Why The Fate Of Syrias Christians Should Concern Us All

By Tyler Durden
Created 10/26/2015 - 14:00
[1]
Submitted by Tyler Durden [1] on 10/26/2015 14:00 -0400
Submitted by Erico Matias Taveras via Sinclar & Co., [8]
The world is witnessing the destruction of Syria, a country with a rich history going back
millennia. But there is one significant minority that faces total annihilation if the
radical factions prevail: Syrias Christian community.
Syria has played a crucial role in Christianity right from its very start. Paul is said to have
been converted on the road to Damascus. There are important Christian landmarks there,
some built by pious saints and daring knights over centuries. Aramaic, the language of
Jesus Christ, can still be heard in some parts of the country.
Most importantly, there are 1.8 million people 10% of the population of various
Christian denominations who now live in constant fear. That community has played a
leading role in Syrian society and economy, which is why their (limited) civil rights had
always been protected by the ruling dictators.
That is all changing now. In areas taken over by the Islamic State and other hardliners,
Christian men have been murdered or abducted with their wives and children held
hostage. What is left of their communities must convert to Islam, pay a religious levy or
face execution. The same has happened to other unfortunate Christians in Iraq, so the
outcome is highly predictable.
Even moderate rebel groups are rumored to have committed similar atrocities. Not
much of this is reported by the Western media, as after all these are our guys. But an
insightful episode reported by the New York Times [9] last year should force us to reflect
upon the wisdom of the Wests strategy here:
On his eighth trip to fight with the rebels in Syria, in August, Abu Khattab saw something
that troubled him: two dead children (). He knew right away that his fellow rebels had
killed them. Abu Khattab, a 43-year-old Saudi hospital administrator who was pursuing
jihad on his holiday breaks, went to demand answers from his local commander, a
notoriously brutal man named Abu Ayman al-Iraqi. The commander brushed him off,
saying his men had killed the children because they were not Muslims, Abu Khattab
recalled recently during an interview here.
As a result of this persecution, since 2012 Syrian Christians have started to take a
more active role in the war, forming militias which are now fighting alongside
government and Kurdish forces. They have no other option. And this puts them in the
firing line of Western-backed militants and their key ally in the region Turkey.
The world is becoming increasingly aware of Turkeys nefarious role in the Syrian
conflict. It has been known for some time that fighters wanting to join the Islamic State
move with great fluidity through its borders. Rather than placing embargoes, the Turkish
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government has turned a blind eye to its merchants buying oil [10] seized by the
fundamentalists, thus offering an important economic lifeline. And it is bombing Kurdish
fighters in Syria, one of the few forces that have proven to be effective in stopping Islamic
militants.
But even more disturbing allegations have emerged recently. Two deputies [11] from
the main opposition Republican Peoples Party claim that their government might have
been involved in sending toxic sarin gas used in an attack on civilians in Syria in 2013
where over 1,300 died. The public will never know because the investigation they
requested was blocked. And it is this event that justified the Wests intervention in the
conflict.
Through these and other actions Turkey, an important NATO ally and aspiring European
Union member, has become an accomplice of the worst crimes against humanity
committed by the Islamic State and assorted fighters, all in the name of getting rid of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Incoming US Presidents place their left hand on a Christian Bible while taking the
oath of office. Prime Minister David Cameron recently declared [12] that Britain is
still a Christian country. And yet it is Russias President Vladimir Putin who is
coming to the aid of Syrias beleaguered Christians.
Russias latest intervention in the Syrian conflict evokes a very nuanced yet interesting
parallel with the Crimean War in the mid-19th century. Back then the Czar judged
incorrectly that Western powers would not oppose a Christian country facing off against
the very Muslim Ottoman Empire. What followed was a pointless brawl that left hundreds
of thousands dead. Nobody was better off in the end.
We wonder if Putin and his Western counterparts have considered this outcome.
Surely there must be a better way forward for Syria and its neighbors, especially if they
dont want to suffer the blowback effects from promoting extremism.
By condoning the destruction of its Christian, Jewish and other minorities while
trying to appease their radical clerics, Muslim nations are shooting themselves in
the foot. These have traditionally been the most educated and constructive communities
among their ranks, without which a transition to more progressive, open and prosperous
societies across the Middle East will be incredibly difficult.
One more reason why the fate of Syrias Christians should concern us all.

Source URL: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-26/why-fate-syrias-christiansshould-concern-us-all

Links:
[1] http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden
[2] http://www.zerohedge.com/taxonomy_vtn/term/11338
[3] http://www.zerohedge.com/taxonomy_vtn/term/10041
[4] http://www.zerohedge.com/taxonomy_vtn/term/11126
[5] http://www.zerohedge.com/taxonomy_vtn/term/303
[6] http://www.zerohedge.com/taxonomy_vtn/term/10360
[7] http://www.zerohedge.com/taxonomy_vtn/term/9030
[8] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/syrias-christians-erico-matias-tavares
[9] http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/world/middleeast/saudis-back-syria-rebels-despite-a-lack-of-control.html?_r=3&referer
[10] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/26/isis-syria-turkey-us?CMP=share_btn_fb
[11] http://www.todayszaman.com/national_chp-deputies-govt-rejects-probe-into-turkeys-role-in-syrian-chemical-attack_402180.html
[12] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/11516804/David-Cameron-declares-Britain-is-still-a-Christian-country.html