June 26, 2001

Reflections on Assyria - = Fred = Parhad

A=20 LITTLE SLOW

I'm not as clever as I think I am. It's finally beginning to = dawn on me=20 why people are vehemently Christian in preference to being = Assyrian...why=20 their religious identity is so much dearer to them than any = Assyrian=20 ethnic heritage or identity. For several centuries we ourselves = knew=20 nothing of Ashurbanipal, the splendors of Nineveh, even the = stories in the=20 Bible such as Noah we thought were Hebrew and not ours. During = that time=20 we were defined and sharply outlined by our religion, not our = Assyrian=20 heritage.

We thought of "Assyrian Heritage" as what we did in our village = life as=20 Christians. We had no other culture besides the one centered = around the=20 church. Since we were singled out by people as Christians and = especially=20 since we were killed off for that...naturally we rallied around = the cross=20 as the symbol of our entire being because everyone ELSE made it = so. When=20 someone is willing to kill you over something...that thing either = becomes=20 hateful to you, or it becomes the very reason for your existence.=20 Especially should you lose family members for that reason...you = are not=20 likely to turn your back on what got them killed, as if to say = they died=20 for nothing.

Since we had only our religion to distinguish us from the = "dirty=20 Moslems", any thought of renouncing it meant becoming like them, = something=20 no self-respecting Christian would do. Having no choice, no other=20 identity, we clung to being Christian even harder and hence the = love=20 affair with murder victims, who in our eyes became willing = martyrs.=20 Actually they were the exact opposite of martyrs for there was no = choice=20 given them...they were killed for being Christian...for being the = only=20 thing they knew how to be.

Living in Moslem countries such as Iraq or Turkey and being a = minority=20 meant there was no identity outside of the Church. To abandon that = was to=20 abandon what our people thought of as an Assyrian identity. There = was no=20 Assyrian identity to speak of...no one knew what that meant. They = became=20 one and the same thing by default. If you left your village, or = your=20 religion, you went right out into Moslem arms and since Moslems = ruled the=20 country you would become Moslem...which meant you could no longer = be=20 "Assyrian"...because to be Assyrian you had to be Christian, = according to=20 us.

For me now to say that Christianity presents a problem if we = wish to=20 thrive and grow as Asyrians..not Christians any more ( we never = "thrived"=20 as Christians, just barely survived)...scares people out of their = wits=20 because I seem to be saying they have to let go of the one thing = which=20 sustained them all those centuries, the thing their loved ones = were killed=20 for and they, run out of the country and lost their possessions = over. I=20 can understand their panic.

Had the situation been reversed, had we known exactly what it = was to=20 have an Assyrian culture and identity all those centuries and not = bothered=20 with religion...had we been killed and tormented for daring to = honor Ashur=20 and sing the praises of Nineveh and Dur Sharrukin, and = Isthar...had=20 renouncing our purely Assyrian identity meant falling into Moslem = arms and=20 having to leave our villages...and were I to show up now saying = that the=20 Assyrian identity was a "problem" that we had better put aside and = pick up=20 the Christian faith instead...people would be just as upset and = cling to=20 their Assyrian heritage fiercely because it would be their very = soul and=20 identity. They would stubbornly refuse to even think about letting = it=20 go... criticizing it in any way, or admitting any "problem" or = danger in=20 it.

Real Assyrian history, the details, (sketchy as they are = because not=20 even what is available has been deciphered yet), is something we = were as=20 ignorant of as the next person. There were "tales" and legends of = course,=20 but the full scope and grandeur came as a shock to everyone. The = ins and=20 outs of Christianity, the very hairs on the head of god, had been = known=20 for centuries. By contrast we haven't been that comfortable = thinking of=20 those ancient pagans as our true descendants. We feel more at home = with=20 the Fathers of the Church and the God Of Israel for we know them = better,=20 are used to their ways...especially what they expect of us, if we = are to=20 get that ultimate reward for all the suffering we endured for the = sake of=20 Christ...the prolongation of this existence FOREVER! No wonder = people bark=20 and snarl so! To them it seems I am asking that they renounce the = only=20 definition of "Assyrian" they've ever known... and give up the = promise of=20 immortality on top of it.

There is no way around this religion issue. We can't just = ignore it and=20 work on our heritage...we HAVE no heritage yet, outside of this = religious=20 one. It would take a mind extremely well balanced indeed to = understand=20 that these religions... Hebrew, Christian and Moslem, have been = killing us=20 off, AS ASSYRIANS, for centuries now. Christianity saved a" = Christian=20 minority", even as it crippled us as Assyrians so that today we = are=20 confronted with the awful precedent of a small ethnic entity = standing idly=20 by, or worse, aiding and abetting their co-religionists in the = their own=20 destruction.

Judaism and Islam have been destructive for obvious reasons and = in=20 clear-cut ways. But the Christian religion, as we have defined it, = has=20 done the greater damage in the final analysis... which is being = made=20 painfully clear to us this century. All the hostility of the other = two,=20 put together with the fact that the Western Christian world knows = nothing=20 of us... (in part because our Christian faith and experience have = taught=20 us to maintain a low profile).. has resulted in our being attacked = now by=20 all three and not with the weapons of three centuries ago,...but = with the=20 advanced firepower of the most lethal kind ever known. In = addition, after=20 centuries of abuse and a fatal acceptance of what we were told was = the=20 will of god, our spirit has been crushed, our willingness to fight = and=20 work for our survival has been replaced by a fatal resignation to = a god=20 who can't protect us here but instead prepares a room in his house = for us"=20 up there", for which we have to die first. At no time in our = history have=20 all three religions bent their forces against us...and with the = entire=20 world backing them up no less! Never has it been more imperative = that we=20 embrace our ethnic identity than now. Our religion will be safe no = matter=20 what happens to Iraq or the Near East. Blow the entire country up = and=20 there will still be this Christian religion. But what will not = survive is=20 any idea that we are Assyrian in ethnicity and heritage. We'll = make the=20 jump from being unhappy Turkish or Syrian citizens forced to hide = their=20 religion and never feeling a part of the mainstream, to happy = "Americans",=20 free to practice their precious religion. and for the first time = welcomed=20 into a mainstream...but our children will become American in = ethnic=20 identification for finally they can feel "part" of a country = because it is=20 a Christian country. What we will have skipped is any chance to = identify=20 as Assyrians in any country. We don't even yet know what that is. = What=20 makes this all so difficult is that in order to survive as = Assyrians, we=20 will have to ease back on what we believe has kept us Assyrian all = those=20 centuries. It didn't. It kept us a Christian minority...no one had = any=20 idea what a purely Assyrian identity was...we still don't. The = only way we=20 can do it is for those of us who are Christian to realize that the = religion is safe...we don't need all these peculiar strains, each = with its=20 own storefront "church". Let the religion fend for itself, it has = many=20 defenders here and they're numerous enough and murderous enough to = "save"=20 it. Let us instead join hands with those who were never interested = in any=20 of these religions and begin to develop ways of preserving any = shred of an=20 Assyrian identity and make a living heritage of it...let's take = advantage=20 of the interest others will show in our ethnic identity, where we = can't=20 expect them to get excited over one more brand of Christianity. = The movers=20 and shakers in this world...the powerful Western nations we live = in are=20 not interested in religion...we wont impress them with that. But = we have a=20 unique something no one else has...and oddly enough, we just might = save=20 those portions of Christianity our people value..

The only trouble with all this is that our Christian Assyrians = are used=20 to defeat, they are used to being held down, discriminated = against, and=20 humiliated. Worst of all, they have been taught that they honor = their=20 religion and god MOST when being crucified for him and like = him...that=20 their heaven, their reward for all this misery will only come to = them if=20 they die meekly and go up there. Where Islam taught its adherents = that=20 those dying in battle defending their religion ,here on earth, = would get a=20 fast pass to Paradise...our Christianity taught us that those who = did not=20 fight, but had their throats slit like sacrificial offerings would = get=20 that fast pass. That is the problem with Christianity, here in the = West.=20 We are free here to practice our religion, and in our relief at = that we=20 believe we, and therefore what we have been used to thinking of as = an=20 Assyrian Heritage, will be safe. The contrary is true...we will = indeed=20 survive as Christians...and though free for the first time to = define,=20 enhance and promote our Assyrian heritage, we will finally let it = slip=20 from our fingers in the mistaken belief that a religion we share = with=20 millions of others here in the West, will preserve us as = Assyrians,=20 because we are finally safe as Christians.

We need a new "will" to fight and work for an Identity that is = NOT=20 religious, and we've never learned how to fight for anything, = except=20 against each other. This forceful and determined will, is foreign = to our=20 experience as Christians. It was all we knew as Assyrians.

As awful as it sounds to say it, I am afraid many of us are = willing to=20 accept the deaths of hundreds even thousands of Assyrians in Iraq, = in=20 exchange for the much larger percentage of Moslems killed. This = horrific=20 equation is the price we feel we must pay to avenge centuries of = abuse at=20 Moslem hands and, just perhaps, as a precursor to being "given" a = portion=20 of our ancient homeland back again.