James Bond, Saladin, and Jesus Christ

Whilst on a first-time visit to Syria in 2003, the international Scottish superstar Sean Connery had made—like many other foreigners visiting the country for the first time—many illuminating and surprising discoveries. The ex-007 was surprised to see the idyllic beauty of the country and its people.

He was accompanying the late Syrian great director Mustapha Akkad on a scouting trip for Akkad’s great—and to date, unrealized—dream of an epic film on Saladin, for which Connery was slated for the title role. Connery made it a point to maintain a healthy dose of cynical skepticism during his visit. To him, Syria must have seemed no more than another ‘rogue’ state, a hopeless traditional oriental despotism, a country mired in violence and backward-ness—which is the picture painted in the western media.

His visit had specifically been aimed at getting to know the country, and her Christian traditions and community; and he was surprised by his findings. An especially-illuminating occasion was a meeting Mr. Connery had with His Beatitude, Patriarch Ignatius VI (Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Orthodox Church). The Patriarch’s discourse was a true revelation to Mr.Connery who, like many in the West, had not even the faintest idea that Syria had a size-able Christian community, in addition to being one of the earliest fountains of the faith itself: for Syria was one of the earliest regions in which Christianity spread, and it is in Damascus that St. Paul received his revelation and set out henceforth in building the Church.

That was all well and dandy, Mr. Connery remarked. Yet he inquired the Patriarch— in a cynical tone—if ‘any Christians had ever attained senior official posts in Syria’s history.’ The smugness of this remark not having escaped His Beatitude, he set about listing only a few notable names of the 20th Century to his astonished guest:

Patriarch Gregorius Haddad (Patriarch Ignatius IV’s predecessor) was one of the foremost supporters of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire—even selling some of the Church’s wealth of historical treasures to bankroll the rebels in 1916 Fares Bey Khuri was one of the founding fathers of modern Syria, and assumed the roles of prime minister, speaker of parliament, Syrian envoy to the founding conference of the UN, and—for a brief moment in history, upon replacing Saadallah Jabiri as Prime Minister—even trustee of Islamic Waqf!!

Constanine Zurayk, the brilliant historian and foremost philosopher of Arab Nationalism, was Rector of the University of Damascus between 1949 and 1952 Sa’id Ishaq was Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Acting President of the Republic for 48 hours (upon the resignation of President Hashim Atassi, in November 1951)

Michel Alaq, founder of the ruling Ba’th Party and its Secretary General until 1966, and one of the most significant writers and ideologues of Arab Nationalism, was a Damascene Christian from the traditional Midan quarter Georges To’meh was both Syrian Ambassador in the UN and Minister of the Econ-omy in the early post-1963 cabinets—in whose tenure the famous (some may say, infamous) nationalization decrees were issued And the list—His Beatitude advised his wide-eyed guest—can go on.

The Twentieth Century: Migrate the Christians?

At present-day rates, according to ESCWA, the percentage of migration from Syria is lower than that in surrounding Arab countries (only 0.01% compared to 0.89% in Iraq and 1.61% in Palestine). Syria’s modern history, however, witnessed two, albeit opposed, trends of migration:

Into Syria—comprising Assyrians, Syriac Catholics and Armenians. This wave took place at the early 20th Century mainly towards El Jazira and the Aleppo regions. This migration was an en masse movement of thousands of families fleeing persecution, and was so significant, to the extent that the number of villages in these regions increased from 1,250 to 1,800 in fifteen years! Fifteen percent of these migrants chose to resettle themselves from the el Jazira region towards the urban centers of Aleppo and Damascus during the early 1930s and 1940s; in addition to an additional wave of Armenians locking into Aleppo after the 1939 annexation of Iskandarun.

Outside Syria—throughout the 20th Century, but mainly during its latter half. This drive was destined to the US, Western Europe, Australia and Latin America; and was also divided among congregations: Chaldeans and Assyrians: Most of these migrations—according to Bishop Antoine Audi, an official of the Congregations for the Eastern Churches—the Chaldean and Assyrian migrants were, in their great majority, economic migrants; with the vagaries of agricultural seasons, droughts and economic hardships being the main culprits. Today, the number of Assyrians and Chaldeans in the United States, is about 180,000 persons; in Europe 75,000 and in Australia, 40,000 Greek Catholics: There are around 3 mil-lion Greek Catholics, originally from Lebanon and Syria, living in Latin America, Europe and the United States—According to Archbishop Isidore Battikha.

The largest concentration is in Brazil, where their number reaches 1 million. This migration has, according to Archbishop Battikha, been steadily declining during the last 15 years. This fact notwithstanding, Arch-bishop Battikha concludes, ‘the problem in itself increased because those who are leaving are the most educated persons. They leave behind mostly poor—or some-times rich but uneducated—persons’ A piece of the Mosaic Syria’s Christians do not ‘co-exist’ with their Muslim compatriots; they simply exist, as full-ledged Syrians, as partners in their own country. Despite the staggering rates of migration, there are many reasons for hope:

The numbers, while significant in the past, are constantly declining. Syrians in general are migrating less, and that is also reflected in the Christian community. How-ever, despite the numerical decrease, the issue remains one of quality not quantity; the demographics have changed to include younger and more educated people. In addition, it is quite normal for a minority to be more affected if the entire community is affected—due to its ‘minority’ status

The main historical drive behind the migration of Christians from Syria has overwhelmingly been economical. Only at the turn of the 20th Century did they lee persecution—not by their compatriots, but by the Ottoman authorities. After Syria’s in-dependence, they were hardest hit by the increasing socialist policies, as they were the best educated and most westernized

At no point in modern Syrian history were Christians considered anything less than full citizens with full rights. And apart from a relatively minor aberrant—and one-of-a-kind—moment during the 1860 turbulence in The Lebanon, which spilled over into Syria; never have Christians been maltreated or persecuted based on their religious affiliation

Christians have always figured prominently in Syrian life. Whether in politics, economics, culture, or arts and literature; Syrian Christians’ contributions were and will continue to form an integral part of Syria’s modern history and character

The Syrian character is, in its essence, inclusive and tolerant. This logic has strong roots within Syria, and interfaith partnership has withstood various hardships and endured. Syrians have faced all the calamities of their modern history in unison, with no regard to religion or creed In the magnificent and diverse mosaic that is Syria, Christians form an essential and important piece of this unique fabric; a piece which adds a special beautiful shade of color. Just ask Sean Connery.