SELECTED ARTICLES OF H.H. IGNATIUS ZAKKA I IWAS "A Short Overview of the Common History of the Syrian Church with Islam through the Centuries" |
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Introduction
As we approach this important
issue, it is necessary to give a brief overview of the political and religious
conditions shortly before the appearance of Islam in the areas where the Syrian
Church began in the early age of Christianity and in the places where Islam
originated and spread after more than 600 years of Christianity. We will touch
on the general situation of Christianity, the split of the church and her
doctrinal differences in order to gain a better insight into the foundations of
the beliefs of these two religions. We will also mention some points in broad
strokes where the Christian and Islamic beliefs agree.
Who are the Syrians?
The members of the Antiochian
Syrian Church represent the direct descendants of the original inhabitants of
Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Asia Minor, as well as Upper- and Lower-
Mesopotamia--that is Iraq today. Their language, Syriac-Aramaic, was the
language of ancient Syria. It was also the language our Lord Jesus Christ spoke
and the language predominantly spoken in these areas when Islam appeared.
Besides this, Arabic was spoken by the Arabic tribes coming from the Gulf
region. These tribes had immigrated a long time earlier and lived in villages in
eastern Syria and in western and northern Iraq. Along side Arabic these tribes
used Syriac as an inseparable part of the Anthocyan Syrian Church's liturgy. In
addition to these two languages, Greek was spoken as the official language of
the Byzantine colonial power and by the populations in the cities of Greek
origin who were the inhabitants of the large cities. Persian was also spoken as
the language of the Sassanid Empire.
Religious and Political Conditions Before the Appearance of Islam
The Split of the Christian Church
At the beginning of the 7th century the Antiochian Syrian Church fought with all
its might for its existence, its Syriac-Aramaic heritage and its exalted
Christian dogma inherited from the holy Apostles and the spiritual, righteous
Fathers. The church was weakened by the forceful persecution from both empires,
namely the Byzantine and the Persian, who for generations had threatened its
existence because of its geographical position. Through the enormous number of
martyrs, whom the church produced through the centuries, the members gained a
certain long suffering patience that allowed them to bear the oppression,
distresses and deprivations as good soldiers of Christ. Added to that was the
appearance of extreme opinions in religion and the kindling of dogmatic
confrontations as an occasion to study theology more deeply. Furthermore it
drove its scientists to combine theology with the science of philosophy as a
weapon to use against heretical statements and to defend the truth of religious
dogma.
The Syrians were so famous for their love of science that they founded a school
beside every church. Their monasteries became faculties for theology and other
sciences. The church suffered under this division. It changed from a spiritual
institution that strove for the salvation of souls into a battlefield where
christological conflicts were carried out inconsiderately. This situation led to
doubt in the hearts of the believers and to a weakening of the faith.
In addition to this, the Roman empire was divided into two camps after the death
of the Emperor Constantine: namely the West-Roman, using Latin, and the
East-Roman that used Greek and was called the Byzantine empire. Most of the
Syrian areas were under the rule of the Byzantine empire, while the rest were
under the rule of the Persians. The Byzantine and Persian empires were in
conflict with each other over control of the Orient leading to constant wars
between them.
The Christian Creed
Because of the appearance of some
foreign religious ideas that deviated from the exalted dogma of the church, the
Christian Creed was determined by the two ecumenical councils, which took place
in Nicea in 325 A.D. and in Constantinople in 381 A.D.
In the first council Arius was excommunicated for stating that Jesus was no more
than the logos created by God whom he had sent to humanity as a religious
messenger. He stated: "The Father existed before the Son was there. Then God
created the Son who became His logos. The Son was created like the rest of
creation. The Father gave him all power and he made heaven and earth."
In the second council Makdonios was excommunicated for denying the divinity of
the Holy Spirit and said that the Holy Spirit was created by the Son and he is
his servant. At the above councils the areas of jurisdiction were also
determined for the three apostolic Sees of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria, then
the forth See Constantinople. In the last council the prerogatives of these Sees
were also determined after their geographical location and their closeness to
the centers of civil and political power.
The Split of the Syrian Church
These constant dogmatic debates
between the Christian churches alienated the churches from each other and
culminated in the split of the church. Hardest hit by this split was the Syrian
church. It happened as a result of the anathematizing of Nestorius at the
council of 431 A.D. in Ephesus. Nesters claimed that Jesus embodies two persons:
God, the logos, and Jesus, the human. Because God cannot be subjected to natural
influences, Mary only gave birth to the human Jesus, and therefore she cannot be
called "Mother of God" (Theotokos). This means that Christ has two persons and
two separate natures. (With this he cast doubt on the Christian faith of the
Holy Trinity).
The Syrians, who accepted Nesters' ideas and did not follow the canon of
Ephesus, were called Nestorians. They were persecuted by the Byzantine Empire.
Thus, they fled to the Persian empire in South-Mesopotamia. In this way the
Syrian church was divided into two. The Syrians living west of the Euphrates
were called 'Syrians of the West' and they came directly under the Patriarch of
Antioch. Those living east of the river Euphrates - also in Iraq -were called
the 'Syrians of the East', most of them were Nestorians, except those who still
came under the See of Antioch. Because of this geographical division, the Syrian
language split into two dialects, namely the West-Syrian and the East-Syrian.
The 'Syrians of the West' living in the Persian empire had to suffer heavily
under oppression by the Persians. This happened not just because of their faith
but because its spiritual leadership was residing in the hostile Byzantine
empire. They were therefore accused of disloyalty.
When the Byzantine empire adopted the resolutions of the council of Chalcedon in
451, they began to oppress those who rejected these resolutions - first and
foremost the members of the Syrian church. The church fathers and the believers
had to endure various agonies like bans, killings and incarceration. Many of
them, both clergy and laity, gained martyrdom.
Justinius I carried out one of these oppression against the members of the
Syrian, Coptic and Armenian churches after his ascension to the Byzantine throne
in 518 A.D. Because of that Patriarch Severius the Great was forced to make his
way to Egypt. There he lived for 20 years and led the church through his
representatives and letters.
After the death of Justinius I in the year 527 A.D. his nephew Justinian
ascended the throne and with him his wife Theodora, the daughter of a priest
from Manbij in Syria. She had pity for the oppressed, the banned and the
incarcerated Syrians in Constantinople. For political and administrative
considerations, she was not able to stop the oppression because the followers of
the council of Chalcedon would have accused her husband of siding with the
banned Syrians and being under the influence of his wife.
The Ghassanid Arabs had already founded an important Emirate. The Byzantine
emperor commissioned their princes ("the Gafnan") with the reign over Syria.
They were supposed to secure the border of the Byzantine empire against the
attacks of the Arab tribes allied with the Persians. The Ghassanians held fast
to their Syrian Church and defended its dogma. Empress Theodora met the wish of
king Al Hareth Ibn Gabla to send some bishops into the areas occupied by the
Byzantine Empire. She asked Patriarch Theodosius the Alexandrian, who was banned
to Constantinople with Antimos the Patriarch of Constantinople, to consecrate
the monk Jacob Baradäus as Metropolitan of Edessa, Syria and Asia Minor, as well
as to consecrate the monk Theodor the Arab as Metropolitan of the Arabs in Bosra
in 543 or 544 A.D. Immediately after the consecration, Mor Jacob went to work.
Untiring he moved on foot with amazing speed from town to town incognito,
disguised as a layman and always pursued by the Byzantine powers. In this way he
crossed Syria, Armenia, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Rhodes, Chios, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Mesopotamia, Persia and many more places strengthening the true faith of
believers.
With two assistants whom he ordained as bishops according to the church canons
he consecrated 27 bishops. With this he strengthened the members of the Syrian
Orthodox Church as well as the Coptic and Armenian Churches in the faith that
was decided on in the three ecumenical councils of Nicea, Constantinople and
Ephesus. He also consecrated thousands of priests and deacons. Thus, the great
apostolic striver was able to strengthen the foundations of the Syrian Church.
As a result of this and out of hate and anger, the Syrian Church was called the
Jacobite Church by its enemies. Although the Syrian Church is proud of Mor Jacob
it rejects this name because Mor Jacob was neither its founder nor the author of
a new dogma. He was one of its spiritual fathers who strengthened its members in
the right faith they had received from the Apostles and the righteous church
fathers. His steadfast holding up in the face of the Byzantine injustices is
unprecedented and the church will always be proud of him. The church also holds
the strong belief that the Lord Jesus lives in her midst and that "the gates of
hell will not overcome it."
At the beginning of the 7th century Heraklios (610-641 A.D.) ascended the throne
of the East-Roman Empire. After he defeated the Persians and conquered
Mesopotamia, he forced his way into Syria in 612 A.D. In 629 A.D. he occupied
Damascus. Following that he tried earnestly to restore the religious unity in
his empire to unite the Syrians, Copts and Armenians with the Byzantines. This
happened on the one hand through promises and on the other hand through threats.
Very often he used ruthless oppression through which many Syrians, Copts, and
Armenians became martyrs. The persecution of the Syrian Church by the Byzantine
Empire did not end until the appearance of Islam.
Only through the campaigns of Islam in the first half of the 7th century was it
possible to free the East from the Byzantines and the Persians. This happened
with the help of the members of the Syrian Church; the original inhabitants of
Syria of whom one part was of Aramaic origin who inhabited these areas for
generations and another part was of Arabic origin. When the Arab Muslims marched
into Syria they were welcomed by the Syrians who saw the new rulers as saviors
who freed them from the yoke of the Byzantines because the Byzantines tried by
force to assimilate them into the Byzantine Church. This was the church of the
empire and membership in it would have meant compulsorily acceptance of the
resolutions of Chalcedon: that Christ had two natures, the human eating,
drinking and feeling pain and the divine making miracles. This would have been a
denial of the dogma of their church fathers. The Syrians were also able through
the cooperation with the Arab Muslims to retain their ecclesiastical dogma, the
Antiochian See, their churches, monasteries, ecclesiastical inheritance and
their liturgy.
The Position of the Syrians Toward the Islamic Conquest
From the above it becomes clear
that the religious conflicts in the Christian church, the attempts of the
Byzantine powers to force the issues of the council of Chalcedon upon the other
churches by force, to throw its members in prison, to kill them, to ban them and
to drive them out alienated the Syrian Christians. All these unchristian deeds
only sowed hate and aversion in the hearts of the Syrians against the Byzantine
powers. The Persian powers in their empire oppressed both West and East Syrians
in general to force them under tyrannical policies and Zoroastrian beliefs.
Therefore the Syrians under the Byzantine and Persian powers saw the Islamic
conquerors as liberators and not as occupiers. The Syrians put great hope in
them, not only because the Muslims liberated them from their religious trouble
but also because they relieved the Syrians of the burdensome taxes that were
placed on their backs. They said, "Praise be to God, who delivered us from the
unjust Byzantines and who put us under the rule of the just Muslim Arabs."
The Religious Situation of the Arabs at the Time of the Rise of Islam
The religious situation of the
Arabs was confusing and disorganized. Some tribes were totally pagan. The split
of the church distracted them from their task of spreading the Gospel. Thus, the
time was favorable for the appearance of Islam on the Arab peninsula. We have to
mention here that one part of the population of the Arab peninsula was pagan at
the time of the appearance of Islam. The others were in name only followers of
Abraham. It is mentioned in history that Christianity appeared in the first
century on the peninsula. It spread with strength in the Syrian desert and in
Iraq among many tribes like, Beni Taghleb, Beni Kalb; in Yemen, Tai, Bahraa,
Salikh, Tennuch, Ghassaen and others who thus were prepared for accepting Islam
later.
The dogma of Arius and Nesters that was anathematized at the ecumenical councils
of Nicea (325 A.D.) and Ephesus (431 A.D.) were wide spread among the Christians
on the peninsula. Added to this is that through rebellious members of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church some doubtful heretical religious statements in the
name of Christianity were spread among some Arab tribes.
At the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century, Qas Ibn-Sa-ida Al-Ayadi,
bishop of Najran, was praised for his wisdom, poetry and the art of speech.
Another famous man is named Waraqa Ibn Naufal Ibn Assad (who died about the year
611). He was the bishop of Mekka that was full of Christians. He was the cousin
of Khadidga, daughter of Khuailid, the wife of Muhammad, the prophet. Most of
the Christians of Mecca, Yemen and Najran were members of the Syrian Orthodox
Church. The majority of Qurash was Christian. (The Christians were called 'Nazarians'
after Jesus.) As manifold as the different dogma of the Christians of the Arab
peninsula might have been, they exercised a great influence upon their Arab
Muslims there.
We do not want to forget that the main religious dogma of Christianity and Islam
are close to each other, such as the belief in one God who made heaven and
earth, the belief in the day of judgment, the day of the resurrection, eternal
life, heaven and hell, etc. There are also historical-religious events of the
Syrians, which are mentioned in the Quran, like the Legend of the Cave and The
Martyrs of the Furrow. For the Syrians the Legend of the Cave was an event with
which God proves that He, the creator, can bring back to life the dead on the
day of the resurrection. It was handed down in the Syriac language in excellent
style, verse and prose. It belongs to the Syrian tradition and was studied
thoroughly also by the great chroniclers like Zachariah the Rhetor (+536), John
of Ephesus (+587), the Monk of Zuqnin (+775) and others. We also have a poem,
containing 74 verses in 7-syllable meter, by Mor Jacob of Serugh (+521). The
church remembers these Seven Sleepers on November 24 every year. They have their
own liturgical prayer in which the truth of their sleeping and awakening is
documented and handed down.
The Martyrs of the Furrow who are mentioned in the Quran are the Himyarite
martyrs, the Syrian-Christian Arabs of Najran, who were persecuted by Mashruq
the Jew, known as Dhu Nuwas, and thus gained martyrdom. Islam From the View of
the Scientists of the Syrian Church All of the Syrian scientists who occupied
themselves with the biography of the prophet Muhammad described his qualities
and noble character traits. Because of lack of space we will content ourselves
with the testimony of Bar Haebraus, Maphrian of the East (1286 A.D.) who
summarized the life of the prophet Muhammad in his book Chronicle of the
Dynasties as follows : "(Muhammad Ibn Abdallah, Peace be upon him) The
biographies of Muhammad mentioned that he is from Ishmael, the son of Abraham,
whom Hagar gave birth to . . . He was born in Mecca in the year 882 (after the
Seleucid era that is 571 A.D.). When he was about two years old, his father
Abdallah died. His mother, Amina, the daughter of Wahab, stayed with him for six
years. After her death his grandfather Abdul Muttaleb took him and vouched for
him. When he was about to die, he asked his son Abu Talib to take care of him.
When he was nine years old, his uncle took him along to Syria.
When they arrived in Bosra, a clairvoyant monk called Bahira met them and
stepped towards them. When he came to the child, he held his hand and said:
'This boy will become a great man, and his fame will go across borders because
when he came he was shaded by a cloud.' When he was 25 years old an honorable,
noble and rich woman called Khadija offered that he run her business in Syria.
She wanted to pay him more than anyone else. He took the offer. Then she wanted
to marry him and offered herself in marriage. She was 40 years old when he
married her. They lived 22 years together. Then she died in Mecca. When Muhammad
turned 40 he began his mission. After the death of his uncle and his wife, the
tribe of "Quarisch" harmed him so he emigrated to Al-Medina (which is Yathrib).
In the first year of his emigration he was celebrated by the people and they
supported him against his enemies in Mecca . . . In the 10th year of his
emigration he went on his last pilgrimage and in this year he got sick. Two days
before the end of the month Safar, on a Monday, he died at the age of 63. The
people of Mecca wanted to bury him in Mecca where he was born. The population of
Al-Medina, however, wanted to bury him in their city because he emigrated there.
Others, for their part, wanted to bury him in Jerusalem because that was the
place where prophets were buried. In the end all parties agreed to bury him in
Al-Medina in the same room where he had died."
To gain a better overview of the prophet, we add to the before mentioned: The
messenger Muhammad converted the Arabs during their feast gatherings and many
believed in his teachings. He had to leave Mecca to evade the persecution of the
Qurischians. The population of Al-Medina welcomed him and supported him. Later
he had to take up the sword to protect the fruits of his mission from its
enemies. Therefore, he armed armies and led invasions. Among the important wars
is the great Badr invasion in which the Muslims won a great victory. Among the
good deeds of the Muslims are counted the buying of the prisoners' freedom
through teaching: The money to buy the prisoners freedom was collected in that
every prisoner of Quarisch had to teach ten children of Al-Medina reading and
writing. The wealthy could buy their relatives free with money also. Before
every invasion the messenger instructed his armies with these words: "You will
find men who withdrew into cells; do not disturb them, kill no woman, no child,
no old man and do not cut down a tree." In this way the messenger Muhammad
wanted to proclaim his message in the world as brotherly and just and by keeping
freedom and human rights. Whoever studies the Quran in- depth will understand
that the messenger Muhammad was not sent to force people into Islam. The
following verses in the Quran confirm this truth: "It is not for you to guide
them: God guides whom he will." (Sura 2, The Cow, verse 272)
"There is no compulsion in matters of faith. Distinct is the way of guidance now
from error. He who turns away from the forces of evil and believes in God, will
surely hold fast to a handle that is strong and unbreakable, for God hears all
and knows every thing. (Sura 2, The Cow, verse 256)
"And tell the people of the book and the heathens: 'Do you submit?' If they do,
they will find the right path; if they turn away, your duty is to deliver the
message. And God keeps an eye on His votaries." (Sura 3, The Family of Imran,
verse 20)
"Call them to the path of your Lord with wisdom and words of good advice; and
reason with them in the best way possible. Your Lord surely knows who strays
from his path, and he knows those who are guided the right way." (Sura 16, The
Bees, verse 125)
"We have sent down this book to you with the truth for all humanity. So, he who
comes to guidance does so for himself, and he who goes astray does so for his
own loss; on you does not lie their guardianship." (Sura 39, The Small Groups,
verse 41)
The Quran speaks for the Christians and recognizes their holy books through the
following verses:
"If you are in doubt of what we have sent down to you then ask those who have
been reading the Book (for a long time) before you. The truth has indeed come to
you from your Lord, so do not be one of those who doubt." (Sura 10, Jonah, verse
94)
"You will find the Jews and idolaters most excessive in hatred of those who
believe; and the closest in love to the faithful are the people who say: 'we are
the followers of Christ,' because there are priests and monks among them, and
they are not arrogant." (Sura 5, The Feast, verse 82)
The Quran also attests, that Jesus was not born of human conception but that God
breathed his Spirit into Mary. In addition there are sayings in the Quran that
summarize the supernatural appearance of Christ. The Quran attests also the
creative power of Jesus Christ. This testimony was not given to anybody else.
Thus, it says the following in the Sura of Al Umran: "The angels said: "O Mary,
God gives you a new thing from Him, for rejoicing, (news of one) whose name will
be Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in this world and the next, and one
among the honored, who will speak to the people when in the cradle and when in
the prime of life, and will be among the upright and doers of good." She said:
"How can I have a son, O Lord, when no man has touched me." He said: "That is
how God creates what he wills. When he decrees a thing, he says, 'Be', and it
is. He will teach him the Law and the judgment, and the Torah and the Gospel,
and he will be Apostle to the children of Israel, (saying:) 'I have come to you
with a prodigy from your Lord that I will fashion the state of destiny out of
mire for you, and breathe (a new spirit) into it, and you will rise by the will
of God. I will heal the blind and the leper, and infuse life into the dead, by
the leave of God. I will tell you what you devour and what you hoard in your
homes. In this will be a portent for you if you do believe." (Sura 3, The Family
of Imran, verse 45-49)
The messenger Muhammad also gave all Christians a covenant, which we will repeat
because of its importance. In it is shown the noble character and sense of
justice of the Messenger. This testimony is kept still in some monasteries until
this day.
He said: "In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful! This is a
writing written by Muhammad Ibn Abdallah to all people as messenger, preacher,
admonisher, and the one responsible so that nothing is kept from the messengers
of God. God is powerful and wise. He writes it for the Christians all over the
earth who live here or abroad, who speak Arabic or other languages, known and
unknown. He gives them a covenant. He who annuls it, who practices the opposite,
who oversteps the commandments, annuls the testament of God, denies its
agreement, laughs about his religion, and earns a curse whoever he is, a ruler
or another Muslim.
When a monk or someone passes through seeking refuge on a mountain, in a valley,
in a cave, in a house, on flat land, on sand or in a church, then I with my
helpers, relatives, my tribe and my followers will do what they can for him with
enthusiasm because he is a member of the community and stands under my
protection and I keep all harm from him. The persons affected shall only be
taxed with so much tax as they are freely willing to pay without force or
pressure; no bishop shall be moved from his bishopric, no monk from his
monastery, no hermit from his cell to another city; no one passing through shall
be hindered in his traveling. No house, no church building shall be torn down.
None of the riches of their churches shall be used either for the building of a
mosque or a house for Muslims. Whoever does anything like this violates the
testament of God and his messengers. The bishops and God's workers shall be
burdened with neither taxes nor fines. I protect them wherever they may be - be
they on land or on sea, in the east or in the west, in the north or in the
south. They are under my protection and safe from any need.
Added to this is: Whoever prays to God as a hermit in the mountains or in a
blessed place does not have to pay for the sowing, nor the taxes, nor the
tithing; one is not allowed to take a part because they only earn their own
living and nobody helps them with their harvest. They are also not required to
go to sea. The land and estate owners shall not pay more than twelve Dirham's
per year; none of them shall be burdened with excesses and one shall not debate
with them but rather do better than them as a good example, showing mercy and
keeping them from tragedies.
When Christianity has come under the rule of Islam then the Muslims shall be
satisfied to let them pray in their churches and no obstacle shall stand between
them and their inclination to religion. Whoever violates God's testament, who
does the opposite, is disobedient before God and his messenger. The Muslims
shall be helpful to them, the Christians, with the restoration of their churches
and houses. None of them is obliged to carry weapons because the Muslims protect
them. Nobody shall offend against this testament until the day of the last
judgment and until the end of the world."
The Syrians and the Arab-Islamic Conquests
There were many psychological,
social and religious reasons for the Syrians, the indigenous inhabitants in the
Byzantine Syria, to welcome the Muslim Arab conquerors coming out of the Arab
peninsula. Because the Syrians, as we have mentioned above, suffered a lot under
the Byzantine yoke in Syria. They were also oppressed by the Persians because
the Persians tried to force the Syrians to pay high taxes and through barbaric
treatment and bloodshed to force them to switch from their faith to their
Zoroastrian religion. The apparent reason for the oppression of the Syrians by
the Byzantines was the rejection of the resolutions of Chalcedon (451 A.D.). The
true reason, however, was the fact that from the Syrian's national consciousness
thoughts of freedom movements flamed up anew. They wanted to free their country
from the colonizing Byzantine control. In addition the Byzantines robbed Syria
of its wealth - especially it's wheat. It is not surprising that an inner
resistance spread in the hearts of the Syrians because of the Byzantine
oppression so that the Syrians welcomed the Muslim Arabs as liberators of their
country. This happened especially because many Arab tribes in Iraq and Syria
were members of the Syrian Orthodox faith. These tribes felt obliged to support
the Arabic Muslims despite the difference of their faith for they were related
by blood, language, and culture.
Thus most of them, like the tribes Taghleb, Uqail, Tennuch and Rabia in the
north and west of Iraq, joined the Muslim fighters under the leadership of Al-Muthanna
Ibn Haritha and fought with them. In the year 651 A.D. the Persians were
defeated and their last king Yezed Jared fled the country. History tells us that
a Syrian Christian boy from the Taghlebites killed the Persian leader Marzaban
Mihran took his horse and shouted with a loud voice: "I have killed Marzaban."
The conquering army marched towards Byzantine Syria, they entered Damascus in
634 A.D. and Jerusalem 637 A.D. They came to Alexandria in the year 638 where
they were welcomed by the Copts in the same way as they had been welcomed by the
Syrians in Syria before.
The Syrians Under the Islamic Rule Keeping their faith, the Syrians fought
together with the Muslim Arabs against the colonists and freed their land and
afterwards they supported them in the building of a new empire. History tells of
their creative power in all areas of science and culture.
Despite our lack of time we want to dwell on a few points of the common history
between Syrians and Muslims and acknowledge the positive events from the reports
of trustworthy chroniclers, avoiding the negative events because they do not
build up. At the same time we assure you that the unjust deeds on the side of
the Arab-Muslim army during and after the conquest happened relatively seldom in
comparison to similar conquests of other armies. We are going to mention the
names of a group of Syrian characters who found favor with the Islamic Arab
rulers and served them faithfully, which at the same time held fast onto the
Christian faith and their Syrian Church. This leads us also to the strong
relationship between Islamic Arabs and sons of the Syrian Church and the fact
that holding fast to Christianity does not oppose pride in one's nation or
faithful service to it.
The Viscount Philip de Tarazi says in his book The Golden Era of the Syrians:
"The Syrians won the trust and respect of the 'Rashidic' caliphs (632-661), the
caliphs of the Ommayads (662-746) and the Abbasids (750-1258). The first Syrian
who won their trust was Mansur Ibn Johanna the Syrian who became finance
minister in the epoch of the 'Raschids'. His son Sargon as well as his grandson
John - known as Saint John of Damascus (749) - took over the office of work and
tax income in the reign of the Ommayads."
The Caliphates' Treatment of the Syrians and All Christians Umar Ibn Al-Khattab
was the first "Rashidic" Caliph who was called the "Emir Al- Muminin" (Prince of
the Believers). He also was called "Al Faruk" because he knew how to distinguish
between justice and injustice. The Syrians confirmed this name but interpret it
differently. The Syrians say that the word stems from the Syriac word "Faruqo"
which means savior. This name was given to the divine savior, Jesus Christ, and
then to the "Rashidic" Caliph Umar. They gave out the slogan: "Thanks be to God
who liberated us from the rule of the oppressive Byzantines and who put us under
the rule of the just Muslim Arabs." Of this historical position of the Syrians'
gratefulness to Muslims and the honoring of their good deeds we want to recount
a few exemplary deeds by the Muslim Caliphs.
Of all these deeds we must name the famous action of Umar Ibn Al Khattab in
Jerusalem. When the Caliph was visiting Jerusalem he found himself in the nave
of the Church of the Resurrection during prayer time. He did not want to pray in
this church but instead he went outside and prayed alone on the step in front of
it. When asked for the reason he answered: "If I had prayed in that church then
the Muslims would have turned that church into a mosque after my death and said:
"Umar has prayed here." Then he ordered the Muslims in a document to pray on the
step of a church only one at a time, not to say community prayers and not to
call upon God with a loud voice. Many written documents stem from Umar in which
he grants safety and protection to Syrian-Christian churches as well as their
monasteries. The treatment of the Christians was positive and the Christians
paid their taxes in return for their protection like those who were under
Persian rule. One of the negatives that took place during the reign of Caliph
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab was the document that contains Umar's conditions that did
not preserve the honor of the Christians.
The Syrians were granted a good position by the Ommayads. Many of them were
appointed to administrative offices and during their era the Arabic scientific
renaissance began in which many Syrian scientists and authors participated
through translating their sciences as well as the Greek ones into Arabic. They
reached high positions in the administration and occupied important offices.
So, we see that caliph Abdul Malek Ibn Marwan (685-705) entrusted Athanasius Bar
Gumoya, the Syrian from Edessa, with the administration of finances in Egypt. He
proved himself through his time of service with regard to government income
significantly benefiting for the Ommayads.
Caliph Marwan (744-750) wrote in the year 746 a letter of authorization (Firman)
for Patriarch Iwannis IV (740-755) which authorized the Patriarch to conduct all
church business independently. This was the first document of its kind that was
given to a Syrian Patriarch. From this point on it became the custom to hand out
such a letter of authorization (Firman). It is important to report that the
translation of the Gospels from Syriac into Arabic took place in this epoch
through Patriarch John Abu Sederatt (+648). With this translation he fulfilled
the wish of Prince Umair Ibn Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas, Prince of Mesopotamia. It is
worth mentioning that the prince asked for the passages in the translation that
dealt with the divinity of Jesus (regarding the crucifixion and the baptism) to
be cut out. To this the Patriarch replied heroically: "God prevent that I cut or
add one single letter even if all the spears of your army were pointed at me."
The prince was impressed with the heroic position of the Patriarch and entrusted
him with the translation. For the implementation of this translation the
Patriarch called together some bishops and linguists of both Syriac and Arabic
from the tribes of the Bani Tennuch, Uqail and Tai. They then translated the
holy gospels under his supervision which he then handed over to the prince.
At the time of the Ommayads there lived a famous poet named Al Achtal. He
belonged to the Taghleb tribe and was a member of the Syrian Orthodox Church. He
was born in Mesopotamia and grew up there. He enjoyed a good reputation among
the caliphs of the Ommayads. Caliph Abdul Mallek Ibn Marwan (685 - 705) said to
him after the poet praised this Caliph in one of his poems: "Oh Achtal, do you
want that I write to all countries and tell them that you are the best poet of
the Arabs?" Achtal replied to this: "It is enough when the prince of the
believers says it."
Achtal held on to his faith. He was allowed to visit the Caliph Abdul Malak
without permission, wearing a silk robe and with a golden chain around his neck
on which hung a golden cross. His bishop is said to have locked him up once in
the church because of harassment and abuse, although the poet said about
himself: "I have not written a satirical poem about anyone that a virgin could
not have written about her father." Then when one of the noble Arabs asked for
his release and the poet was released by the bishop, the noble Arab asked the
poet with astonishment: "How can a man with such high regards from the caliph
tolerate such a shameful punishment from a bishop?" Achtal answered: "It is the
religion, it is the religion. Be silent with the silent!"
In the era of the Abbasids, many excellent translations were made and from the
ranks of the Syrians many great scientists, translators and doctors emerged. At
the time of Harun Al-Rashid (766 - 809) the Syrian scientist Johanna Ibn Masaweh
became famous. Caliph Harun Al-Rashid entrusted him with the translation of the
old books. He enjoyed a good reputation with the Caliph and his successors until
the Caliph Al Mutawakkel.
Thus the Syrians translated the Greek sciences into their language and then into
Arabic. The Syrians founded universities for the various sciences and
literature. Therefore, the sciences developed enormously during the era of the
Abbassids.
The Syrians participated faithfully in the tasks of the state. As an example we
report about Patriarch Dionysius of Tel Mahri ( 845) whom caliph Al Mamun (813 -
833) entrusted with a political mission. He went to Egypt in order to cooperate
with the Caliph and with Patriarch Yosab of Alexandria in pulling down the
threatening Christian revolt in the lower Nile.
Among the Syrians who served the successors of the Abbassids was the famous
doctor and secretary of state Abu Karam Saaed Ibn Touma of Baghdad who is to be
mentioned for his noble character, Christian virtue, his faithfulness and
sincerity. He enjoyed the full trust of Caliph Al-Naser (1180 - 1225), he even
was his favorite. The Caliph entrusted him with all his family and state
secrets. Now it happened that the eyesight of the Caliph got worse and for that
reason he asked a woman Sit Nasim to write all his papers for him. The
handwriting of the woman was very much like that of the Caliph. When she handed
the minister a paper, the minister thought it was from the Caliph himself and
executed the orders contained therein. She hatched a plot with a eunuch named
Tag Ed-Din Rashiq, in which she sent forged letters to the minister. In the
course of time the prime minister became suspicious and asked the doctor and
minister of state Abu Karam Saaed Ibn Touma of Baghdad about the health of the
Caliph. The doctor reported on the health condition of the caliph and also
reported that a woman was writing all letters instead of the caliph. When the
woman noticed that she was exposed she sent someone who killed the Minister of
State.
At the time when the Tartars occupied large areas of Asia and Europe, the armies
under the leadership of Genghis Khan in the 13th century gained their decisive
striking power. In this time the wise Syrian Abu Salem of Malta (Malatya) -
known as Ibn Kraba - served Sultan Ala-Ed-Din Kaybaqad (1219 - 1236) and enjoyed
a good reputation.
History also mentions that the Patriarch Ignatius IV (1264 - 1283) went to the
capital of the Tartars ("Attaq") and visited Holako. From him he received an
authorization letter (Firman) for his Antiochian Patriarchate. Another time the
Patriarch was on his way to visit king Abaqa - the son of Holako - and his heir
to the throne. From him he again received an authorization letter (Firman). The
monk-priest Schemun the Syrian was Holakos' private doctor. In the year 1258
Baghdad fell to the Mongols who then professed Islam in 1295. Professor Wolfgang
Hage said in a lecture about Syrian history:
"The Syrian Orthodox Church as well as the other churches in the Near East were
weakened when at the end of the 13th century the Mongols, penetrating from inner
Asia, professed Islam and were not as just as the Muslim Arabs. Oriental
Christianity was literally decimated finally through the cruel representative of
the Mongolian-Islamic fanaticism: Timur the Lame (1336 - 1405) around 1400 went
through Mesopotamia, Syria and Asia Minor and understood himself as the deadly
enemy of Christianity. He destroyed Baghdad in 1393. He forced the Syrians and
the other Christians to accept Islam and persecuted those who refused. Many of
them were martyred. Diseases followed the massacres and only ten percent of the
Christians remained."
This historical truth that Professor Wolfgang has mentioned reveals that our
people suffered in that historical era at the hand of a non-Arab Muslim leader
who didn't honor the covenants that were given to the Christians by the Arab
prophet and the rightly guided caliphs and the Ommayads and the Abbasids to
protect them and their rights. He did not respect the covenants but he
slaughtered them and destroyed their churches, monasteries and schools. Most of
their precious manuscripts were lost and this is considered a great loss to all
civilized humanity.
Holding this before one's eyes, one does not have to emphasize what
undescribable misery, harm, deprivation and death the people in this region
suffered. Over and above that we do not have to mention what irretrievable works
of the different areas of science and especially theology have been lost through
the burning of churches, monasteries and schools. "During these centuries the
Syrian Orthodox Church shrunk to a small faith community who in modern times
lived in a united area again (now the Ottoman) but was never able to regain
their former size and importance."
At the beginning of the 15th century the Ottomans conquered a great part of Asia
Minor. In the middle of the 15th century - also in the year 1453 - the Byzantine
empire collapsed with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans.
In this quick journey through the centuries we stopped at certain points along
the way where we thought it useful. We got to know some of the religious,
scientific and political personalities. We also tried to uncover the background
reasons for the decline in membership and the suffering of the Syrian church
over the centuries. Now we know how she fought to survive and what she did to
protect her inheritance as well as her faith. After she survived weakened by the
fight with the Byzantine rule, she breathed a sigh of relief with the rise of
Islam. There was cooperation in peaceful and unsettled times. We have also seen
how their relationship with the Muslim authorities changed like the ebb and flow
of the sea and how the church fathers went about it according to the commandment
of Jesus Christ: "so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves!" (Mt 10:16).
After the fall of the empire of the Abbassids the land came under the rule of a
variety of non-Arab Muslim sultans. Unsure times began for the churches: They
lost many of their members. They were further weakened when the Ottomans took
power and after strengthening of their ruling power played with the destinies of
the people.
The most dangerous enemy, however, that attacked and almost destroyed the Syrian
Orthodox Church at its foundation was the ignorance and the spiritual
irresponsibility that spread out in their own ranks at the end of the 13th
century. The chaos began to get out of hand when hate, tribal thinking and
provincialism broadened. This chaotic state of the church is also explainable
from the fact that the church had three Antiochian patriarchs at the same time:
one in Sis who was followed by the Syrians of Cilikia, one in Tur Abdin for the
people there, and one in Mardin for all Syrians of the East. The patriarchate of
Tur Abdin lasted 130 years and the one in Sis 152 years. In this way they tore
the body of Christ apart. When the Patriarch Behnam Hadi Al Bartali reigned on
the See of Mardin (1412), he was able to bring about the unity of the Syrian-Antiochian
See. He died in 1454. Because we are trying to uncover the reasons for the
growing weakening of the church we have to go into the terrible happenings of
the years 1895, and especially 1915 - 1921, in which the church had to suffer
from the Ottomans. During these years the church lost thousands upon thousands
of innocent martyrs although the church was very loyal to the land of its
grandfathers. She obeyed the civil power. The church has rejected the patronage
of foreign governments because she has firm faith that God will protect her.
"Despite the low numbers of church members the Syrian Church was able to
reconsolidate. The church believes firmly that her existence until now is a sign
that God lives in her midst, strengthens her, lets her flourish and not
disintegrate. She embodies now the faith handed down by the holy apostles and
the Syrian inheritance deeply rooted in her history. She tries to preserve her
holy Syriac language, the language of Jesus. She seeks a constructive
cooperation with all peoples of the earth for the welfare of all humanity.
Time does not allow us to talk about the relationship between the Syrian Church
and Islam and others in this time. That is because the geographical location of
the Syrian Church has expanded through the emigration of its children all over
the world and their different relationships with many peoples who believe in
many faiths.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I am glad to thank
you for your patience and attentiveness and express my thanks to the honorable
authorities at Humboldt University in Berlin for inviting me and giving me a
chance to talk to them.
You will surely share my opinion that the fear, terror and persecution the
Syrian Christians in the whole world had suffered throughout the ages was from
the oppression of strange governments. Also, disasters had repeatedly arisen as
a result of the distance from God by some Syrians and other Christians through
their distancing themselves from the sources of Christian teaching and its
translation into good works. Therefore, even in this generation we shouldn't be
surprised to hear from some who have studied the Gospels and got to know Jesus
Christ what once Ghandi - the leader of the Indian independence movement - said:
"We want your Christ but not your Christianity." This may also be true for our
brothers the Muslims. But we do not want to judge the others. We want to call
ourselves to account. The split of the Christian church is a big mistake, a
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and an ignoring of the existence of Christ who
promised: "... the gates of hell will not prevail against it." (Mt 16:18) I
invite you to stand before history for a moment to see the result of our
divisions. You will see the bloodshed of thousands of innocents, righteous men
have suffered and been expelled from their countries. We thank God that
Christian churches in this generation began to feel the necessity of continuing
the Christian dialogue and as a result they have drawn closer to each other and
planned for continuous meetings at various levels to study different subjects.
The unity of Christianity can only happen in and around Christ, who is the head
of the church and we with all our doctrines are only parts of the holy body of
Christ.
Satan is still at work. He brings about disturbances, constantly encourages new
splits and wants from this the tearing apart of the body of Christ, that is the
Church. We have to be careful. Politics usually uses religion to reach its
worldly goals. We should limit our talks to spiritual themes because the kingdom
of Christ is not of this world. We do not want the unity of Christianity to
fight against other religions. Instead we want unity to reach our goal more
quickly; that is the constructive dialogue with others who believe in God and
here especially with the Muslims with whom we share one homeland. Let us learn
from history. Let us avoid what splits us. Let us walk the way that leads to a
better understanding, to a life in which love and peace rule."
Source:
1.
Patriarchal Journal
Vol. 33 - June 1995 - No. 146, pp. 322-344.
(The original text which was in
Arabic was translated by Roy Hange, Mujir Dahi & Maren Tyedmers Hange,
December 27, 1996)
2. http://SyrianOrthodoxChurch.org