Zinda 2 November 2005

The Kurdish State: Reality or Utopia

Aprim Shapera
United Kingdom

Today’s Kurds, with a population of 20 to 25 million, are sometimes described as the largest ethnic group without its own country. Although “Kurdistan”, i.e., the country of Kurds, spans a broad swath which includes parts of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and even Syria, the fact remains that it has never been delineated by specific borders, nor has any official or political map ever designated a specific Kurdish country. Therefore, what is called “Kurdistan” is in fact a collection of many areas variously located among several neighboring Islamic states. Let’s also remember that in history, there never was a specific political, geographical, and independent country known as “Kurdistan”. (L. Chabry and A. Chabry, Politique et minorities au Proche-Orient, translated from French to Arabic by Dr. Thokan Karkot, Cairo, 1991, P341) .

The term “Kurdistan” appears to have been used for the first time in 1157, in the late period of Abbasid Caliphate, by the Turkmen Sultan (Sandjar) who was in a protracted state of war with the Shah of Persia; the Sultan created a Kurdish province as a buffer zone. The Ottomans did much the same, when they created a number of Kurdish principalities to be used in their war against the Persian Empire. (Kurdistan – Political and Economic Potential, Edited by Maria T. O’Shea, SOAS, London, 1992, P.2).

There are many reasons why the Kurds have never had a nation-state of their own, and why they have never enjoyed national unity. The same impediments have also deprived a host of other peoples from achieving nationhood, particularly in the wake of World War I. However, Kurds may be distinguished from these other peoples in two special ways.

First: Kurds and Islam

Nearly all historians are agreed that the Kurds were unknown as a national people sharing specific characteristics, until the time Islam reached their areas. In year 20 Hijri (Islamic Calendar) - 641 A.D -- during the reign of the second Orthodox Muslim Caliph Omar Bin Al Khattab, all Bet Nahrain lands; Arbilm, Mosulm, Nusaybin and northern areas, were conquered by Muslim army. During the Caliphate of his successor, Osman Ibn Affan (644- 656) all the rest of that region up to the Caucasus mountains was conquered by the Moslem armies. The Kurds quickly submitted to them and accepted Islam. (Hassan Arfa, The Kurds, London University Press, 1966, P7). Due to geographical considerations, the Muslim Arab conquerors did not establish their own settlements in the Aryan lands, but instead they allowed the conquered peoples, which included the Kurds, to retain their land, tradition and culture after adopting Islam. It is during this period that the Kurdish name first appears, and it becomes known to other nations as a collection of tribes. In particular, the name of Kurds becomes especially known once they join up with the Muslim armies and get involved in the conquests of the latter. At the outset, the Kurds were known as “Mountain Tribesmen” and historians agree that Arab Muslims were the first to call Kurds, once they had adopted Islam. (Zuber Sulatan, Al Qadhiya Al Kurdiyah, Syria, 1995, P 27).

It was in the nature of Kurdish tribalism to engage in raids, expansionism and general aggression. These attributes coincided with the expansion of the Islamic Empire. Virtually all Kurds undoubtedly converted from Zoroastrianism and fire-worshiping to Islam. In time, Kurds became known as among the most faithful to their new religion. They were courageous warriors and sacrificed Mujahideen for the sake of spreading Islam to the other nations. Salahadin Al Ayoobi (1138 – 1193) the well-known great Muslim hero is an example of militant bravery in the service of Islam. Though he was the head of a mighty Islamic state, he never sought to establish any special privilege or rights to his Kurdish people. He had become an Arab ruler rather than assert his Kurdishness. (O’Shea, P2).

There are many historical examples to prove that the Kurds were steadfast in their religion, and never deviated from Islamic principles. Their history shows that there was neither any major apostasy nor any theological aberration among the Kurds where Islam was concerned. Even the doctrines, schools, or confessions generated among them were within the general principles of Islam, and never in contradiction with its spirituality. Therefore, during their long submission to Islamic states they were never involved in a major rebellion or revolt against their Islamic rule with the intention of establishing their own nation-state, or to claim discrete national rights or special privileges, or to seek higher status in the Caliph Dewan (Council), unlike the Persians, Turks, Charkas and Mamaleek. Although the Kurds were ethnically and culturally different from their rulers, they were first class citizens and a part of the nation of Islam (Ummat El Islam). As long as their rulers were Muslims and represented themselves as Caliph or Emir Al Mo’ameneen (The Prince of the Faithful), their unequivocal submission was to them regardless to their ethnic or race or language. Therefore, the loyalty of Kurds was not to a Kurdish nation, but to the tribe and the religious order, eventually to Ummat El Islam. This is a very simple historical prove that the term of “Christian Kurds” which is recently promoted by the Kurdish politicians and nationalists to contains Assyrian Christians is totally nonsense.

Second – Kurdish Social Structure

The mountainous wilderness characteristic of Kurdish lands, insular and secluded by nature, added to the complexity of communication within disparate “Kurdistan” segments as well as with the outside world, have combined to create a very distinct social system with tribalism as the keystone of social infrastructure in Kurdish society. In the days of the Ottoman Empire, a few sizeable tribes were supported and developed to semi-independent fiefdoms. The feudal Sheikhs of these fiefdoms were beholden not to rise against the Sultan and most importantly not to modify their borders. The fear of emergence of a centralized Kurdish state was obviously uppermost in the mind of those who ruled the Kurds even then (O’Shea, P2). Consequently, the Kurds did not form a nation or a united group with a specific national entity. They were (as remains the case to this day) bereft of a real and comprehensive national language with historic sources, alphabet and grammar. On the contrary, they were a set of tribes with local dialogs lacking for national solidarity but with strong loyalty to their Sheik.

A recent session of the current Kurdish Parliament showing a sleeping tribesman and Mullah, a yawning intellectual and a woman in the background. Courtesy picture from Al Hayat, London-base Arabic Daily Newspaper (28 Sept 2005). Caption: by the author.

It can be argued that such a tribal system was a common social phenomenon among other neighboring groups and nations, the Assyrians for one. However, in the case of the Kurds, each of the basic social units (i.e., tribes) demonstrated a strong will to be self-dependent, even severely independent of any of the other tribes.. They did not have a national leader or symbol, comparable to the role played by the Patriarch in the case of the Assyrians. The loyalty and submission of members of each unit was to their Sheik; in turn, the Sheik’s loyalty was to the Sultan or Caliph. In contrast, the members of all Assyrian tribes were to their national and religious leader, the Patriarch, through the conduit of their Malik or Rayis. In other words, at an official level, there were many Kurdish Sheiks representing many tribes while there was only one Patriarch representing one Assyrian nation. This is the reason why central governments, in particular during Ottoman era, easily exploited Kurds, and incited tribes to turn on one another, using a “divide and rule” policy to suppression or foreclose rebellion by any tribe or Sheik. The Ottomans were always quick to characterize any incipient Kurdish rebellion as the attempt of one Sheik or tribe to control and conquer the other tribes, in effect sowing paranoia and enmity towards the insurgent Sheik. Ottoman rulers also cleverly exploited the excessive belief of Kurds in Islam and this was used as a tool in controlling and suppression them. A rebellious Sheik was typically pictured as an infidel who was resisting the religious and legitimate authority of Emir Al Mu’ameneen.

The view of a Sheik to the Kurds is also quite different. While the Kurds, just like the Arabs, consider the sheik the secular chieftain of a tribe, for the Kurds this Sheikh is also a religious or holy man who devotes his life in the service of Allah and Islam, and it is not material whether this individual’s genealogy has religious roots or whether he simply acquired his title by experience. This explains why many Kurdish Sheiks or Mullahs or “Sadah”, claim to be descendants of the Prophet Mohammad or of a well-known Orthodox Caliph or Imam, even when their ethnicity is palpably different. Even Kurdish national leaders are either sons or grandsons of an Islamic sect founder, e.g., Mullah Mustafa Al Barazani the late leader of the modern Kurdish national movement; or they are in some way related to a religious post as Holy Judge (Qazi [Qadhi] in Arabic), as was the case with Mohammad, the founder of the Kurdish Mahabad Republic in Iranian Azerbaijan in 1947, who was Qazi of Mahabad and afterward he became President of the Republic It is somewhat ironic that both a revolutionary leader and the founder of a republic bore religious titles, one a Mullah, the other a Qazi.

It is to be noted that even during the rule of the Ottomans, some Kurdish entities were established and were politically independent from the central government; however, in every case they collapsed in short order. The reasons were that either the founder Sheik had expired or he was defeated by coalition forces including Kurdish tribes along with the central government. In nearly all of these cases, the collapse was due to the interplay of the above two reasons. One Sheik’s lunge toward independence was seen as a threat by fellow Sheiks; it was viewed by the other sheiks as a threat to their own tribal power; and it was also propagated by the central government as resistance to Sharia and the legitimate authority of the Sultan – the Muslim Caliph.

The history of these short-lived entities teaches how the Ottomans were able to end them by the use of the religious card; and the most powerful of these cards was the issuance of a Fatwa by a Mullah or Sheik or Sayid. For instance, in the 19th century Prince Mohammad Al Kurdi, the governor of Souran Fiefdom, led a very serious revolution against Ottoman authority, and all efforts to defeat this governor were unsuccessful. In an ultimate effort, the Ottomans appealed for help from Mullah Mohammad (by the way Mohammad is the most common name among Kurds), an eminent religious figure. Mullah Mohammad accordingly circulated a Fatwa declaring that “any one who fights against or resists the Caliph’s army is infidel and his wife is divorced”. (Zuber Sultan, P 29). Soon after, the mutinous Kurdish forces surrendered to the Ottomans and their Sheikh was left to his unfortunate fate. This is the reason why many contend that a conflict of Kurds on Kurds is more bloody than any conflict between the Kurds and their persecutors.

In Kurdish lore, there are many stories about discord, disunity and sedition. One interesting tale entails a meeting of the Prophet Mohammad with a Kurdish prince, and his curse of the Kurds. The story is included by the famous 16th century Kurdish historian Sharaf Al Din Khan Al Badlisi in his book titled “Sharafnameh” (1596), which is considered the first book on Kurdish history. According to this account, Aghoor Khan, the king of Turkistan sent a delegation to Prophet Mohammad headed by Bhaghdor, a Kurdish prince who was a man of repugnant appearance, bulky body, and rude, harsh and unruly character. The moment the Prophet met him, he asked with visible disgust and revulsion about his descent. On being told that the man was from a Kurdish sect, the Prophet prayed to God with the following entreaty: “Oh Mighty God, do not accord this sect any harmony or unity”. (Zuber Sultan, P 28). While the authenticity of this anecdote is easily discounted since Islam had not reached Turkistan during the life of the Prophet, nevertheless one is reminded by it of the fratricidal discord among Kurds and their inclination to be seditious mentioned by a famous Kurdish writer during the Middle Ages, these traits appear well-established in centuries past.. One should note also that there is a famous Kurdish adage, “Karkasha Basha”, which translates to “Anarchy is Fine”. No doubt this postulate accurately epitomizes the character of the Kurds.

The late 18th and early 19th century saw the dawn of nationalistic stirrings from Europe to the Middle East, including the idea of self-determination and other principles for forming nation-states. This, along with other political developments, would play a significant role in the crumbling of the Ottoman Empire. It was thus a fortuitous time for the Kurds to unshackle themselves from Ottoman tyranny and to establish their own nation-state, yet they did not do so. One could point to many attributes which made such a goal realistic --from their mountain combat experience and to their demographic density in given areas, to say nothing of the attitude of the international community, which sought to divide the Ottoman Empire and to form modern nation-states.. However, the Pan-Islamic message which was used by Ottomans was more powerful and important to Kurds that any other thing.

The two factors we have discussed here once again determined Kurdish fate during an era best known for nationalism. Nationalism may have awakened many of the subordinated people, but the Kurds generally continued to remain faithful to their tyrannical masters; there appeared to be no motivation for unity and formation of a nation-state. On the contrary, while the Ottomans described the new idea of nationalism as a Christian ploy to destroy the Islamic state, more than ever Kurds became supportive of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, taking up arms to defend it on a significant scale, which only contributed to the human misery engendered by World War I.

In 1885, the Ottoman authority organized a military force drawn from Kurdish tribes, and it was known as the “Hamidian Cavalry Forces” According to Abdul Hamid, the tyrant Ottoman Sultan. This unit would be a powerful instrument which would not only oppress Christian communities (such as Assyrians and Armenians), but it would also stamp out the revolt of any Kurdish tribes, while firming up Ottoman control in the “Kurdistan” mountains.

In 1908, the Turkish nationalists (the Young Turks Party) seized power. Sultan Abdul Hamid was removed and a modern constitution was adopted, but there was no significant change in the status of the Kurds. The name of the “Hamidian Cavalry Forces” was changed to “Striking Forces”, but in all other respects this unit continued in the service of its new masters, in the persecution and conquest of non-Turk nations, and in the stamping out of any uppity Kurdish tribe. This fighting force was invaluable to the Turkish nationalist dream of establishing the “Toranni Empire”. Although these forces were disbanded a year after the onset of World War I, the Kurds continued to serve their persecutors by joining the regular Turkish army on a large scale. They also served the Turks by urging Kurdish tribes to support the Turks in their war, characterizing the conflict as a “Jihad” against the infidel superpowers and their “Christian agents” and they were the Turkish Hand in the well-known Armenian and Assyrian massacres. Once again, the Kurds forfeited a golden opportunity to establish their own nation-state; they gained nothing when they served as mere fodder for the Turks’ war.

When the Ottoman Empire was defeated, the modern Turkish state was established and nationalist consciousness among a group of Kurdish intellectuals emerged. Ironically, however, the Kurds continued offering their “generous” military services and sacrificing for the Turks. The well-known Kurdish historian Mohammad Amen Zaki, who was Minister of Finance in Iraq during the Assyrian massacre of Simel in August 1933, stated in his encyclopedic book, The History of Kurds and Kurdistan (printed in Cairo 1936) that: “As long as the name Ottoman was seen as a comprehensive designation for all populations and races of the Empire, this benumbed our brain. But when this term vanished and it was replaced by Turk or Torrani, I started getting a strong feeling, as other members of non-Turk nations of the Ottoman Empire, of my own nationality distinct from the Turks’, and this eventually resulted in building up an extreme nationalist consciousness toward my nationality” (quoted from Introduction of the book). Such feeling was spreading among many Kurdish intellectuals and tribal Sheikhs who started clamoring for self-determination. To pursue this quest for an independent Kurdish state, the Kurds sent delegations to the Versailles Congress (1919-1920).

However, even as such dramatic changes were taking place among a segment of the Kurdish intelligentsia, the Kurds in general continued their old practice of supporting the Turks, participating actively in strengthening the new nationalist Turkish movement, and establishing the new State of Turkey. They played a major role in stamping out Assyrian and Armenian national movements, and they contributed significantly to enforcement of borders and to the stability of the new Republic of Turkey, now under the leadership of the Turkish nationalist Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk had succeeded in attenuating the humiliating Treaty of Sèvres (1920) which would be superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). This latter extirpated the proposed Armenian and Kurdish states and rehabilitated the reputation of Turkey which had been at an all-time low in the aftermath of WWI. For all their valuable services to the Turks, what the Kurds received as their reward was more persecution and a continued deprivation of their rights. They were not only denied any national claim, but officially and practically they were forbidden from the use of their languages. Moreover, they were not recognized as Kurds but as “Mountain Turks”. Words such as Kurd and Kurdistan disappeared from the official vocabulary.

In 1925, Ataturk launched his campaign for modernization. This included the abolition of the “Islamic Caliphate” system, using Latin alphabet instead of Arabic (the language of the Koran), replacing Ottoman laws and customs with ones adopting along the European models, and also declaring separation of religion from the state. In short, he declared that Turkey would henceforth be a secular state. The Kurdish rejection was very strong against Ataturk’s modernization scheme, and this opposition was not based on nationalism, but on religion. The most powerful figure, Sheikh Sa’aed Berani, Chieftain of the Nakshabandiya School, led a massive revolt claiming that the modernization procedures were in severe contradiction with the basic principles of Islam. The Sheikh portrayed his movement as an Islamic revolution against infidels. He called for restoration of the Caliphate System and application of Sharia’a laws. While Sheikh Sa’aed’s revolution was considered a very serious threat to the new Turkish state, the movement was eventually crushed by the Ataturk forces supported by many of the Kurdish tribes.

Over a period of years following WWI, the political borders of Iran and Turkey were reshaped and confirmed, bilateral and international treaties were signed, and new states (including Iraq) were formed. As for the Kurds, they were fragmented among the various new countries, in the same fashion as the Assyrians and Armenians.. The above-mentioned two factors, religion and tribal social structure, interacted with the new territorial factor. Thereafter, the Kurdish national movement evolved in accordance with the circumstances of each country. In Iran and Turkey, Kurdish nationalism was substantially extinguished, while in Iraq it continued with its traditional characteristics, i.e., religious in its nature and tribal in its leadership.

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From the time the British artificially created Iraq in 1920 out of the former Ottoman Wilayets of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra, the Kurds have been in an almost constant state of revolt (Michael Gunter, The Kurds of Iraq – Tragedy and Hope, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1992, P1). Although Gunter gives some reasons (such as the illegitimacy of Iraq as a state) for the continued revolt, religion and the nature of Kurdish tribalism should not be neglected. For the first time in their history, Kurds were subjected to a non-Muslim nation, the British. After forming Iraqi governments and installing Faisel Hussain on the Iraqi throne, for the fist time after many centuries, the Kurds were subjected to a non-Aryan ruler and they became citizens of an Arab state. Consequently, in Iraq the Kurdish movement advanced differently and more actively than in the surrounding states.

In 1922, the most powerful Sheik Mahmoud Zebari, known as Al Hafeed, the Chieftain of the biggest tribe “Zibar” and an eminent Sheik of the Naqshabandi Sufi sect, succeeded in his revolt against the British and established a Kurdish state in Suleimania, which lasted no more than seven months. In 1925, the league of Nation sent a delegation to the area to investigate the question of Wilayat Mosul in view of the claims made by Iraq and Turkey. Fatah Bey, the brother-in-law of Sheikh Mahmoud Zebari, held Iraqi nationality, but he was a member of the Turkish delegation. He, as well as the majority of Kurds, supported the Turkish claim to Mosul. In other words, nothing had changed for the Kurds, and they continued to support the tyrannical nation which had oppressed it, notwithstanding dramatic political changes in the region.

By early 1940s, the severe tribal conflict between the Zibar and Barzan tribes had surfaced at the political level. Although there was affinity among the leaders of both tribes, it was Barzan who would prevail. His victory was due to his association with the powerful Naqshabandi Sufi sect, who successfully continued leading the modern Kurdish national movement. The bloody conflict of the mid-1990s between Barzani (KDP) and Talabani (KPU) cannot be separated from the chronic tribal conflict of two regions; Surani and Bahdinani.

Clearly, both the degree of religiosity and the idea of tribalism have gradually diminished in the make-up of today’s Kurdish national movement. At the same time, the principle of territoriality has risen to the fore as a main factory in determining a Kurdish state. In other words, to the extent there is political stability within each of the countries containing parts of “Kurdistan” (Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria), the Kurdish dream of a nation-state ebbs in importance. Because of the severe sensitivity for national security by these various states, the aspiration of Kurds for a “Great Kurdistan” has been all but abandoned. On the other hand, the continued political instability of Iraq in contrast to Iraq’s neighbors has played a major role in invigorating the Kurdish national movement toward achieving the milestone of a Kurdish state. The extraordinary instability of current Iraq has created a golden and historical opportunity for Kurds to achieve their national dream. In today’s Iraq, Kurds appear willing to shed much of their Islamism and of their tribalism and, for the first time in history, they can be seen to march together as one, as a real nation.

One might ask whether the Kurds have made this dramatic shift because they have learned from past experiences and because they intend to remain steadfast in achieving the long-waited dream of a Kurdish state? Or is this just another bubble of hot air blown by the key players of the international and regional powers currently surrounding Iraq? What about the extreme opposition of Turkey and Iran to the creation of a Kurdish state along their borders? Is the opposition of these two countries softened in a way by the fact that the Islamic regime in Iran, and the Islamic Party in Turkey, will be sympathetic toward a tiny landlocked Islamic state? Are the Kurds really so strong with their Peshmerga? Or is this more a case of the Arabs being weak and divided, having no militia and left without any national army? Are Kurds really secularist and supportive of an Iraqi secular state, or they are just a tool for the USA in its war against Islamic terrorists, a pawn of political pressure and balancing to face Shia’a in their own effort to install a theocratic Iraqi state allied to Iran? Iraq is currently at such an imprecise stage that it is practically impossible to predict its future or to answer any of the above questions. No doubt things will become clearer with passage of time. One thing is clear, which is that the Kurds are the primary beneficiary of instability in the current Iraq. This has led me to more seriously consider their popular saying ”Karkash Basha”. Of course, the question remains how long this Karkash will stay Basha? The answer depends closely on the future of stability in Iraq.

H. E. Mor Julius Yeshu Çiçek Passed Away in Germany

Mor Julius Yeshu Çiçek

(ZNDA: Germany) His Eminence Mor Julius Yeshu Çiçek, the Metropolitan of the Central Europe and the Benelux Countries of the Syrian Orthodox Church, passed on to eternity on 29 October on his way to Switzerland from Holland in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mor Çiçek was 63. He was expected at the remembrance service for Metropolitan Mor Philoxenos Hanna Dolabani in Switzerland. His sudden death sent shockwaves through all Assyrian communities in Europe and the dioceses of the Syrian Orthodox Church around the world.

Because of his passion for expanding the realms of his Church in Europe by building many new parishes and monasteries, and the volumes of books on the Syrian Orthodox Church liturgy that H. E. Mor Çiçek had either authored or republished and distributed throughout the world, he was affectionately known as the "Mor Jacob Burd‘ono of the 20th century."

Mor Çiçek was born in 1942 in Upper Kafro in the Tur Abdin region (southeast Turkey) to Qashisho Barsawmo and Bath-Qyomo Sayde. At the age of nine H.E. went to the seminary of Deyr-ul-Za'faran, where he studied Syriac, Turkish, Arabic and Theology. He was ordained a deacon in 1958, and became a secretary to the late Metropolitan Mor Philoxenos Hanna Dolabani. Later he joined the Monastery of Mor Cyriacus in the region Bsheriye (Bitlis) to administer pastoral service and engaged in a mission to seek Syriac and Armenian Christians, who survived the genocide of 1915 in the hands of the Turks.

In 1960 he was made a novice monk in the monastery of Mor Gabriel and embraced an ascetic life. He taught in the theological seminary at Mor Gabriel and copied many books with his astonishingly beautiful handwriting.

When Fr. Shabo Guenes, the abbot of the monastery retired in 1962, Fr. Yeshue Çiçek was chosen as the abbot of the monastery. In 1969, Mor Iwannis Ephrem Bilgic, the Bishop of Tur-Abdin, ordained him a priest. Between 1973 and 1974, Yeshu Çiçek lived in Damascus, in the Seminary of Mor Ephrem at Atshane in Lebanon and in the Holy land. Then he came to Germany, where learned the German language and ministered to the fellowship in the diaspora. At the request of the Metropolitan of America, Mor Athanasius Yeshue Samuel, Dayroyo (Monk) Yeshu Çiçek was in the United States from 1975 until 1977, learning English and ministering to the Syriac Orthodox faithful here. In 1977, he returned to Europe and settled in Holland in Hengelo.

In the same year the Holy Synod selected him as the Patriarchal Vicar for the new diocese of Central Europe. He constructed a hall for a new Syriac Orthodox church of St. John the Evangelist, which was consecrated by the late Patriarch Mor Ignatius Yaqub III. In 1978, Dayroyo Yeshu began publishing Qolo Suryoyo (The Syriac Voice), the news magazine of the Syriac Orthodox diocese of Central Europe.

In 1979, the Patriarch Yaqub III consecrated Dayroyo Yeshu Çiçek in Hengelo as the Archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox Diocese of Central Europe, as Mor Yulius. In 1984, Mor Yulius acquired the Monastery or Dayro d'Mor Ephrem at Losser in Holland, which became the seat of the archbishop. Under the able guidance of His Eminence, the Central Europe diocese has been flourishing ever since.

With the assistance of Professor Sebastian Brock at Oxford University, His Eminence Mor Çiçek helped produce a three volume book and video on the history of the Aramaic liturgy and Syrian Orthodox Church history, titled "The Hidden Pearl".

The last years of His Eminence's life were overshadowed by controversial projects in which large sums of money were mishandled and lost to unknown hands. where a lot of money was involved and lost to unknown hands. The money scandal which was attributed mainly to Bishop Augin (Eugene) Kaplan of the Diocese of Eastern USA eventually dragged Mor Çiçek into near complete bankruptcy. The monastery and land properties including a graveyard in Holland are still under the threat of liquidation by the banks in Europe.

Mor Çiçek was also a controversial figure in the politics of the Assyrian nation. He began his spiritual life as a proud Assyrian monk, wrote poems on his Assyrian heritage and republished the first book written by Professor Ibrahim Gabriel Sowmy in Brazil titled "The Assyrian Culture" (Mardutho d Suryoye). He later became a strong anti-Assyrian activist, denouncing the "Assyrian" identity of the Syrian Orthodox Church. However lately, he attended the Assyrian Genocide demonstrations in Europe (click here) and invited Assyrian dignitaries to his monastery

The funeral of H.E. Mor Çiçek will take place on 5 November at 12 p.m. in the cloister of Mor Ephrem of the Syrians in Glane/Losser (Holland). The service will be conducted by His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka Iwas and in the presence of many Assyrian bishops, dignitaries, and the public.

Zinda Magazine offers its condolences to all Assyrians and in particular the members of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The biographical information noted above was provided courtesy of the Syrian Orthodox Resources, Mr. Gabriel Rabo of the Suryoyo Online & Dr. Zech C. Scheariah in Switzerland.

New spiritual Leader Named for India’s Malankara Church

Courtesy of The New India Express, the Associated Press
31 October 2005
The Hindu
1 November 2005

Baselios Mar Thoma Didimus I, the new Catholicus of the East and Malankara

(ZNDA: Kottayam) Ending days of speculation, Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II, supremo of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Malankara Metropolitan, decided to step down from the top ecclesiastical post last Sunday.

The Catholicos, who is in his nineties and the world’s oldest serving bishop in any of the Christian denominations decided to relinquish the post at the end of long deliberations during the past few days.

He sent his resignation letter in the afternoon, after celebrating a Holy Mass in the Devalokam Aramana chapel here, to Rev Thomas Mar Athanasios, secretary of the Bishop’s synod.

An urgent meeting of the church synod was convened on Sunday night at Parumala, Mavelikkara.

Almost all bishops in the Church were camping there to take part in the auspicious annual feast of St Gregorios.

The meeting accepted the resignation and discussed arrangements to facilitate a smooth succession by elevating Catholiocs-designate Thomas Mar Thimotheos, 85, as the new supremo.

Tour Itinerary

Friday, November 4 - 4:00 p.m.
Televised Lecture, Book Reading, and Q&A Session
Assyrian American Civic Club of Turlock
airing on Modesto Channel 26

Saturday, November 5 - 1:00 pm & 7:00 p.m.
Televised Lecture, Book Reading, and Q&A Session
airing on Turlock/Ceres Channel 15

Monday, November 7 - 10:30-11:30 a.m. (Calif time)
"Assyrian International TV Program"
Live Satellite Television Interview by Nardine Mansour
airing on Apadana Satellite

Friday, November 11 - 7:00 p.m.
Live Radio Interview: Assyrian Night Star Radio
8:00 PM / 1590 AM

Friday, November 11 - 9:00 p.m.
Book Signing
Assyrian American Association of Chicago, Inc.
1618 West Devon Ave., Chicago, IL 60626

Saturday, November 12 - 1:00 p.m.
Book Signing
Mesopotamian Museum
6301-07 Pulski Rd. Chicago, IL 60646

Sunday, November 13 - 11:00 a.m.
Book Signing - After Holy Mass
Mar Givargis Church
7201 No. Ashland Ave., Chicago, IL 60626

Sunday, November 13 - 5:00 p.m.
Assyrian National Council of Illinois
2450 West Peterson Ave., Chicago, IL 60659
(presented by Assyrian Academic Society and
Assyrian American Civic Club of Chicago)

For More Information Click Here

Charismatic Church Head

Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Mathews II, who was elected to the top post by the Malankara Association meeting held in 1991, is a charismatic personality having wide acceptance in the society.

He is also credited with steering the 20 lakh-members’ strong Orthodox church when the church feud was at its height. His nearly one-and-a-half decade tenure as Catholicos also witnessed the church gaining immense political leverage.

The Enthronement of the New Leader

On Monday a new spiritual leader of India’s main orthodox church was named. Thomas Mar Themothios, 85, was consecrated as Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, said the church’s spokesman Jose Parakadavil. Thomas Mar Themothios was enthroned as the seventh Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Church at a solemn ceremony held at the St. Peter's and St. Paul's Church at Parumala. On taking up the position, he chose the name of Baselios Mar Thoma Didimus I.

The enthronement service was led by the Church Synod comprising all the Metropolitans amidst the holy Eucharist celebrated by Thomas Mar Makarios. Senior Metropolitan Geevarghese Mar Osthatheos was the chief celebrant of the enthronement service.

Thomas Mar Athanaseus, Geevarghese Mar Ivaneos, Kuriakose Mar Cleemis, Mathews Mar Epiphaneus, Peelipose Mar Eusebeus, Paulose Mar Pachomeos, Paulose Mar Militheos, Mathews Mar Savarios, Zacharia Mar Theophelus, Youhanon Mar Chrisostomos, Augen Mar Dioneseus, Gabriel Mar Gregorios, Gevarghese Mar Koorilos and Youhanon Mar Milithos were the co-celebrants.

Hundreds of faithful thronged Parumala on the banks of river Pampa to witness the occasion.

The holy Eucharist began at 7 a.m. and the enthronement service around 9 a.m. The new Catholicos, seated in a chair, was lifted thrice by the Metropolitans amidst loud chants of `Oxion', a Greek word that meaning `that he is worthy'. Then, the new Catholicos read out the Holy Bible.

Outgoing Catholicos Moran Mor Baselius Mar Thoma Mathews-II blessed his successor and handed over the Pastoral Staff to him, later, marking the culmination of the main part of the enthronement ceremony.

It is for the first time in the history of the Malankara Orthodox Church an outgoing Catholicos himself attending the enthronement of his successor. The newly enthroned Catholicose blessed the gathering and he was felicitated at a meeting held at the church hall later.

The new Catholicos made his reply speech on the occasion.

The Malankara Church

The Malankara community trace their origins to families evangelized by St. Thomas (Mar Thoma) nearly 2,000 years ago, “An era has ended as Father Mathews was a very popular Catholicos,” Parakadavil told The Associated Press by phone from church headquarters in the city of Kottayam, about 400 miles southwest of Bangalore.

The Malankara church has 2.5 million members, most of them in the southern state of Kerala, on whose shores St. Thomas arrived around A.D. 50, according to Christian tradition. The Malankara church is a successor of India’s oldest church, the St. Thomas Christians. While many factions broke away to embrace Catholicism or Protestantism during Portuguese and British colonial rules, Malankara remained independent. The Church also has dioceses in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Special thanks to Mr. Thomas Paul in India for the coverage of this news for Zinda Magazine.

AUA Executive Board Meets in Chicago

(ZNDA: Chicago) The Executive Board of the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) met in Chicago, USA on October 29-30, 2005. It discussed the recent activities of the AUA and reviewed the reports of the Americas, Asian, Australian, and European chapters.

The Board also discussed the Assyrian situation in a post-referendum Iraq and upcoming elections.

Furthermore, the AUA studied the importance of its eventual presence in Iraq and neighbouring countries to promote the Assyrian cause and heighten its relation with the governmental agencies and our political and national organisations.

The AUA release was provided by Ms. Mary Younan, the Executive Secretary of the Assyrian Universal Alliance.

Assyrians Killed & Wounded at Fairfield's Babylon Cafe

Courtesy of the Fairfield Digital
2 November 2005
By Les Kennedy

The victim, Raymond Khananyah

(ZNDA: Fairfield) For more than a decade many of the men of Fairfield, Australia's Assyrian community have gathered in the Babylon Cafe to play backgammon, cards, talk business or gossip over sweet tea and coffee, a meal or smoke tobacco in hookahs.

The kabob cafe, inside the tiny Civic Arcade off busy Ware Street, had been a place to relax. But over the past year the atmosphere has been peppered by arguments and scuffles between individuals or groups of men - sometimes brandishing guns - fearful local businessmen, who asked not to be named, told the Herald yesterday.

On Monday night it culminated in the killing of Raymond Khananyah, 29, whom police believe was a bystander, and the wounding of three other men.

"We ran away from Iraq so he wouldn't get killed in the war … He didn't deserve to die that young," his sister, Lydia Boza.

Ramon's father Simon believes his only son was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He hadn't been to that cafe in months. He just decided to go out on Monday night and now he is dead," Mr Khananyah told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

"We can't believe this has happened. He was a good boy. He had no enemies. I took him from Iraq so he wouldn't get hurt but he was hurt here in Australia and we have lost him."

Two of the wounded men, both 48, whose names were not made public, were in the cafe when they were critically wounded. One was the brother of the restaurant owner. A fourth man, aged 19, escaped with a bullet graze to the arm.

The cafe owner, known only as Amir, said yesterday the man who pulled a gun on Monday afternoon had threatened to return.

"He said 'I'll will see you tonight'," Amir said.

Amir said he reported the matter to police and was planning to close the shop early but was assured a police car would cruise the area that night, so he decided to stay open.

Amir said the customer who was involved in the scuffle on Monday afternoon was not present at the cafe that night.

"They just started shooting. They were shooting everywhere at all these innocent people sitting there," he said.

Police are looking into Ramon's background for clues to the murder but have yet to determine a motive for the shooting or the identity of the intended victim.

Amir's 48-year-old brother was shot in the chest as he sat playing cards inside the cafe.

His 48-year-old friend was also shot and both men remained in a critical condition in Liverpool Hospital last night.

A 19-year-old who was shot in the arm has been released from hospital and was questioned by police yesterday.

At 9.40 pm three gunmen in balaclavas and armed with semi-automatic pistols alighted from a black Honda Civic in Ware Street and fired up to 17 shots into the cafe, sending 20 men diving to the floor. Mr Khananyah, who worked at his mother's nearby tobacconist shop, was standing outside when he was fatally wounded.

The attack has exposed a string of gun-play incidents in the arcade since Saturday, some of which were not reported to police - including one, according to a businessman who did not want to be named, at 10 am last Saturday near the arcade entrance.

A forensic officer investigates after the shooting at the Babylon Cafe in Fairfield. Photo: Nick Moir

Superintendent Mark Henney, the head of Task Force Gain, the police Middle Eastern crime squad, said that at 2.30 pm last Saturday a man had jumped out of a white Suzuki Vitara and fired three shots from a revolver that struck the wall of the cafe. Police learnt of the incident only when called to the restaurant on Monday just after midday, when another man had entered the cafe with a pistol and confronted three seated men.

"When police arrived at the midday incident the gunman and the other men had left," said Superintendent Henney, who has formed Strike Force Mallison to investigate all the incidents leading to the fatal shooting.

"That entire area of Fairfield has a fairly large Assyrian community. They run a number of businesses and, while the Assyrian community have been living in Australia for many years and have been conducting their businesses within those areas in a peaceful manner, we have had incidents where a few within that community have turned to violence in order to underpin their criminal activities," Superintendent Henney said. "We will be, of course, looking at those angles as to whether there is some other criminal activity related to this."

A shopkeeper, who asked not to be named, said Mr. Khananyah was a friendly, peaceful man who had never hurt anyone and was simply walking past when the gunmen opened fire.

Ramsey Hanani, who runs a mobile phone store, said he knew Mr Khananyah and his parents, who arrived in Australia 15 years ago.

"It is very sad," he said. "He was a nice person."

Police are investigating the possibility the shooting is related to drug dealing.

Assyrian Coalition in Stanislaus to Request Election Polls

(ZNDA: Modesto) A "Coalition" of the Assyrian organizations and individuals has been formed in California's Central Valley that includes Modesto and Turlock "to advocate and promote unity" and will encourage participation during the December 15th Iraqi parliamentary elections under a single platform.

The body will demand from the authorities in Iraq to allow an election (polling) center in Turlock or Modesto to facilitate and encourage all Iraqis to come and participate in the upcoming elections.

This group is organizing a rally at the Assyrian American Civic Club of Turlock on Sunday, 6 November at 6:00 P.M. The representatives of this coalition at press time include the following:

Raymond George, PhD, Independent
Hawel Hawel, Assyrian American Association of Modesto
Fred Isaac, Assyrian Aid Society of America, Central Valley Chapter
William Julian, Assyrian American Civic Club of Turlock
Johny Shamesaldin, Assyrian Democratic Movement, Central Valley Chapter
Irene Warda, Assyrian Democratic Organization, California Chapter
Shimshon Warda, Bet-Nahrain National Qwest

Joseph Kassab Featured in 2005 America's Table

Joseph Kassab is profiled in this year's America's Table

(ZNDA: Detroit) America's Table is the American Jewish Committee's "Thanksgiving Booklet" celebrates the diversity of American society. The booklet succinctly sets forth the American story and helps all, regardless of ethnicity or faith, to express gratitude for being part of the American journey. To help tell the story, it profiles nine men and women whose backgrounds, struggles and triumphs link them as Americans.

America’s Table® was created five years ago after the American Jewish Committee recognized a need for spirituality and togetherness following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

This year, Mr. Joseph Kassab, a Chaldean from Michigan and the president of the Chaldean National Congress is among the 9 individuals profiled.

Joseph Kassab fled Iraq in his early 20s. Born in the remote northern Nineveh province, where
the Chaldeans, his people, have lived since antiquity, he moved with his family to Baghdad at age 5.
They expected to find more opportunity in the city, but encountered discrimination because of their Christian minority status, refusal to join the Ba’ath Party, and awkwardness communicating in Arabic, since Aramaic was their native language.

To view a copy of this year's America's Table click the image above (in pdf).

Despite these difficulties, Kassab studied to become a microbiologist. He obtained a forged passport and left for Italy, where he gained approval to enter the United States, and settled in Detroit. Kassab then embarked on dual career paths—as a research scientist and as a human rights advocate, organizing delegations to counsel Iraqi refugees waiting, often for many years, in “transit countries” for admittance to the United States, Canada, or Australia.

After Saddam Hussein’s regime fell, Kassab returned to his homeland for the first time, to present officials with a program for educating the Iraqi people about democracy. Today, he is president of the Chaldean National Congress in Michigan, advocating for Iraq’s indigenous Christians.

The New York Times Knowledge Network Program will distribute 50,000 copies of America’s Table® to schoolchildren in New York City, Long Island and Westchester. Teachers participating in the program are receiving lesson plans designed by the Knowledge Network Program in consultation with the AJC that will deepen appreciation for diversity.

America’s Table® is published by the American Jewish Committee in cooperation with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Council of La Raza, the National Urban League, the National Conference for Community and Justice, the Cuban American National Council, the Islamic Supreme Council of America, the Japanese American Citizens League, the New America Alliance, the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Korean-American Jewish-American Council.