(AINA) -- Dr. Edmond Betmaleck, from Los Angeles, and Robert DeKelaita, from Chicago, recently discussed the situation of the Assyrians in the last few years. The two professionals have been active in Assyrian affairs for decades. Edmond Betmaleck has been an activist for the Assyrian cause most of his life and has served in various levels of directorships.
In around 1200 BC, the Near East was dominated by a group of interconnected complex states -- scholars refer to them as the 'Great Powers' Club'. Over the course of about 400 years, from 1500 to 1100 BC, this club variously included Egypt, Hatti (the land of the Hittites of Anatolia), Babylonia, Assyria, and Mitanni.
At a cost of $5 each, chicks are helping Iraq's Christian chicken farmers rebuild their livelihoods in the Nineveh Plains, a region historically home to Jesus' followers dating back to his time on Earth.
Pope Francis' visit to Iraq in 2020 is a source of "great joy and emotion" across the country. It is an event that unites "Christians and Muslims", this according to the Chaldean primate, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, who spoke to AsiaNews about the announcement the Pope made yesterday during the 92nd plenary assembly of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO).
I was discussing the sad plight of the Christians of the Middle East recently with a Lebanese friend, who recited the familiar refrain of the near extinction of the Christian communities of the Middle East. The basic reason, he insisted, was the Church teaching on "turning the other cheek.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said on Tuesday that his country would restore 15,000 ancient artifacts from the United States soon. "Iraq was and will always remain a cultural and historical center, and we must make use of this great legacy to build the present and future of the country," Abdul-Mahdi said during his visit to the National Museum of Iraq.
(AINA) -- Despite having ancient roots in the Middle East, Assyrians living in the area have struggled for survival in recent centuries. In addition to regular societal marginalisation and persecution, calamitous massacres have been carried out against this vulnerable minority community, from the 1915 Ottoman genocide (known as ܐܦܝܣ or Sefo, meaning 'Sword,' in Assyrian) to the brutal violence...
BEIRUT -- Syriac Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Nizar Semaan begins his new mission in Iraq with hope "that Christianity will flourish again" in his homeland. Bishop Semaan chose the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, his birthplace, as the site of his episcopal ordination June 7.
VATICAN CITY -- Announcing his desire to visit Iraq in 2020, Pope Francis called for a peaceful resolution to crises in the Middle East. He also warned that God would unleash his wrath on hypocritical leaders who liked to talk about peace while selling weapons to warring nations.
In 2003, before the US invasion of Iraq, there were an estimated 1.2 million Christians living there. Today, that number is less than 250,000 -- an eighty percent drop in less than two decades. If this trend continues, a religious minority that has been in Iraq for centuries will be gone entirely.
The Islamic State (ISIS) has adopted a strategy of insurgency in areas previously under the militants' control during the height of its so-called Islamic Caliphate. The genocide perpetrated by ISIS against religious minorities has left these areas devastated. Issues of transitional justice and security remain critical.
Semi-precious stones, jewellery, as well as containers made of rare glass and other findings have been found by a Slovak archaeologist during this year's research mission in Kuwait. The Old Christian community of Nestorians left them on today's Failaka Island in the Persian Gulf where they lived in the early Middle Ages.
(AINA) -- Dr. Edmond Betmaleck, from Los Angeles, and Robert DeKelaita, from Chicago, recently discussed the situation of the Assyrians in the last few years. The two professionals have been active in Assyrian affairs for decades. Edmond Betmaleck has been an activist for the Assyrian cause most of his life and has served in various levels of directorships.
(AINA) -- Despite having ancient roots in the Middle East, Assyrians living in the area have struggled for survival in recent centuries. In addition to regular societal marginalisation and persecution, calamitous massacres have been carried out against this vulnerable minority community, from the 1915 Ottoman genocide (known as ܐܦܝܣ or Sefo, meaning 'Sword,' in Assyrian) to the brutal violence...
(AINA) -- On May 4-5 the Salahaddin University in Erbil, Iraq and the French Institute of the Near East (IFPO) organized a workshop titled Christianity in Iraq at the turn of Islam. Its aim was to discuss important institutional changes for Christians in areas of the collapsed Persian Empire and retreated Byzantine Empire which were conquered by Muslims.
On January 2, 2018, Judge Goldsmith from the federal court in Michigan ordered the release of Assyrian (also known as Chaldean or Syriac) Christian detainees who had been held for deportation. In his decision, the judge cited that the country conditions in Iraq precluded the possibility of returning the refugees to their homes safely.
During the years of World War I 75% (750,000) of the Assyrian population in the Ottoman Empire was systematically murdered. That genocide of Assyrians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915 is a fact, but it has largely been forgotten by the world.
(AINA) -- When speaking about the Ottoman Empire and Turkey today, it is not their contribution to civilization that comes to mind. Instead it is human rights violations, confiscation of land and property, genocide and genocide denials that are most frequently discussed in the public discourse. Today's Turkey is still far from being ruled by democratic principles.
In around 1200 BC, the Near East was dominated by a group of interconnected complex states -- scholars refer to them as the 'Great Powers' Club'. Over the course of about 400 years, from 1500 to 1100 BC, this club variously included Egypt, Hatti (the land of the Hittites of Anatolia), Babylonia, Assyria, and Mitanni.
Thiruvananthapuram, India -- For the faithful gathered at St George's Church, Kochi, it was a rare occasion for the congregation to re-live a bygone religious experience. The mass on the annual feast of St George last month assumed an 'old-world' vibe with the prayers and the music in East Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic which historians generally agree upon as the language spoken during the time of...