The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and survival strategies of Christian communities in Greater Syria
Author: Sotiris Roussos
Publication: Contemporary Levant
DOI: 10.1080/20581831.2021.1881719
Published online: 24 February 2021
The millet system compartmentalised religious communities into different sociopolitical environments under the overarching Ottoman imperial realm. However, during the nineteenth century, state transformation and crisis and the global re-allocation of political and economic power led to the exacerbation of ethnoreligious conflicts. Facing the collapse of the Ottoman imperium and the threat of extinction, the Greek Orthodox, Assyrian, Chaldean and Syrian Orthodox communities developed five survival strategies. The first was co-optation by state authorities; the second, protection of the Great Powers; the third armed resistance and the creation of autonomous enclaves; the fourth was that of exodus; and the last was to integrate themselves into Arab nationalism, lowering the banner of religion and becoming strong advocates of an Arab national identity encompassing Muslims and Christians alike. This paper aims to present a comparative approach to these strategies in the period from the beginning of the twentieth century to the formation of the Mandates.
Christianity in the Middle East (CME) | Report no.1
The aim of the CME report is to present and address the main features related to Christians living in the Middle East in regard to religious plularism and peaceful coexistence. The region of focus includes Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Moreover, emphasis is attributed to the relationship between the state and its institutions with the Christian communities, as well as in pinpoiting the factors and effects related to the Christian exodus from the Middle East. The documentation of the report reflects the research openly available on the CME website and serves as a database for the living conditions of the Christians in the Middle East. The CME reports are an ongoing endeavour, aiming at providing continuous updates on the state of religious pluralism for the Christians of the Middle East. The findings presented, therefore, are not exhaustive, but highlight main trends and continuities.
Died: Ashur Eskrya, Champion of Iraq’s Displaced Christians
Author: Jayson Casper
Publication Date: 9/4/2021
Source: Christianity Today
Ashur Sargon Eskrya, president of the Assyrian Aid Society–Iraq (AASI), passed away today from COVID-19 complications. A champion of the Assyrian Christian minority, he was also a central figure in US efforts to shelter refugees from ISIS and later rebuild the Nineveh Plains.
23,000 Christians reported returning to Iraq after Pope's visit
Author: Cara Bentley
Publication Date: 7/4/2021
Source: Premier
Thousands of families are said to be returning to Iraq, just a few years after the towns were taken over by ISIS and Christians killed.
Pope Francis' visit to Iraq has apparently given hope to Iraqi Christians returning to their homeland after fleeing years of violence.
ISIL-linked group in Egypt claims execution of Copt, 2 tribesmen
Publication Date: 19/4/2021
Source: Al-Jazeera
An Islamic State-affiliated group has claimed the execution of a Coptic Christian and two tribesmen in Egypt’s restive Sinai region, in a video posted on its Telegram channel.
The Coptic Church, which makes up between 10 and 15 percent of Egypt’s 100 million population, on Sunday named the Christian killed as Nabil Habashi Salama.
Turkey imprisons Syriac monk over act of charity
Publication Date: 9/4/2021
Source: ACN Ireland
On the 7th April, a court in Turkey sentenced a Syriac Orthodox monk to prison for giving “help to a terrorist organisation”. Father Sefer Bileçen, informally known as Fr. Aho, was sentenced to 25 months in prison after being found guilty on trumped up charges of assisting PKK fighters. The trial was held behind closed doors. Fr. Aho was not at the courtroom and categorically rejects the charges. Fr. Aho gave bread to two PKK fighters who visited his monastery to request food. The PKK, or in English the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, is an outlawed Kurdish Maoist terrorist organisation, which has previously carried out suicide bombings and is involved in fighting in Syria.
Turkey’s Christians face increasingly dangerous persecution – analyst
Publication Date: 13/4/2021
Source: Ahval News
Turkey’s Christian minorities are suffering from increased persecution as the government grows more repressive, Hudson Institute research fellow Lela Gilbert wrote in Newsweek on Monday.
Gilbert said that the symbolic conversion of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque was only the most blatant example of this new environment in which the government aggressively targets non-Muslim religious minorities.
She specifically calls to attention the plight of Christian refugees who fled Iraq and Syra in recent years. Many of these arrivals struggle with employment, learning Turkish and finding the space to practice their faith.
Turkish president extends Easter wishes to Christians
Author: Handan Kazanci
Publication Date: 3/4/2021
Source: Anadolu Agency
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday released a message marking the Christian holiday of Easter.
“I congratulate with my sincerest feelings our Christian citizens of various churches and groups on Easter, one of their most important feasts,” said Erdogan, according to a statement from Turkey’s Communications Directorate.
“The rich mosaic constructed by each and every individual of our nation sets a stunning example to the world in terms of coexisting freely in peace on the basis of mutual respect,” he added.
Turkey's Christians Face Increasingly Dangerous Persecution
Author: Lela Gilbert
Publication Date: 13/4/2021
Source: Newsweek
Once upon a time, tourists in Turkey eagerly made their way to Hagia Sophia—a historic architectural marvel shimmering with the golden light of ancient mosaics. Although marred by many centuries, images of Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist reflect the spirit of a fledgling Christian world. In fact, Turkey's earliest churches are recalled in the New Testament itself—in Antioch, where St. Paul began his missionary journeys, and in the Seven Churches portrayed by St. John in his Book of Revelation.
No punishment, no repentance: The persecution of Christians in Egypt
Author: Zara Sarvarian
Publication Date: 3/4/2021
Source: Christian Today
Memories of the attack have never faded from Souad Thabet's mind.
An Egyptian Coptic Christian woman in her 70s, Souad wishes she could forget the moment that a group of Muslim men invaded her home in El-Karam village in Egypt. They dragged her out of the house and stripped her. In her ears, is the noise and giggle of the large crowd of spectators. She was mocked and beaten. Her husband was too.
That was in 2016. Recently, Souad learned that her attackers have been acquitted.
Elmahaba Center: Uniting Coptic Egyptians in Nashville’s Little Minya
Author: Noran Morsi
Publication Date: 1/4/2021
Source: Egyptian Streets
Imagine a Coptic Egyptian Community Center in the middle of a southern state in the United States with services such as a clinic and a lawyer on the top floor, Arabic-speaking restaurant and business owners on the bottom floor, and a plaza that is decorated to celebrate Egyptian culture. This is the vision Lydia Yousief has for ‘Elmahaba’ in Nashville, Tennessee.
According to the 2016 U.S. Census, there were 181,000 Egyptians in the U.S., however, the number is believed to be much higher. Unlike the upper and middle-class Coptic communities in New York, Washington DC, and the Los Angeles area, Tennessee has a majority working-class community. Egypt is estimated to be around 10 to 15 percent Christian and 85 to 90 percent Muslim, but in Nashville, over 90 percent of Egyptians are Coptic Christian.
