Syrian Christians Research Articles

Book Review: Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870–1915

Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915 offers new, microhistoric and non-nationalist perspectives on the late 19th century history of the province of Diyarbekir. Focusing on a period dominated by violent conflicts between the authorities and various local elites and population groups of the region – urban Muslims, Kurds, Armenians, Syrian Christians and others – this book offers new insights into the social history of the region and the origins of the Armenian and Kurdish Questions, which were to gain such prominence in the 20th century. This book is one of the important sources to understand the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, and especially in the Diyarbekir region.

The Introduction and Formalization of Civil Law in the East Syrian Church in the Late Sasanian–Early Islamic Periods

AbstractThis essay is concerned with the social and ideological accommodations of the East Syrian Church in Late Antiquity, by first incorporating, and later expanding a body of civil law. First under late Sasanian rule and then under its Islamic successor, East Syrian church leaders sought to promote and elaborate a distinct communal law that would solidify the primacy of ecclesiastical institutions and the communal fidelity of East Syrian Christians. An East Syrian ecclesiastical interest in worldly affairs was initially manifested in the contexts of an institutionally permeable Sasanian setting and of a rich matrix of Christian–Zoroastrian ties. Following the Islamic takeover, the expansion and subsequent codification of civil regulations in the eighth and ninth centuries were the products of a clearly defined community. Under early Islamic rule, the incorporation of civil regulations in ecclesiastical law speaks of the growing purview of the ecclesiastical judiciary and the institutional and theological competition that was posed by Islam.

Images of Islam: American Missionary and Arab Perspectives

This article examines the story of Protestant missions in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Ottoman Syria, a region of the Ottoman Empire that included present day Syria and Lebanon. It moves the study of the American Syria Mission away from Euro-centric modes of historiography, first, by adding to the small body of recent scholarship on Arab Protestantism and mission schools in Syria. Second, it focuses on Islam and Christian–Muslim relations in Syrian missionary history, a topic that has received little scholarly attention. Arguing that Muslims played an active part in this history even when they resisted missionary overtures, the article considers the perspectives of Syrian Muslims alongside images of Islam in American and Syrian Protestant publications. By pointing to the interreligious collaboration between Syrian Christian and Muslim intellectuals and the respect many Syrian Protestant writers exhibited for the Islamic tradition, this article questions assumptions of innate conflict between Muslims and Christians in the Middle East.

Miskawayh’s Apologia for Greek Philosophy

In the East, Greek philosophy was studied as early as the fourth century, not however, by the Muslims but by the Arab Syrian Christians. It was Syrian Christians who brought wine, silk and other precious items to the West, but it was the Syrians also who cultivated Greek sciences for many centuries before they eventually transmitted them to the Muslim philosophers, especially in the tenth and eleventh century Baghdad. Miskawayh (d.1030), a great Muslim moralist, was among the philosophers who flourished in Baghdad at such times. He was well educated in Islamic studies as well as in philosophy, especially Greek philosophy. The many quotations from Greek sources which are found in Miskawayh’s works, especially in his major work on ethics, Tahdhib al-Akhlaq (The Refinement of Character), provide important evidence for this study to argue that they also have contributed to the formation of his moral philosophy. This paper thus, seeks to investigate Miskawayh’s own attraction to Greek ideas, which eventually led him towards the acceptance of Greek thought and also towards the need for an apologetic on behalf of philosophical study and on the relations between philosophy and the divine revelation.

Miskawayh’s Apologia for Greek Philosophy

In the East, Greek philosophy was studied as early as the fourth century, not however, by the Muslims but by the Arab Syrian Christians. It was Syrian Christians who brought wine, silk and other precious items to the West, but it was the Syrians also who cultivated Greek sciences for many centuries before they eventually transmitted them to the Muslim philosophers, especially in the tenth and eleventh century Baghdad. Miskawayh (d.1030), a great Muslim moralist, was among the philosophers who flourished in Baghdad at such times. He was well educated in Islamic studies as well as in philosophy, especially Greek philosophy. The many quotations from Greek sources which are found in Miskawayh’s works, especially in his major work on ethics, Tahdhib al-Akhlaq (The Refinement of Character), provide important evidence for this study to argue that they also have contributed to the formation of his moral philosophy. This paper thus, seeks to investigate Miskawayh’s own attraction to Greek ideas, which eventually led him towards the acceptance of Greek thought and also towards the need for an apologetic on behalf of philosophical study and on the relations between philosophy and the divine revelation.

Introduction to Caste in Christianity: Case of Kerala

This paper is premised on the argument which would demolish the myth i.e. caste is centric to Hindu community only. Here, I tried to map out the introduction and evolution of Christianity in Kerala which would give way to the most significant portions of this paper which is ‘history of conversions to Christianity in Kerala’ and later, to understand the interplay and dynamics I dealt with identifying various sects in Christianity, however, these should not be regarded as caste. This is because here we find more scope for social mobility and sometimes they act as pollution neutralizers. But for those concerning, rules of pollution remains same for Hindus and Christians. The various denominations of Christianity found in Kerala are mainly – Syrian, Latin and New Christian groupings which has acculturated forms of caste practices over the years despite, no mention of the concept of 'bodily pollution' in bible or in the principles of Christian religion. Hence, on these accounts it is necessary to deal with ‘rules of caste and pollution’ which is followed by final remarks as conclusion.

Disappearing Old Christian Professions in the Middle East: The Case of Diyarbakır Pushee-Makers

Have you a pushee on your head? Was it made in Diyarbekir? (Popular ballad from Diyarbakir) Pushee weavers (Syrian Christian weavers of traditional silk cloth) have always been part and parcel of t...

Muslims and Christians Praying Together, or Not: Some Observations on German Protestant Attitudes toward Common Prayer

One of big often raised by Christian students in many of religion classes taught here at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, is whether Christians, Muslims, and Jews pray to same While more conservative Protestant American students struggle to answer question one way or another, others do not take too long to respond to question in affirmative. This past year, a Syrian Christian student was perplexed that one would even raise such a question; of course we are praying to same God--Allah in Arabic means nothing more than the God, and all three Abrahamic religions worship same As we live in an increasingly religiously plural world, where our best friends, colleagues, and neighbors are adherents of different religious traditions, desire to pray together with them is becoming ever more pronounced. While learning about faith of our neighbors and friends enriches our understanding of their worldview, praying with them enriches our spiritual horizons and can aid in our appreciation of mystery we call God. Indeed, according to Leonard Swidler's Dialogue Decalogue, praying together is an example of depth or 'spiritual' dimension (of dialogue) where we attempt to experience partner's religion or 'ideology' from within and thus discern values in partner's tradition. (1) In contemporary German context, numerous examples exist of instances of common prayer, often reported in local press. (2) Yet, on level of theology, various documents of Protestant churches in Germany (die Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, hereafter EKD) are raising questions about possibility and feasibility of such common prayers. In particular, documents issued by EKD after tragic events of Septemberl 11, 2001, suggest that attitude of EKD has toughened on question of whether Christians can pray together with This hardening is regrettable, as it comes at a time when Muslims in Germany have felt more and more excluded; it is also theologically problematic, particularly when compared to relative ease with which Christian-Jewish common prayers have been declared possible and desirable. While ultimately any human explanation of God and God's acceptance of prayer must be but preliminary, an outright rejection of possibility of common prayer is theologically arrogant, as it puts limits on a limitless Furthermore, a theology of hospitality demands a Christian duty to hope (3) for possibility, and also expresses desirability, of common prayer among all three Abrahamic religions. The EKD and Islam While EKD's engagement with Islam has spanned a few decades, and while EKD has issued multiple documents to guide Protestant Christians in their interaction with Muslims, documents from before and after horrific events of 9/11 are particularly telling in way that they reflect EKD's shifting stance on Islam. Regretfully, EKD's overall attitude toward Islam since 2001 has hardened, yet fortunately some documents of recent vintage issued by regional Protestant churches in Germany have become more inclusive and welcoming of common prayer with Thankfully, there is no singular Protestant position (4) of Protestant churches of Germany, and one hopes a more inclusive and open attitude toward Islam and Muslims will prevail in German Protestant thinking. 2000 A year prior to 9/11 attacks, EKD had issued their first, extensive document, Living together with Muslims in Germany: Fashioning Christian Encounters with Muslims. Overall, document is measured in its approach toward Islam; already introduction cautions that equating Islam with Islamism and fanatical ideas provides a distorted picture and that much of Islam is practiced in devoted piety and peaceful humanness. (5) As we will see, this is a much more differentiated characterization of Islam than in 2006 document (hereafter, EKD 86). …

Secular Autocracy vs. Sectarian Democracy? Weighing Reasons for Christian Support for Regime Transition in Syria and Egypt

With the spectre of post-Spring Islamist rule looming, Christians in Syria and Egypt were forced to choose between quasi-secular autocracy and sectarian populism. The status quo ante under al-Assad and Mubarak, though democratically deficient, temporarily contained civil hostilities and afforded Christians with a modicum of secular protection and even prosperity, the degree of which sheds light on the relative absence of Syrian Christian protestors and the salient Coptic presence during the Egyptian revolution. This article explores how socio-economic and religious peripheral designations intersected with state policy to determine political (in) action amongst Christian minorities in two crucial countries of the region.

Transnational Religious Dynamics of Syrian Christians from Kerala in Kuwait

This article focuses on changes in religious practices and the rise of radical religious groups among Christian Kerala immigrants to Kuwait after the First Gulf War in 1990–1. The impact of religious revivalism shows how religion has become a site for various identity-based community-centred networks among South Asian immigrants to Gulf countries. The article analyses the ways in which the church is increasingly active among Syrian Christian immigrants of Kerala in post-liberation Kuwait. Such religious groups are transnational in nature, actively linked to both home and destination countries, and the world beyond. The article focuses specifically on the growing affinity of Syrian Christian immigrants towards Pentecostalism. At the macro level, this article also investigates the interconnection between the geopolitical dynamics in the Gulf and the expansion of what appears to be ‘religious space’ in Kuwait.

The first Arabic translations of Enlightenment literature: The Damietta circle of the 1800s and 1810s

The subject of this paper is a circle of translators working in the Egyptian port of Damietta in the 1800s and 1810s. Based around the household of a wealthy Syrian merchant, this circle translated scientific, fictional and historical works of the Enlightenment, from Greek and other languages into Arabic. The first section gives some background on Damietta, the Syrian Christian merchant community there, and the Fakhr family, including contemporary accounts of Basili Fakhr and his household. The second presents the biography of .Isa Petro, the main translator of the Damietta Circle. I then consider the translations themselves, presenting a thematic list of the known translations. I examine three sets of influences on the project: the Modern Greek Enlightenment, contacts with Western Europeans and the revival of Arabic letters among Christians in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. I also compare the Damietta project with similar translations being made into Arabic at the same time in Constantinople. I go on to analyse the diffusion of manuscript copies of the Damietta translations, and their influence on readers. Finally, in a conclusion I attempt to assess the general significance of the Damietta Circle for literary and cultural history, in the Arab and Mediterranean contexts.

Toward a Eucharistic Missiology

AbstractThe Orthodox churches were drawn into contemporary missiological discussions primarily through the modern ecumenical movement. Since there are fundamental differences of approach between the East and the West on this matter, particularly because the Western concept and method of mission is perceived to be still carrying, rather imperceptibly, the old imperial‐colonial baggage, the Orthodox are always ill at ease in these discussions dominated by the Western Protestant churches. The Orthodox theologians have, however, made huge efforts within the framework of the World Council of Churches to enunciate their vision of the missionary nature of the church from patristic and liturgical perspectives.This article pleads for a shifting of paradigm from an anthropocentric and possessive mode of mission to non‐possessive hospitality, eucharistic (thanksgiving) intercessory care for creation, and self‐giving inner pilgrimage to the source of light that enlightens all. Mission as gift and not simply as task would be essential for the shaping of a new human civilization. What is needed is a change of human civilizational paradigm and not simply some aspects of the conventional Christian mission models. In Asia, we had the Buddhist mission before Christ and the East Syrian Christian mission in the first millennium, which gave us some alternate models of doing peaceful and non‐acquisitive mission.

Reckoning with the Inevitable: Death and Dying among Syrian Christians during the Uprising

ABSTRACTSince 15 March 2011, Syria has seen a humanitarian crisis escalate and we are now witnessing outright civil war in many parts of the country. From a relatively peaceful start, the whole affair has turned ugly. Bombs are exploding not just in remote parts of Syria but in its largest cities. Death and dying has now become a salient feature of Syrian life, both inside and outside its national borders. It is this salience of death and dying that I explore in this paper. My focus will be on Syrian Christians and their ways of perceiving the materiality of death. Most centrally, I argue that the fear of extinction that death and dying evoke in the minority prevents them from embracing oppositional politics and is instead used by the regime to propagate the fact that it alone will be able to ensure a future for all of the country's citizens.

The Exaltation of Seth and Nazirite Asceticism in the Cave of Treasures

This article argues that the Cave of Treasures mixes Jewish themes concerning the exaltation of Seth with ascetical themes found in Syrian Christian writings about Nazirite purity. The Cave of Treasure’s emphasis on Seth’s priestly duty and sexual purity echoes Syriac Christian authors, like Ephrem and Aphrahat, who also describe Seth in terms of Nazirite purity. Since the East-Syriac recension of the text contains explicit Nazirite influences that are absent from the original pre-fourth-century West-Syriac recension, an East-Syrian scholar probably revised the composition sometime between the fifth- through seventh-centuries. The later redactor took the text’s original emphasis on purity and interpreted this purity according to the East Syriac model of Nazirite asceticism that was common among other seventh-century East-Syriac authors, like Dadisho and Isaac of Nineveh.

The Impact of International Migration on Home Churches: The Mar Thoma Syrian Christian Church in India

Based on qualitative, multisited research, this article examines the impacts of short‐ and long‐term international migration to the Middle East and the West on the Mar Thoma Syrian Christian demonination of Kerala. Migrants and their foreign‐born children have new demands and expectations, and significant financial contributions have led to adjustments in the orientation and functioning of the denomination and its clergy. Large‐scale emigration has also had indirect effects. International networks and the economic affluence of the population, along with a rise in social problems caused by migration and consumerism, have led to the rise of evangelical and charismatic transdenominational churches in Kerala that challenge the functioning of established Christian denominations such as the Mar Thoma. Church leaders have been trying to bring about changes to address these developments, but are constrained by the tradition, structure, and the mission of the churches. I draw on theories of organizational religious change and theories of transnationalism to explain the process of social change in Kerala, also addressing some limitations of these theories.

Playing East: Arabs Perform in Nineteenth Century America

This article explores the practice, widespread among the diasporic Syrians and North Africans of the nineteenth century, of pretending to be Arabs. “Arabs” were astute purveyors of Orientalism, both in entertainment and in trade. Syrian peddlers and merchants played the Orientalist card because they knew it would help sell their goods. In this paper, I concentrate on those Arabs who made a living entertaining Americans in the nineteenth century by dressing up. Entertainment ran the gamut from stage performance like vaudeville and circus acts to high-toned lectures, with the former being dominated by North Africans and the latter by Syrian Christians. Orientalism sold, and every Arab knew it and exploited it.

Bülent Özdemir, Assyrian Identity and the Great War: Nestorian, Chaldean and Syrian Christians in the 20th Century, trans. L. M. A. Gough (Dunbeath: Whittles Publishing, 2013). Pp. 192. $34.95 paper.

Bülent Özdemir, Assyrian Identity and the Great War: Nestorian, Chaldean and Syrian Christians in the 20th Century, trans. L. M. A. Gough (Dunbeath: Whittles Publishing, 2013). Pp. 192. $34.95 paper. - Volume 45 Issue 4

Ideology and Humor in Dark Times: Notes from Syria

Touted by its publishers as the “most prestigious lifestyle and luxury magazine in Syria,”1 the January 2011 issue of Happynings enjoined readers to accessorize with camouflage: “From combat cool to aviatrix chic, military style took fall runways by storm. We show how to pledge allegiance to the season’s hottest trend and work army accents into every look.”2 A music video by Husayn al-Dik, the brother of a regionally famous crooner, echoed this aesthetic imperative with performers dressed in black-andgray fatigues, matching hats, and lace-up boots dancing to his sexually suggestive tune “Natir Bint al-Madraseh” (Waiting for the School Girl).3

Religion, Social Incorporation, and Civic Engagement: Second-Generation Indian American Christians

Recent studies have shown that participation in religious institutions facilitates the civic incorporation of contemporary immigrants. These studies have focused on either the immigrant generation or on the second generation. This paper contributes to the literature by showing how negotiations and disagreements between generations shape the civic engagement of multigenerational Christian congregations. The research is based on a study of congregations consisting of first- and second-generation immigrants belonging to the ancient Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Christian church based in Kerala, a state in south India. It shows how first- and second-generation Mar Thoma American conceptions regarding ethnic and religious identity and the social obligations mandated by religion were based on very different understandings about Christian worship, evangelism, social outreach, and their interrelationship. The immigrant generation's ideas were shaped by the doctrines and practices of the Mar Thoma denomination in India, whereas those of the second generation were influenced by nondenominational American evangelicalism. This paper focuses on the second generation and shows how they developed ideas of American identity and Christian obligation in interaction with and often in opposition to those of their parents’ generation, with the result that contradictory forces affected the civic engagement of these multigenerational congregations.

Between Hellenism and Arabicization. On the formation of an ethnolinguistic identity of the Melkite communities in the heart of Muslim rule

The present paper deals with the Melkite community as a specific group with an ecclesiastical identity which arose in the Islamic period, in the heartland of Islam, and therefore not in Constantinople. Our aim is to describe those features of this community that arose from the Byzantine Orthodox faith, although formed from anti-Monothelite Syrian Chalcedonian groups, as distinct from the Jacobites, later identified with the Christians of the Umayyad Caliphate who accepted the teachings of the Sixth Ecumenical Council of the Royal Byzantine Church in 681. In this context the label Melkite should not be understood as a synonym of «Greek Orthodox» but rather of «Chalcedonian», which, for the Syrian Christians, identifies those who followed the Dyothelite dogma.