An Assyrian man walks in solidarity with Christians abducted in Syria and Iraq. Hussein Malla / AP Photo
An Assyrian man walks in solidarity with Christians abducted in Syria and Iraq. Hussein Malla / AP Photo

It will be tragic if the Assyrians leave the region



The Assyrians who have now been targeted by ISIL for kidnapping in northern Syria have suffered like this before. But they also, further back in time, have a glorious history that illuminates one of the finest eras of Arab Muslim civilisation. If you have ever wondered how Christianity reached China, or how come the Mongols have an alphabet that is closer to Arabic than it is to the Chinese, the Assyrians are the answer.

They are descendants of the ancient Church of the East, which originally was the community of Christians who lived under Persian rule. This church is hardly known today, but it was once one of the world’s most important Christian churches: it sent the first missionaries to China in AD632, appointed bishops in Tibet and Kashgar, and established a flourishing intellectual community that translated Greek scholarship into Aramaic.

This was the lingua franca of the Middle East before Arabic, and remarkably it is still spoken by Assyrians today, which is one of the reasons that their targeting by ISIL is so significant and so tragic. It is yet another attempt by the extremist group to eradicate anyone or anything that is pre-Islamic.

The Assyrians’ translation of Greek scholarship later made it easier for Greek science and philosophy books to be translated into Arabic and stimulate the great intellectual renaissance of Islamic Baghdad.

Under the rule of the Abbasid caliphs in the 8th and 9th centuries, the Church of the East was not allowed to convert Muslims. However, it could convert non-Muslims, especially those living further east outside Islamic rule. So, under Muslim rulers, Christian patriarchs in Baghdad came to have sway over monasteries as far east as Beijing. They spread the Syriac alphabet, in which they wrote Aramaic, to the Uighurs and the Mongols (the Mongols still use it today) and were allowed to debate with the caliph himself on points of religion.

This was a time of great religious freedom. Free-thinkers, pagans and atheists were allowed to write books and teach. One man, Thabit ibn Qurra, wrote a paean of praise to “paganism”. Instead of being executed, burnt alive or whipped in public, he was invited to contribute his knowledge of mathematics to the burgeoning scholarly community in Baghdad. How different those caliphs were to the self-styled caliph who leads ISIL today. And how different are the results: the Arab rulers established an empire which was the envy of the world, while ISIL has created only a hellish nightmare in a decreasing segment of territory.

The Assyrians’s great culture was extinguished, along with much else, by the twin invasions of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane in the Middle Ages. Tamerlane ordered that nothing should be left standing in Baghdad that was not a hospital or a mosque. From then on, the adherents of the Church of the East lived in the highlands of northern Iraq, north-east Syria and south-east Turkey, which then were all part of the Ottoman Empire. Their patriarchs became hereditary rulers under Ottoman tutelage.

The Church of the East, meantime, split into factions some of which affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church and are now called Chaldeans. The Assyrians still have their own distinctive religious practices and beliefs. Traditionally, of all Christians they were the most uncomfortable with the belief that Jesus perfectly fused the natures of man and God. Perhaps for this reason or because of their long coexistence with Islam, they tend to avoid iconography in their churches.

As the Ottoman Empire died, it lashed out at the Christian communities that lived in what is now Turkey. It feared that they would side with Russia, and in 1915 and 1916 massacred them or sent them on forced marches to new homes in Iraq and Iran. Among those communities, most of whom were Armenian, there were many Assyrians.

After the First World War, these displaced Assyrians lobbied for an independent state with Mosul as its capital, which they would have shared with the Chaldeans and the Yazidis. But that never came to pass. Instead, that demand and their willingness to give military help to the British exposed them to further bouts of violence. These drove them onwards to Syria as twice-displaced refugees.

They have been refugees over and over. In Iraq last summer, Assyrians were again driven from their homes when ISIL seized Mosul and the towns to its east. Now they are also under siege in Syria. If they end up leaving the Middle East, as so many of Iraq’s Christians have already done, then it will be a tragic end to a glorious history.

Gerard Russell is author of Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: journeys among the disappearing religions of the Middle East

On Twitter: @gsjrussell

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If you go...

Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.

Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50

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Jordan cabinet changes

In

  • Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
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  • Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
  • Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
  • Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
  • Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
  • Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
  • Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth

Out

  • Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
  • Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
  • Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
  • Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
  • Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
  • Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
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  • Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
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TALE OF THE TAPE

Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm

Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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Men’s singles 
Group A:
Son Wan-ho (Kor), Lee Chong Wei (Mas), Ng Long Angus (HK), Chen Long (Chn)
Group B: Kidambi Srikanth (Ind), Shi Yugi (Chn), Chou Tien Chen (Tpe), Viktor Axelsen (Den)

Women’s Singles 
Group A:
Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn), Pusarla Sindhu (Ind), Sayaka Sato (Jpn), He Bingjiao (Chn)
Group B: Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe), Sung Hi-hyun (Kor), Ratchanok Intanon (Tha), Chen Yufei (Chn)

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Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

Manchester United v Brighton, Sunday, 6pm UAE

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Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

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● No of employees: Nine

Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

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Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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Tell-tale signs of burnout

- loss of confidence and appetite

- irritability and emotional outbursts

- sadness

- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue

- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more

- impaired judgement

- excessive and continuous worrying

- irregular sleep patterns

 

Tips to help overcome burnout

Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’

Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do

Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones

Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation

Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.