“Tomorrow’s Syria must integrate its neglected Christian historical heritage”

Now that Syria has freed itself from the tyrannical Assad regime and the Islamist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTC) has succeeded it, everyone is expectant. Ravaed by chaos and disorder, crumbled into multiple local powers, with millions of Syrians scattered abroad and others inappropriate, Syria of tomorrow arouses many questions, to the point that one wonders what can make his unity and restore his sovereignty.

First of all, what is Syria? Is it really a homogeneous whole? Arab-Muslim country, as we tend to present, or very short Syrian? Porte de l’Orient, presenting a node of roads, its geographic configuration is decisive, because it allows us to understand its history and the attraction that this country has always exerted on the conquerors. Place of meeting, passage and confrontations, Syria was originally inhabited by the Canaanites and the Aramaic, who strongly marked it. Aramaic kingdoms have spread in this country. On this subject, just read the Bible.

But since Antiquity, Syria has never known peace and stability. Many conquerors have succeeded, leaving stigma each time. It is a society where a diversity of ethnic, religious and confessional communities has always coexisted, not safe from conflicts.

Let us recall that it is the major cradle of Christianity, before Rome, of the first apostolic churches (Syriac, Nestorian, Melkite, Maronite, Byzantine …), a primordial center of Greco-Roman history, of Arameo-Syriac culture, and later in the Arab-Muslim world. This resulted in its Islam which fundamentally refers to the Omeyyade period (650-750). Although short -lived, this episode marked him a lot, giving it a clearly Arab character, as opposed to the Abbassid period in Baghdad. So many founding elements of its historic fabric.

A story neglected by the Islamists

But this story, so rich, was, has long been neglected by Arab nationalism and Islamist currents. However, his mind is reflected through its literature, enhanced by archaeologists and historians in particular French. During the Greco-Roman conquest, Syria was capable of great things, giving talented world renowned personalities, like Jamblique d’Emèse-Homs, who taught philosophy at the École d’Apais-AFamia. Syria then acquired an international reputation. The Syrian elites were attracted to Greek and its culture. The Greek now became an intellectual idiom in the East, cohabitant with the Aramaic, even the influencing, which nevertheless survived and gave a multiple and rich literature, of which the hearth was Édesse-Urfa.

There are also pagan and Christian masters who rubbed shoulders. Cosmopolitan city, Antioch Donna Lebanios who had as a pupil the Christian Jean Chrysostome. Syria also gave emperors in Rome and popes. The country sent several bishops to the Council of Nicea (325) of which this year is celebrated this year on the 1,700th anniversary. Syria is also at the heart of the discussions that have led to Christological controversies and “heresies”.

A confused mixture between Syrian and Arabic

However, by their systematic will of Arabization, Syrian governments have often been unable to grasp the identity of Syria and to have a vision of the country in its sustainability. However, having in the past, passionately mixed passionately and confusedly Syrian and Arab, without rigorous definition and without clarifying the link with political Islam, has led to mutilating its national and religious and blurred identity the feeling of belonging, This has generated many revolts and the exodus of populations, notably Christian. In the 20th century, its history was constantly tumultuous. At the beginning of this century, tensions were considerably aggravated and resentments fed with civil war (2011-2024).

Are we going to repeat the same mistakes today? As the country is on the eve of political transformations that everyone is expecting, it is important to meditate on the recent past. Visionary, the Patriarch Syriac Catholique, Mgr Ignace Ephrem II Rahmani, who came precisely in Paris, in 1919, in the aftermath of the First World War, exhibiting the claims of his compatriots, defended an authentic Syrian nationality, which differs, he repeated, of that of Arabia. Will this country be commensurate with a long-term vision and will we learn from these painful experiences? What are we going to do with this non-Arab and non-Muslim heritage? Will we continue to refer to Islam alone and the Arabic period alone?

A new phase of Syria begins. It would be regrettable for the Syrian leaders of tomorrow to miss such a rich heritage. Whatever the form that the Syrian state of tomorrow will take, the constitutional corpus should be modified which suffers from an excess of Arab nationalism and Islam, in order to incorporate Syrian civilization as a whole, adding the Syriac language, as a national language, in the same way as Arabic. This implies a revision of teaching and education programs, by inserting Eastern Christianity, in the same way as Islam. This is where the challenge resides.