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WHO ARE THE ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS?
ChristianToday
Feb 24 2015
by Carey Lodge 24 February 2015
Islamic State militants have abducted at least 90 Assyrian Christians
in north-eastern Syria, sources have confirmed, though the number
could be as many as 200.
Jihadists undertook dawn raids in a number of villages near Tel Hmar,
south of the Khabour river, on 23 February.
An ancient branch of Christianity, the Assyrian Church of the East
has roots dating back to the 1st century AD. Assyrian Christians
speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and have origins in ancient
Mesopotamia - a territory which is now spread over modern day northern
Iraq, north-east Syria and south-eastern Turkey.
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They are not in communion with the Orthodox Church communities, nor
with the Catholic Church, and mainly follow East Syrian Rite liturgy.
The ethno-religious group has suffered extreme persecution in the
past. In the 1890s, the Assyrian genocide wiped out around half of the
population, an estimated total of between 275,000 and 300,000 deaths.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 then forced many Assyrians,
Armenians, Greeks and Georgians to emigrate, with most settling
in Europe.
At least 400,000 Assyrians fled Iraq between 2003 and 2009, and many
more left when IS began its insurgency last year. Campaigners now
fear that those who remain are facing another genocide at the hands
of the Islamist group.
"Unfortunately, I have to say so," Ninson Ibrahim, Senior Syria
Advisor for A Demand for Action (ADFA), a group campaigning for the
protection of religious minorities, told Christian Today.
"ISIS have been in this territory for quite some time, for several
months, and they have been trying to get inside the big cities but
have failed, so it seems they are trying to occupy the villages
surrounding those cities instead.
"It started in Iraq and now it's also happening in Syria, and the
Assyrian people have their roots in Iraq and Syria, but most have
now fled the Middle East. So maybe they won't be extinguished, but
they will definitely not be living in their home countries."
ADFA is calling for greater support for minority groups most vulnerable
to IS militants. "If nothing is done, I think there won't be any
Christians left in Syria, or Assyrians at all, unfortunately that's
the truth," Ibrahim said.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/who.are.the.assyrian.christians/48789.htm
From: A. Papazian
ChristianToday
Feb 24 2015
by Carey Lodge 24 February 2015
Islamic State militants have abducted at least 90 Assyrian Christians
in north-eastern Syria, sources have confirmed, though the number
could be as many as 200.
Jihadists undertook dawn raids in a number of villages near Tel Hmar,
south of the Khabour river, on 23 February.
An ancient branch of Christianity, the Assyrian Church of the East
has roots dating back to the 1st century AD. Assyrian Christians
speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and have origins in ancient
Mesopotamia - a territory which is now spread over modern day northern
Iraq, north-east Syria and south-eastern Turkey.
Advertisement
They are not in communion with the Orthodox Church communities, nor
with the Catholic Church, and mainly follow East Syrian Rite liturgy.
The ethno-religious group has suffered extreme persecution in the
past. In the 1890s, the Assyrian genocide wiped out around half of the
population, an estimated total of between 275,000 and 300,000 deaths.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 then forced many Assyrians,
Armenians, Greeks and Georgians to emigrate, with most settling
in Europe.
At least 400,000 Assyrians fled Iraq between 2003 and 2009, and many
more left when IS began its insurgency last year. Campaigners now
fear that those who remain are facing another genocide at the hands
of the Islamist group.
"Unfortunately, I have to say so," Ninson Ibrahim, Senior Syria
Advisor for A Demand for Action (ADFA), a group campaigning for the
protection of religious minorities, told Christian Today.
"ISIS have been in this territory for quite some time, for several
months, and they have been trying to get inside the big cities but
have failed, so it seems they are trying to occupy the villages
surrounding those cities instead.
"It started in Iraq and now it's also happening in Syria, and the
Assyrian people have their roots in Iraq and Syria, but most have
now fled the Middle East. So maybe they won't be extinguished, but
they will definitely not be living in their home countries."
ADFA is calling for greater support for minority groups most vulnerable
to IS militants. "If nothing is done, I think there won't be any
Christians left in Syria, or Assyrians at all, unfortunately that's
the truth," Ibrahim said.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/who.are.the.assyrian.christians/48789.htm
From: A. Papazian