The Troublesome Comeback of the Aramaeans in the Middle East
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
May 12, 2009
From the informative portal Aram Nahrin, I republish three enlightening features, before shifting to the Aramaeans of Turkey in a forthcoming article.
Aramean Democratic Organisation and the general elections in Lebanon
http://www.aramnahrin.org/English/ArDO_Elections_Lebanon_25_4_2009.htm
In June 2009 general elections will be held in Lebanon. The Aramean Democratic Organization (ArDO) is going to participate in these elections. For this reason we decided to have an online interview with Mr. Roni Doumit to inform our readers about the goals, the ideas, and the visions of ArDO for the future.
Online interview with Mr. Roni Doumit
1. When was ArDO established and why was ArDO established?
ArDO has always been in people's hearts and the reason we started to work on the ground is because we wanted to show our people that they can have a serious organization talking about their rights in all political arenas.
2. What are the goals of ArDO and whom does ArDO represent?
ArDO represent the free Aramean people and our goals are to make a base in the Middle East where our people can live with their heads high.
3. Is this the first time the ArDO will join the elections and what do you think about the chances?
This is the first time ArDO enter the elections under its own name, before we have been a part of the elections by supporting other allied parties.
4. Will ArDO ally with other parties, or will you join the election independently?
We are independent now, if a candidate gets close to our ideology, then we can talk about alliance.
5. Who will stand as candidate for the ArDO in Lebanon?
We have chosen our board member, Ahouno Roni Doumit.
6. How many Arameans are in Lebanon?
We are not really sure but it is about 2 million people.
7. Are they all Christians or are there also some Arameans who profess others believes?
We believe that you need to be Christian to be able to be 100% Aramean.
8. How are the Arameans in Lebanon divided among the various denominations?
Many groups exist and works in different directions. They are mostly competing each other.
9. How are the contacts of ArDO with the Aramean denominations in Lebanon?
We have great reputation and an important presence.
10. What should be done in Lebanon so that the Arameans can take a strong stand?
We should teach all groups about their history and language. We should also enter all political arenas and provide the real reformation on the identity.
11. How is the situation of the Arameans in Lebanon in terms of political, cultural and social rights?
Bad, Bad, Bad, We should work harder on all aspects.
12. If the ArDO wins a seat in the parliament, what can the ArDO do for our people in Lebanon?
We will start to bother all propositions that Arabise Lebanon more. We shall also put some own propositions that officially Aramise Lebanon.
13. Is there anything else you want to convey to our readers?
I want to thank your initiative to interview me about ArDO and the elections in Lebanon.
All our people are invited to participate in all elections they can. It is through our democratic right that we can reach our goals. We should enter the decision making arenas to be able to help our cause. Keep up your good work in all fields you are active in.
God bless the Aramean Nation and God Bless the Holy Middle East.
Endangered Aramaic language makes a comeback in Syria
Syrian president Assad has set up an institute to revive interest in the language of Christ
http://www.aramnahrin.org/English/Promotion_Aramaic_Language_Syria_17_4_2009.htm
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/14/aramaic-revival-syria
Ian Black in Maaloula
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 April 2009 10.29 BST
Ilyana Barqil wears skinny jeans, boots and a fur-lined jacket, handy for keeping out the cold in the Qalamoun mountains north of Damascus. She likes TV quiz shows and American films and enjoys swimming. But this thoroughly modern Syrian teenager is also learning Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.
Ilyana, 15, is part of an extraordinary effort to preserve and revive the world's oldest living tongue, still close to what it probably sounded like in Galilee, now in Israel, on the brink of the Christian era.
"In Nazareth when Jesus was born they spoke more or less the same language as we do in Maaloula today," said teacher Imad Reihan, one of the pillars of this picturesque village's Aramaic Language Academy, where Barqil is studying.
"Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani" ("My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me") – Christ's lament on the cross – was famously uttered in Aramaic.
Recognised by UNESCO as a "definitely endangered" language, Aramaic is spoken by 7,000 people in Maaloula, dominated by Greek Catholics (Melikites) whose churches and rites long pre-date the arrival of Islam and Arabic. Western Neo-Aramaic, to use its proper linguistic title, is spoken by about 8,000 others in two nearby villages, one now wholly Muslim.
Aramaic's long decline accelerated as the area opened up in the 1920s when the French colonial authorities built a road from Damascus to Aleppo. Television and the internet, and youngsters leaving to work, reduced the number of speakers.
Nowadays, many local men are away driving the huge refrigerated trucks that cross the desert to Saudi Arabia. Still, many old traces remain: in nearby Sidnaya, worshippers at the Church of Our Lady speak Arabic with a distinct Aramaic accent.
But things are definitely looking up. "When I was at school over 30 years ago, we were not allowed to speak Aramaic," said Mukhail Bkheil, standing behind the counter in Abu George's souvenir shop in Maaloula's main square, where buses disgorge tourists visiting the beautiful Church of Mar Takla, an early Christian martyr, in a grotto on the steep cliffside. "Now, thanks to President Assad, we even have an institute teaching it."
Bkheil's party piece is reciting the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. But he chats freely to friends, underlining the fact that the language is alive and well, not just liturgical.
Saada Sarhan, the language academy administrator, learned Aramaic as a child and is teaching her own children, but often feels social pressure to speak Arabic when non-Aramaic speakers are present. "Otherwise it's rude," she says.
Improbably, Aramaic was given a boost by a Hollywood film, Mel Gibson's controversial Passion of the Christ, released in 2004 before the academy was set up.
Founded by the University of Damascus with government help, its modern premises boast a bank of PCs, new textbooks, a teaching staff of six and 85 students at three different levels.
Elias Taja is another of them: this native Aramaic speaker and retired maths teacher wanted to learn how to write the language. "I talk to my wife and daughter Miladi only in Aramaic though my daughter does sometimes reply in Arabic," he explained over cardamom-flavoured coffee and locally grown pears.
Miladi, 25, recently married a man from Sidnaya who does not speak Aramaic. Taja worries she will not manage to pass it on to her children – his grandchildren.
Syria being Syria, there are political sensitivities, not least because "Arabisation" was a key feature of government education policy after the Ba'ath party came to power in the 1960s.
"In Syria there are a lot of minority groups: Circassians, Armenians, Kurds and Assyrians (Arameans), so it's a big decision to allow the teaching of other languages in government schools," said Reihan. "But the government is interested in promoting the Aramaic language because it goes back so deep into Syria's history."
Observers say the opening of the Aramaic academy showed a more relaxed and confident attitude by the regime. Scholar George Rizkallah dedicated his 2007 Aramaic textbook to the "great leader and patron of the sciences and education Dr Bashar al-Assad". A large portrait of the president hangs in the principal's office, as in all public buildings in Syria.
Considering the bitter enmity between Syria and Israel, which still occupies the Golan Heights, it is striking that Aramaic letters are so similar to the Hebrew used in rabbinic texts; one reason, perhaps, why the only Aramaic sign in Maaloula is on the academy. "Otherwise people might think some buildings were Israeli settlements," joked one visitor from Damascus.
Linguistic experts say that Syria is doing well in fostering this part of its heritage. "Aramaic is actually pretty healthy in Maaloula," said Professor Geoffrey Kahn, who teaches semitic philology at Cambridge University. "It's the eastern Aramaic dialects in Turkey, Iraq and Iran that are really endangered."
Reihan and colleagues were delighted recently when a Unesco team came to visit and hope for funds to allow them to collect vanishing words into proper dictionaries. The teaching, meanwhile, goes on.
Ilyana started classes last November. "My father speaks Aramaic but my mother doesn't as she's from Lebanon," she said. "I speak OK already but I'm going to carry on as I want to become fluent. I don't know too much about the Aramaic language but I do know that it's ancient."
Aramean blood continues to flow in Iraq…
http://www.iraqichristians.org/English/Aramean_Blood_Iraq_Continues_Flow_4_5_2009.htm
The Aramean blood continues to flow in Iraq undiminished. The Arameans of Iraq are in a very precarious situation. In contrast to others they are not allowed to bear weapons, do not have their militia to protect them adequately against malevolence and hateful forces in Iraq who apparently want to ethnic cleanse the country of its original inhabitants.
The Aramean people of Irak, also made known in some media as "Assyrians" or "Chaldeans" are present since thousands of years in this part of the world, long before the advent of Islam. In spite of wars, persecutions, pogroms and bloodbaths of the past centuries, they were able to survive under very difficult circumstances. With the fall of regime of Saddam Hussein, the situation of the Arameans of Iraq started to deteriorate. The fanatical and hateful black forces of intolerance, until then kept under control by Saddam Hussein, attained freedom to unleash their hatred against the defenseless and peacful minded Aramean indigenous people of Aram-Nahrin. This resulted in the attacks on the churches and the killings of the spiritual and lay leaders. We enumerate few examples:
West- Aramean Syrian Orthodox priest Paulus Iskandar killed in Mosul on 12-10-2006 by terrorists,
The West- Aramean Isoh Majeed Hadaya killed by terrorists in Iraq 22-11-2006
East- Aramean Chaldean priest Ragied Aziz Gannie brutally murdered in Mosul along with three deacons by Muslim extremists on 3-6-2007.
East- Aramean Chaldean bishop of Mosul, Mgr. Paulus Faraj Raho was abducted on 29-2-2008 in Mosul. His body was found on 13-3-2008 in Mosul and on 14-3-2008 he was buried in St. Addai Church in Karemlesh.
West- Aramean Syrian Orthodox priest Yusuf Adel Abud was killed on 5-4-2008 by terrorists in Baghdad and was buried on 6-4-2008 in the St. Paul and St. Cathedral in Baghdad.
These brutal killings resulted in that hundreds of thousands Arameans left Iraq for Syria, Jordan and the West.
Another point is that because the Arameans in general are skillful and hardworking people, their economic situation is much better than others. For this reason they are being targeted by ordinary criminals, thieves, Islamic terrorists, political powers and other interested groups who consider the defenseless Arameans as an easy prey.
The last few months the security improved considerably in Iraq. Unfortunately this hope was shot to pieces in March and April this year by suicide bombers and killings of Arameans. On 23rd of April 2003 48 people were killed in Baquba (province Diyala, Iraq) by a suicide attack on a restaurant and another suicide bomber terrorist killed 38 people in Baghdad where police were distributing aid to people of homeless families. On 24th of April 2009 a suicide bomber attacked a Shiite mosque in Baghdad killing 60 people.
Among the Arameans of Iraq, recently 8 people have been killed by the fanatics whose desire seems to ethnically clean Iraq of its original inhabitants. Between 31st of March and 4th of April fife Aramean Christians have been killed in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk. On 31st of March the 71 year aged Sabah Aziz Solaiman was killed in Kirkuk. On 1st of april 2009 Mr. Nimroud Khodir Moshi was killed in Baghdad in front of his restaurant. On 2nd of April 2009 two sisters of 47 and 60 years of age were killed in Dora district in Baghdad. And in Mosul Mr. Abdul Aziz Elias was killed in front of his shop.
On 27th of April 2009 3 Arameans were killed in Kirkuk. The terrorists attacked two houses and killed Mr. Yussef Saba. With the second attack they killed two Aramean women, Munna Dauod and Susan Latif. As always the perpetrators are unknown. They could be ordinary thieves, criminals, Islamic terrorists or other forces who are targeting the Aramean people of Iraq, a easy prey for the terrorists.
Arameans themselves partly to be blamed……due to colonialism…
In various analyses so far we have explained in detail that the terrible situation of the Arameans not only in Iraq but in the entire region of the Middle-East is merely being caused by themselves. They are to be blamed for their problems, because of divisions and hatred caused by the colonial powers. They seem not to be able to get rid of this colonial "heritage" which utterly have damaged the nation. Please feel free to read the following analyses:
http://www.aramnahrin.org/English/Turks_Kurds_Aramean_monastery_St_Gabriel_28_2_2009.htm#6
http://www.aramnahrin.org/English/Mosul_Aramean_Srebrinica_27_10_2008.htm
http://www.iraqichristians.org/English/Miracles_In_Iraq_11_4_2008.htm
The Arameans in Iraq are utterly divided and nourish a horrible hatred towards one another. This mutual hatred and contempt, cause by the spiritual colonial activities in the 16th and 19th centuries, is even so huge that the various Aramean denominations have to live separated from each other. In a article published in the Dutch Christian Protestant Newspaper "Reformatorische Dagblad" of 20-3-2008 we read, "The villages are not inhabited by mixed groups. That is to say: Chaldeans are living with Chdaleans, Syrian Orthodox with Syrian Orthodox and Assyrians with Assyrians. ,, To force everybody to live together would not work", says a villager who wish to remain anonym. ,, The churches are quarreling here for 1700 years with each other. That century´s old conflict will not be solved very soon. For the sake of peace it is better that all the religious groups live apart".
This dear reader is the core of the problem. A problem, a indefinable hatred acquired and injected in their spirit and hearts by the colonial powers England and France. This mutual hatred and destruction were taught to the Arameans in camps which the missionaries of the Catholic Church (along with France) and Anglican church (together with Great Britain) had set up in Turkey, Iraq and Iran whereby the Aramean children completely were uprooted from their identity. A horrible venom, in the name of Jesus of the West- who has nothing to do with Jesus Christ of the Bible, was injected in their hearts and conscience with terrible consequences. And it is this hatred which prevents the general social, cultural and political advancement of the Aramean indigenous nation. As if this is not worse enough, today this division and hatred is being continued and promoted with all happiness by the perpetrators of yesteryear.
In a article published in the Christian Protestant newspaper "Nederlands Dagblad" of 5-12-2008, professor Herman Teule is being quoted on the situation of the Aramean Christians of Iraq. We read amongst others,, Prof. Dr. Herman Teule, a Iraq specialist and director of the Institute for the Eastern Christendom, adds some important nuances to the discussion in The Hague. ´The´ Christians in Iraq do not exist he says. ,,They are strongly divided. Politically as well as ecclesiastically there is rivalry among them. This weakens the already insecure position of the Christians".
This is indeed a very accurate observation by Prof. Herman Teule. However, why does he as professor at the Catholic University remains so silent about the perpetrators of this "hatred" and "division"? Who caused this division which accelerated the Aramean down fall in the Middle-East? Why not talking about these unholy activities carried out in the past in the name of "Jesus"? Why talking about their difficult situation in Iraq caused by the fanatical Islamic terrorists, but remaining silent about the unholy activities of the Western colonial powers who factually have exterminated our nation?
The future of the Aramean nation not only in Iraq but actually in the entire middle-east is definitely not bright, to say the least. They indeed are divided and in many cases nourish a deep contempt against one another. To thwart the coming tsunami, it is of utmost importance that all the Aramean denominations unite under their real and the true origin, namely the Aramean name and flag.
On 27th of October 2008 the Patriarch of the East- Aramean Chaldean Church of Babylon took a courageous step to the unification of the Aramean nation by recognizing his Aramean origin saying,, …but I would like to state that we, the Chaldean, Assyrian and Syrian people are one people known as Aramean people"
http://www.aramnahrin.org/English/Patriarch_Emmanuel_Delly_Aramean_28_10_2008.htm
Others unfortunately remain silent and did not follow his example yet!
Appendix 1
Source: http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15097&geo=23&size=A
04/27/2009 17:21
Iraq
Kirkuk: commando brigade attacks two Christian families, three killed
Today Louis Sako, the archbishop of Kirkuk, celebrated the funeral for the victims. The ceremony was attended by "the highest local authorities, and many Muslims," who demonstrated their "repugnance" for the new episodes of violence. Sources for AsiaNews speak of an "execution" with a "confessional" backdrop.
Kirkuk (AsiaNews) - Iraqi Christians are again in the sights of the Islamic fundamentalists. At 7:30 yesterday evening in Kirkuk, an armed commando brigade stormed two Christian homes, killing three people in cold blood. Yussef Saba, an employee of the Northern Oil Company, was killed in the first attack; the brigade also wounded two relatives of the victim, Bassel and Samer, who do not seem to have been seriously injured. Seven minutes later, the group broke into a second house, killing two women: Munna Dauod and Susan Latif.
The funeral for the victims was held today in the cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Kirkuk, and was celebrated by Louis Sako, the archbishop of the diocese. The prelate emphasizes that "the entire community of Kirkuk" participated in the funeral: "the authorities were present"at the ceremony, in addition to ordinary citizens, as well as "many representatives of the Muslim community," who demonstrated "their repugnance" for the new violence. The prelate condemns the terrorist attacks, which are aimed solely at "creating confusion" in the city, and "fostering a climate of fear" among Christians.
Adnan Abdullah, an Iraqi police official, explains that the attacks "took place a short distance from each other." Solidarity with the Christian community is being expressed by Iraqi vice president Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shiite Muslim, who calls upon Christians "not to leave the country," and asks the international community for "help and protection" against the extremists.
"Investigators are maintaining strict confidentiality on the proceedings," says an anonymous source for AsiaNews, and nothing has emerged "about the motives behind the attack." "The families did not have any special problems," the source continues, "and the way in which they were attacked looks like an execution. Nothing was stolen from the homes." According to the source, the Iraqi Christian community is "again in the crosshairs of the Islamic fundamentalists," who are planning and carrying out "premeditated attacks."
From Kirkuk, they explain that the families were already the victims of an attack, on the evening of Sunday, April 19. Exactly one week before yesterday's deadly raid. "It is a murder with a confessional backdrop," the source concludes, "in order to send a warning to the Christian community in Iraq."
Appendix 2
Source: http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=14922&geo=23&size=A
04/06/2009 15:16
Iraq
Five Christians killed as Kirkuk archbishop questions US withdrawal
Monsignor Sako warns that US troop pullout is likely to plunge the country in a "civil war." Between 31 March and 4 April five Christians are murdered in Kirkuk, Baghdad and Mosul. The prelate calls on the faithful to pray during Holy Week so "that the blood of our martyrs may restore peace."
Kirkuk (AsiaNews) – The US troop pullout is creating a "vacuum´ that could end up in "civil war" and "Iraq´s division", said Mgr Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk, as he confirmed the death of five Iraqi Christians killed in late March and early April.
Iraq´s "ethnic and religious groups have not become truly reconciled and the security situation remains fragile," the archbishop said. "The Army and local police are not able to maintain law and order in the country," he added. For this reason, the departure of US troops could "lead to further violence," a view made the more cogent by the recent spate of killings in the Christian community.
Sabah Aziz Solaiman, 71, was killed during a robbery on the morning of 31 March in Kirkuk. He was murdered in his own home in cold blood after bandits had broken in and taken everything of value on which they could lay their hands. His wife was spared the same fate because she had just gone to work.
On 1 April Nimroud Khodir Moshi was gunned down in front of his restaurant in Baghdad´s neighbourhood of Mashtal. His murderers then fled the scene without leaving a trace.
The next day two sisters, 47 and 60 years of age respectively, were killed in the al-Dora neighbourhood, also in the capital.
Finally, the latest deadly incident took place in al-Madida in Mosul, when Abdul Aziz Elias Aziz, an electrical generator repairman, was shot to death in front of his workshop.
For the archbishop of Kirkuk these tragic events are cause for concern. Such violence could drive even more Christians into exile and fuel the "never-ending" exodus that is threatening the 2,000-year old community. Moreover, as many Christians flee, those who do remain find themselves in greater danger.
"As Holy Week begins, let us pray for peace and stability in Iraq," said Bishop Sako. "Let us pray that the blood of our martyrs may restore peace. The Crucified and Risen Christ calls upon us to persevere and maintain our presence and witness."
Church sources in Mosul recently warned AsiaNews that Christians are increasingly in danger of attacks.
"The community is being targeted by organised crime groups," a Chaldean Catholic bishop said. "They are going after Christians because of their commercial activities, attracted by the money and wealth the latter have built up in a lifetime of toil and sweat."
In the past "these thugs were covered and protected by al-Qaeda."
Now that the "ideological and confessional" aspect has faded away, "ordinary criminals and organised crime are rearing their head, drawn by money, ready to kill in cold blood."
Note
Picture: Mr. Roni Doumit and the Aramean Democratic Organisation