or parts of Iran and Iraq to Kurdistan, but why stop there? What about giving the ethnic Malay their annexed territory back in Southern Thailand? What about the once great Navajo nation, or the remnants of Mayan people that still exist today?
I've never been one to say a people should be denied a right to self governance, and it would be great if the past could be overcome, but that is an enlightened state of harmony that we have not been able to overcome, and I do not believe the powerful Turkish army will be so willing to give back territory that they mightfully took.
...In summary, this is just all very confusing to me. :)
I'm not disagreeing with you, friend. I just don't know what to do about it, or rather, what can be done about it. Britain sure did set a bad precedent, didn't they? And they did a bloody terrible job of dividing up the Ottoman Empire after World War I :D
Stand together Christians! The deception of Islam is fading. Unite under the banner of Christ, and pray for the strengthening of the communion of God's saints through brotherhood and kindness, so that we may know each other by our fruits. Be aware of the deceiver and stand fast in our faith. Pray for the true conversion of the muslim infidels, so that they may know God through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Fear not, for we know the end of the story as declared in Holy Scriptures! God will cast the beast and his minions into the firey pit for eternity. His holy name is Emmanuel, God is with us!
Provaslavni.... what about the independant sultanates of Southern Thailand that were annexed by Thailand 100 years ago, but consist largely of an ethnic Malay people??? Can it go both ways?
asked by ThinkForYourself above.
----------------
This one is easy to answer. Those independent Sultanates were once part of the great Malay Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya until the Muslims converted the rulers who, subsequently as good Muslims, forced their Buddhist subjects to accept Islam or die.
Thailand was simply restoring the original rule. The difference is that the Thai rulers did not force any of their subjects to become Buddhist but have always respected all their subjects freedom of belief. This shows how opposite Buddhism and Islam are. The Muslims are murdering the Buddhists in order to make these provinces 100% Islamic.
Just compare Thailand to Malaysia. In Malaysia, all persons of Malay ethnicity are Muslim by law and are forbidden to abandon Islam. The Muslims in Thailand have absolute freedom to live as Muslims but even that is not enough for them.
Fair enough Provoslavni. I remember having discussions on Thailand with you before. Are you from Thailand?
Also I will say:
"The Muslims in Thailand have absolute freedom to live as Muslims but even that is not enough for them."
Nothing is ever enough for them! Not even the life itself that their creator has bestowed upon them! :D