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Armenians in Rojava: A quiet revolution
Around seven ethnic Armenian fighters from the YPJ (Women’s Defense Unit) sit quietly on sofas around me, smiling gently when we make eye contact. One of the young women is named Hayastan.
At the far end of the room, two Kurdish YPJ fighters sit slightly apart from us, giving us space to talk as Armenians. Later in the meeting, one of them gestures towards Hayastan and says, smiling, “Isn’t it funny that her name is Hayastan––and mine is Kurdistan?”
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Why did the women have to convert to Islam?
What on Earth was stopping the Kurdish men from converting to Christianity?
Whether these Armenian women converted to Islam by choice or by coercion, we don’t know, but coercing non-Muslims, especially non-Muslim, women, in this region and in the Muslim World, is widespread and well documented.
The most common example of that, is if a non-Muslim woman wants to (or perhaps is forced to) to marry a Muslim man. The Muslim family almost always demands that the non-Muslim woman converts to Islam before marriage, and that their children are raised as Muslims.
The opposite example of a Muslim man renouncing Islam, converting to his wife’s religion, and raising their children as non-Muslims, is very rare and very dangerous for all involved.
This is overhelmingly the case in Middle Eastern and Muslim lands.
While converting to Islam is very easy (All you need to do is say the “shahada” (declaration of faith) in front of 2 witnesses and you are a Muslim. Of course, actually practicing Islam and the Muslim lifestyle, is demanding and takes more work, but saying the words is indeed the only formal requirement.).
However, renouncing Islam and returning to one’s previous religion, or to another religion, or becoming irreligious, is considered “ridda” (apostasy) in Islam, and renouncing Islam is a crime in most Muslim countries, whose penalties depend from country to country, and where it is a capital offence (death penalty) in theocratic Muslim countries, such as Iran, Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia.
As we know, being an Armenian or a non-Muslim in a Muslim country, is very difficult, to put it mildly.
And let us not forget, that the vast majority of Armenians still living (more precisely languishing) in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, did not immigrate there by choice, they were deported by the Ottoman Turks during the Armenian Genocide, where of course, the vast majority of them were killed, or died from hunger, thirst, disease, the cold, or the heat.
Since then, Armenians have been suffering and enduring in those perennial conflict lands, like no other Armenian community does in the diaspora. I know it is wishful thinking on my behalf, but I wish Armenia would invite them and could settle them in their homeland. More realistically, I hope that the Armenians in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq leave those utterly hopeless conflict lands and immigrate to the West, for a better and much safer life. This is also something I wish for the Armenians of Iran and Turkey – where they are actively discriminated, coerced and intimidated by the Turkish state, which I have witnessed while I visited that country for the first and last time in April 2005.
Thank you Karena.
I loved your article, Karena jan! I am glad you talked about this taboo that most Armenians ignore or refuse to acknowledge about our Muslim or non Christian Armenians. This is why I tell everyone Armenian and Christian is not together and that you can be Armenian without being Christian or have a religion. This is a policy not accepted by Armenian organizations and community here in Watertown or in Armenia as a state where they require Christian baptism as “proof” of Armenian identity. I am against this requirement and mentality. Thank you bringing this topic of our fellow Armenians in Syria.
I’m surprised to hear about the requirement to show Christian baptism. The Republic of Armenia is secular and practiced freedom of religion. As far as I was aware, you just have to show any official document that can proof your ancestry. Many Armenians in Armenia are atheists. I myself am not religious, my uncle who’s much older also doesn’t practice religion, even tho our family is a very average and even traditional Armenian family. There is a brand of Armenians that base their entire Armenians identity on religion and are loud about being Christian Armenian. Ironically, many of them are the most useless people when it comes to doing something actual worthwhile for our people. I think we just need to constantly remind our fellow Armenians that our ethnic identity far outdates our conversion to Christianity.
Dear Steve M, you are right in most cases Moslem partners demand that the person they mary should convert to their religion.
It is also true that the (my) Armenian Orthodox Church requîres that the person
You marry should be « Converted » to Armenian Orthodoxy when that person is a protestant or Catholic Arméian.
By the way, the great Armenian kîng Tigran was not a Christian let alone a member of the Armenian Apostalic Church.Believe what you want but please ……..
Tigranes was a Zoroastrian.
Armenia was a Zoroastrian country before it became the very first Christian country.
@Joseph Matossian
I did not mention Tigran the Great, who died almost a century before Christianity, I did not mention Armenian paganism, nor did I argue the “pros” and “cons” of conversion, which you have misconstrued. However, voluntary conversions and also forced conversions of non-Muslims, especially of non-Muslim women, in the Middle East and in the Muslim World, is well documented. Converting to Islam is easy, but renouncing Islam in these places has repercussions, as I mentioned above.
I for one, will accept our brothers and sisters who have endured so much and still preserved their Armenian-ness, be they Muslims or any other religion with open arms and heartfelt love! Very moving and well-written story! Thank you!
I think most Armenians, if not all, would do the same but I think that’s too idealistic and unrealistic in the long run. Islam is not compatible with Christianity and it is the religion of our traditional and genocidal enemies who used differences in religion to help expedite the premeditated mass extermination of our people. Suppose these people decide to move to Armenia tomorrow. They are going to need places to conduct their religious services. Are we supposed to build mosques for them? Can anyone in his right mind imagine a Muslim Armenian, an oxymoron, and a Christian Armenian living side by side peacefully? It will never work. Their adherence to the religion of the enemy will constantly be a reminder to the rest of the Armenians of those tragic years. To come back to one’s roots and be whole again will require they renounce the religion of the enemy forced upon them and they should welcome that move with open arms and do it voluntarily. That is how they will earn the full trust of the Armenians. Otherwise, they will remain marginalized and forgotten. We must be realistic about this.
If many Muslim Armenians (those who are not assimilated and speak Armenian, like the ones in Syria) were to move to Armenia, would Armenian society, which is overwhelmingly Christian, and where Muslims number less than 0.1% of the population and hardly any of whom are ethnic Armenians, be ready to accept them? This is an honest question, that should not be brushed aside and immediately denounced as “racism”.
For example in neighboring Georgia, which is the second oldest Christian nation after Armenia, relations between Muslim Georgians called “Adjarans” (who live in the region of Adjara, in southwest Georgia) and Christian Georgians are overwhelmingly negative and are largely shunned and discriminated by the latter for continuing to practice Islam. On top of that, they are actively discriminated by the Georgian state, and are pressured by both the Georgian society and the state, to return to Christianity – to the Georgian Orthodox Church to be precise. Unlike the vast majority of Georgians, who steadfastly remained Christian (despite centuries of Muslim Arab, Ottoman Turkish and Persian subjugation and discrimination as “dhimmi” – a second class status of non-Muslim subjects in Muslim states, who paid more taxes and had fewer rights than Muslims), these Georgians living under Turkish Ottoman rule, accepted Sunni Islam in the 16th and 17th centuries, either voluntarily to escape their “dhimmi” status or by force. These Georgians in Adjara remained Muslim, even under Soviet rule.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of Georgia in 1991, Adjara, which was then 75% Muslim, is gradually converting to Georgian Orthodox Christianity, through active proselytism by the Georgian Orthodox Church, which has resulted with Georgian Orthodox Christianity becoming the majority faith of 54.5% of the region’s population (the rest of the 5.5% of Adjara, are either irreligious, or follow other Christian denominations or religions). The 39% who remain Muslim, live in the mountainous uplands of eastern Adjara and are specifically targeted for active proselytism by the Georgian Orthodox Church, and those who resist conversion, are actively discriminated by the Georgian state. (The only other Muslim minority in Georgia, who are not discriminated nor proselytised, are the nominally Shiite Muslim Azeris, who number 250,000.)
Georgia’s history and experience under Muslim rule and conversions of Georgians to Islam, has many parallels with Armenia’s. But honestly, would society in Armenia be willing to accept a large number of Muslims – even if they are Armenian, the sight of many veiled women, many new mosques (and not just the one historic Blue Mosque in Yerevan) with the adhan (Islamic call to prayer) heard from the minarets, madrasas (the Islamic equivalent to a Christian seminary), Muslim schools, mass public prayers in parks or squares, etc?
Cohesion of Muslim societies in larger non-Muslim societies – particularly in the West, especially in regards to accomodation and integration, has brought tension and challenges. Again, this is an honest question, that should not be brushed aside and immediately denounced as “racism”.
Trivia: The Turkish Islamist dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is in fact a Muslim of Georgian descent from Adjara, but who is fully assimilated into Turkish society and doesn’t know Georgian. He even expressed some pride about his Georgian roots, but lashes out when his opponents call him an “Armenian”, which in Turkey is used as a grave insult, and those who do, are often sued for defamation.
Only by being steadfast and absolutist in terms of faith and commitment have the Armenians been able to survive.
It must never be forgotten that from the 11th to the 19th Centuries, a period of 800 years, there was no Armenia.
Armenians lived as dhimmis and it only through devotion and absolutism to the Holy Apostolic Churcb that the Armenian Nation survived.
Actually, the last Armenian kingdom fell in late 14th century in 1375AD. That was the kingdom of Cilicia of the Rubenid Dynasty (Ռուբինյան Հարստություն in Armenian) and its last king was King Leo (Levon) VI. This kingdom was also known as The Lesser Armenia. Religion does not recognize nationality, not supposed to anyway, i.e. a Roman Catholic is no more Catholic than an Irish Catholic, but since the Armenian Apostolic Church was also a National Church it did play a major role in the preservation of our identity and in the survival of our nation throughout our history and in the Armenian Diasporas across the Globe in particular. Since the Armenia’s official conversion to the Christian faith by Saint Gregory the Illuminator during the reign of the Armenian King Tiridates The Great (Մեծն Տրդատ in Armenian) in 301AD, I personally believe that our new Christian faith took a little something out of us and made us much more tolerant of our adversaries who, in retrospect, had very bad intentions towards us. Pre Christian Armenia (Urartu) fought and defeated the Assyrian kingdom, one of the fiercest and most tyrannical empires of the time, which no longer exists on the map today. Hard to explain but it seems to me that some sort of transformation occurred in our nation after the adoption of our new faith for the last 1,724 years!
The Grace of God came upon the Armenians since 301AD. We understood its about peace. Love your enemies became our way. Our identity is in Christ.
Galatians 3:28 (ESV)
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Kingdom of Armenia fell at the end of 14th century (not 11th). The last Armenian king’s (Levon V) grave is located in France. BTW, where is the last Russian king buried, does anyone know?
Actually, the last Russian monarch, was the tragic Tsar (Emperor) Nicholas II of the Romanov dynasty, who was murdered along with his family by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The Bolsheviks tried to destroy their bodies by burning them and by dousing them in acid. They threw their bodies in a mine shaft and buried the entrance, so that they would never be found. However, their bodies were found in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and were identified with DNA tests (which was very new at the time). They were all laid to rest in 1998 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, where most Tsars are also interred.
Those brave Armenians,
You do not need anybody’s approval and you should be proud of your accomplishments .
Remember, we are Armenia’s first anything else does not really matter not the religion or the region or the country we live.
You are an Armenian and you should be proud of that and you don’t need anybody stamp to do so.
As far as the religion aspect relevant that we are Armenian first.
Armenian first is the mindset we need to adopt to survive the current times. Many Armenians cling on to the church for its role in preserving the Armenian heritage, which is fine and the church itself is a huge part of Armenian heritage. However, people need to understand that you can Christian and also adopting to modern times and the current needs for our survival.
Armenian means Christian.
Saying that dose not mean we do not accept our deprived brothers and sisters who where forced to abandon their identity as “Armenian Christian” for simply continuing living/breathing then they must be welcomed back into Christianity and recognised as Armenian only by willing to be one, no documents required there will to be Armenian Christian is good enough.
Armenian identity far outdates our conversion of Christianity. There are many Armenians, like myself, who don’t believe in religion. Many Armenians within Armenia don’t believe in religion yet everyday they put in the work for our country to exist. Are they not Armenian? Are the Christian Armenians who live in the west, don’t do any work for our people, don’t even properly know our history or culture, better than Armenians who don’t practice Christianity but do actual work in preserving our identity or protected our country?
It is true that our Armenian identity predates our Christian identity. It is also true that there are those among us who despite the fact that they are born into Christian households they don’t necessarily practice the faith like they should or like their parents do or like their grandparents did. As Armenians, we all have some connection with the Church and its traditions, such as in Church baptism & wedding ceremonies among many others, which means Christianity is a part of our being and it is a part of the fabric of our society whether or not we believe in the theology. We also have those among us who are agnostics (neither believe nor deny) and even those who are non-believers. In the big picture and in the overall scheme of things, the issue isn’t about how much of a Christian we are or are not. The Christian faith alone does not define us. It is a part of us that further defines us. The real issue is the religion of the enemy that was forced upon on these Armenians and one that is not only completely incompatible with our way of life and our beliefs but also that it was used and exploited to help expedite the premeditated murder of our kin.
An Armenian Muslim is an oxymoron and it will always be a source of unnecessary tensions with the mainstream Armenians. For peaceful and for non-controversial existence with fellow Armenians it is important that they renounce the religion of the enemy forced upon them, whether or not they embrace Christianity, and this should be done voluntarily as a true gesture of their commitment to reconnecting with their Armenian roots. A true commitment must be done in deeds and not just in words and feelings alone!
If Armenia were to invite Armenian Muslims (those who speak Armenian and who are estimated to number between 300,000-400,000, including the Hamshentsiner in northeast Turkey, who number between 150,000-200,000 and many of whom still speak the partially intelligible Homshetsi dialect) to settle in Armenia, problems of integration and tensions bordering on sectarianism would bound to occur, because they are by and large observant Muslims, most of the women wear veils, they would certainly form their own secluded communities (voluntary ghettoization), and in likelihood, most of them are not Armenian nationalists, let alone secular, and most will regard themselves as Muslims first (as part of the ummah, meaning a “Muslim nation”) and as Armenians second or the latter not at all. The abovementioned negative example of sectarianism in Adjara in neighboring Georgia and the negative experiences of Muslim immigration in Europe, should be reminders why this would also not work in Armenia and why the same problems would occur as well.
These woman and men of northern Syria have done more for the Armenian cause than anybody who has never been part of the Armenian Armed struggle.
Being Armenian should not hinge on what religion you follow but your dedication to the Armenian Cause and culture. These woman have bled for the Armenian Struggle in some of the most difficult circumstances one can imagine while fighting against Turkey. More than Half of the Armenians judging them for their religion are sitting somewhere in the suburbs of America.
May God Bless them and may they continue to keep our ancient heritage alive in the land of NE Syria.
Why is it that every time any Armenian who speaks with logic and forethought and verbalizes what is actually in the hearts of most Armenians with the exception of very few for whom religion is most likely a non-issue because they either do’n’t grasp the delicacy and complexity of this issue in the long run or perhaps they have never lived their lives like an average and a typical Armenian has surrounded by everything that defines us as Armenians, instead of acting like one a couple of times a year, are all of a sudden labeled as those who are living comfortable and cushy lives in some random corner of the world who don’t know what suffrage is and don’t know what they are talking about and that they are insensitive and out of touch with reality. In fact, they are the ones who know what reality is firsthand because they have lived and experienced it in their diaspora communities. You can point fingers and sugarcoat things as much as you want but the reality of the matter is that nobody is putting himself or herself above these people and instead are simply making a valid point that if these people are truly so dedicated to their roots and want to reconnect and become whole again then they must want willingly and voluntarily to give up the religion of the enemy forced on them. What better way to show their dedication and the zeal to purify themselves than renouncing the very religion that, like I said, was used and exploited to help expedite their demise?
I would rather have an honest and faithfull moslem Armenian in the Armenian government then the present day so called
Christian Armenians who have done nothing but stealing and destroying the country with their mafia attitude and betraying the country. You call those thieves christians ?