Fleeing from a holy land

There are some books that stay with me and every so often I re-read them. Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus detective novels. (I have them all by the way.) Kenneth Graeme’s “Wind in the willows”. And William Dalrymple’s “From the holy mountain”

I first read “From the holy mountain” around 15 years ago. I bought it in one of the 3 for 2 offers bookshops have during the summer holidays encouraging people to buy books to take away with them. (I clearly though I would have plenty of time on my hands that particular holiday as I vaguely recall that I also bought Pat Barker’s “Birdsong”.)

“From the holy mountain” recounts William Dalrymple’s journey through the Middle East following the footsteps of a 6th century monk John Moschos who travelled through the Eastern Byzantium world, culminating at Constantinople, where Moschos wrote his book Pratum Spirituale or The Spiritual Meadow.

Dalrymple's journey in the footsteps of Moschos starts at Mount Athos, Greece, proceeds to Istanbul, and thence to Eastern Turkey. Here he crosses the border and enters Syria. The next stop is Lebanon which is just at the end of its civil war, after which he crosses into Israel, the West Bank and concludes his trip in Egypt at the monastery of Deir ul-Muharraq which had just been attacked by the Gemaat al-Islamiyya.

Along the way, Dalrymple encounters several communities where Christians and Muslims worship in the same places. And Dalrymple comments how in Syria (then being ruled by President Assad senior) the regime actively protected Christians (perhaps because the Christians were willing to support President Assad in return.) Dalrymple was aware that tensions were high in places. But nevertheless Christians and Muslims coexisted failry peaceably for the most part.

It was in Israel that Dalrymple felt that Christians were most under threat. I can’t put my hand on the book at present, (the joys of moving – though I know the book is in the house somewhere) but he mentioned how many Palestinian Christians were fleeing Israel as they felt they were being pushed out by the influx of Jewish settlers coming to Israel from elsewhere in the world – notably the USA. He commented (and this is from memory) that if the numbers continued to leave at the same rate, by the middle of 21st century, there would be virtually no Christians in Israel.

When I started the process of candidating for the ministry around 2003, we had to review a book and discuss the contents at interview. One of the suggested books was “From a holy mountain”. Even then, the Middle East was a different place from the when Dalrymple conducted his journey. The invasion of Iraq by Britain and the USA had seen to that.

10 years on things are different again. In Iraq ancient Christian communities such as those in Mosul are under threat.

Apparently they are being told by a hard line Muslim group called ISIS that they must either convert to Islam or pay a large fine or “face the sword.” ISIS are marking Christian houses with this symbol.

The Arabic equivalent of “N” and it stands for Nazrani i.e. Christian. Unlike the Passover in the time of Moses, when Jewish people marked their houses so that the Angel of Death would “pass over” this symbol could mean the Angel of Death pays a visit.

In The Independent newspaper today (28th July 2014) Robert Fisk has written an excellent article analysing the situation. The article notes how Muslims and Christians have coexisted throughout the Middle East for centuries, on the whole fairly peacefully. But, as I noted earlier, there is now a major change happening with the Islamic extremists in Iraq chiefly (but also in Syria) seeking to impose strict Islamic rule – a caliphate – across many of those countries. This will mean that Christians will be persecuted but also there is a threat to moderate Muslims too.

Fisk quotes the Lebanese Catholic Maronite Patriarch, Bechara Rai asking “What are the moderate Muslims saying? We do not hear the voices of those who denounce this” A very fair point.

Fisk notes that Koran demands respect for minorities.

Meanwhile, in a separate report, in the same newspaper on the same day, Muslim Palestinians, who have been seening their homes destroyed by the current Israeli action to combat Hammas rocket attacks, have taken refuge in the church of St Porphyros in Zaytun.

I find it very concerning that the media is so silent on the fate of Christians in Iraq. But equaly I find it very concerning how Israelis are attacking Muslim (and Christian) Palestinians. That said Hammas should know better than to poke a stick in to the cage of the Lion of Israel.

You have to wonder what on earth George W Bush and Tony Blair thought they were doing going into Iraq as these two Christian men should now be hanging their heads in shame at what is happening to Christian and Muslim minorities in Iraq and Syria. And whilst recognising that Israel should not be subject to terror attacks from Hammas,why does the USA (on the face of it, a far more Christian country say than the UK) support Israel in the killing of Christians and Muslims in Gaza?

The wonderful singer song writer Beth Nielsen Chapman wrote a song on her 2007 album Prism, called “My religion”. It contains these words:

My religion
I am a Hindu-Buddhist-Jew-Islamic-Christian
Combining one soul, one vision~
Living peacefully where music is the only divinity
And sharing your art, the sacred creed~
My confession of faith is to struggle, go out of my way~
And find love to the end of my days

She has a point. Trouble is I can’t imagine she is listened to very much on Caliphate FM.