Revival and Awakening American Evangelical Missionaries in Iran and the Origins of Assyrian Nationalism
Author: Adam H. Becker
Publisher/Publication: University of Chicago Press
DOI/ISBN: 9780226145280
The writer touches on the relationship between religion and nationalism in the Middle East, by examining the development of a national religious identity among Assyrians. Becker focuses on how American missionaries, that aimed to spread the gospel and establish schools, publish and distribute literature, and preach a return to the roots of Christianity, had a deep impact on “Assyrians.” Their interventions helped to lay the groundwork for the articulation of a new national identity, as many East Syrians began to understand themselves as a separate group. Instructed at missionary schools in both Protestant piety and Western science, the indigenous group used their new knowledge to link itself to the history of the ancient Assyrians and eventually demanded national autonomy.
