From Raqqa to Mosul: Islamic "Capital" was 1st to be "Cleaned" of Christians & 1st Dhimma Agreement

Rorate-caeli ^ | August 23, 2014

[NYer]

Cross being removed from the Armenian Church in Raqqa, Syria, 2013

Source:  Caffè Storia, August 22, 2014

It was in March 2013, at the peak of the complex phase of the civil war in Syria, when the Jihadist militants of Jabat al-Nusra captured the city of Ar Raqqah (Raqqa or Rakka) from the government troops of President Bashar al-Asad.  In May of 2013, while the United States and Europe were still discussing a possible military intervention in Syria against al-Asad and at the United Nations they were trying to find, without success, tangible proof as to who had really used chemical weapons against the population, control of the city passed to the Jihadists of Isil.

From what has happened to Ar Raqqah in 2013, the Isil militants have put into play the same devastating script which in the last weeks the whole world has been horrified to see played out in the theater of Mosul.  The militants of ISIS have become the source of material destruction, violence, and summary executions of the injured among the religious minorities living in the city.  Among these are the Alawites, understood as collaborators of President Bassar al-Asad, who is himself an Alawite,  the Muslim Shiites and naturally the members of the local Christian community.

We have had news of a number of Catholic churches that were burned down, among which is one that bears the dedication to Our Lady of the Annunciation, a Greek Catholic church.  Another one is the Armenian Catholic church of the Holy Martyrs, its bell tower destroyed, its sanctuary devasted and made into a base for Isis.  As today in Mosul, the Christian population of Ar Raqqah, estimated before the conflict at about 10% of the total population, was forced to abandon the city.

Rich in an ancient historical and artistic patrimony that has never been fully appreciated, and situated in the north of Syria, on the left bank of the Euphrates, about 170 kilometers from Aleppo, Ar Raqqah was the capital of the western part of the Abbaside Caliphate between the end of the eighth century and the beginning of the ninth century. The origins of the city however are quite older.  Its founding can be traced to the Seleucid King Kallinikos (246-225 B.C.), from whom the city received its ancient name, Kallinikos, latinized to Callinicum.  After it was destroyed in 542 A.D. by a Sassanid invasion, Ar Raqqah was reconstructed by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527-565), who raised its position as an important center of monasticism of later antiquity. 

Dayra d’Mar Zakka, the monastery of St. Zachary, situated north of the ancient settlement (today Tall al-Bi’a), is the symbol of this religious and cultural vitality.  Founded presumably at the beginning of the sixth century (one of the decorative mosaics bears an inscription dated as 509),  the monastery remained a spiritual center of primary importance at least to the tenth century.  The area includes as well the Daira d-Estuna, or the Bizuna monastery, also called the Monastery of the Column.  This monastery was the see of the Syriac Patriarch of Antioch.  Until 639, when the Muslims took over the city, Ar Raqqah remained Christian, and also when, a few years later, the first mosque was raised, Christianity was still the prevailing religion in the city.

The history of Christianity in Ar Raqqah does not end in the succeeding centuries.  Even if it was gradually reduced to a religious minority, an active Christian community lived there until last year.  From 1962 the city was the archbishop’s see for the Maronite Catholic Church.  Named to the post on May 30 1962, Francis Mansour Zayek was the first bishop of Ar-Raqqah as well as the first Apostolic Exarch of the Maronite Catholic Church to operate outside of Lebanon.

From the 1950s, on the wave of the world wide boom in cotton manufacturing, the sudden economic growth and the growth of the city itself engulfed important archeological areas. Some of these are: the Qasar al-Banat, the “Castle of the women” or “of the girls”, a palace built in the twelfth century; the remains of the walls of the Abbaside period;  the historic center of the inhabited city and the ancient manufacturing zone (al-Mukhtalta).  The latter has particular historical relevance, if one considers that Ar Raqqah was for centuries a renowned handcraft and artistic center, specializing in the production of ceramics, known as “ceramics of Raqqa”, painted, according to their tradition, in black under a Turkish glazing.

Those empty vases, looked at in silence in many Western museums, provide, more than many words can, an insight to what Ar Raqqah has become today.

Note: The Dhimma Agreement between Christians that may have inadvertently remained in the province of Raqqa and ISIS was made public on February 26, 2014:

[Christians] will not build in their city or its environs a new monastery, church, or priest’s hermitage, or rebuild those that have been destroyed.

They will not display a cross or anything from their books in any of the Muslims’ streets or markets, and they will not use megaphones in the performance of their prayers, or in any of their rites.

They will not make Muslims listen to the recitation of their books or the ringing of their bells, which they will ring inside their churches.

They will not engage in any acts inimical to the Islamic State.

They will not prevent any Christian from converting to Islam iF he desires to do so.

Christians must pay the jizya for each male among them, amounting to four gold dinars for the wealthy, half that amount for the middle-class, and a quarter of that amount for the poor.

They will not engage in the trade of pigs or wine with Muslims or in their markets, and they will not drink wine publicly.

[NYer]

[Christians] will not build in their city or its environs a new monastery, church, or priest’s hermitage, or rebuild those that have been destroyed.

Ping!

[ebb tide]

May St. John the Baptist protect Islam...

Pope St John Paul II

[ronnie raygun]

Time for the crusades and the knights templar to make a comeback

[maine-iac7]

a year ago, Putin said it was the ‘rebels’ who were using the gas - and warned against who they were and what they were doing regarding the slaughtering of Christians.

He called on world leaders to come together to stop it.

Now that the slaughter and displacement has reached historic levels, neither our Pres_ent, politicians nor the media who takes their instructions from the white hut have yet to utter the word ‘Christian’ in relation to what’s going on in the mid-east.

And everything is being done to destroy Putin - who knows the truth and who was/is behind the ‘rebels’, where the got their weapons and support to move from a JV team to Varsity on steroids. (I would take the press releases from the Ukraine/Crimea with some skepticism - after all, it’s the same goal from some of the deep backers of ISIS/ISIL to take over those areas too...(Putin also defend Traditional Marriage, no ‘gay’ instructions in schools, no ‘GAY” parades in streets. This ESPECIALLY angers our Pres_ent and he’s doing all in his power to undermine it in Russia - and to undermine Putin)

Excerpt: “MOSCOW, August 1, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Vladimir Putin has urged the world’s political leaders to stop the violent persecutions against Christians that have erupted in many Middle Eastern countries.

“This pressing problem should be a subject of close attention for the entire international community,” Putin said. “It is especially important today to make efforts to prevent intercultural and interreligious conflicts, which are fraught with the most serious upheavals.”

- See more at: http://answersforthefaith.com/2013/08/08/putin-world-leaders-should-unite-to-end-christian-persecution/#sthash.jpvyVYnD.dpuf

I do not believe one word out of our Pres_ent’s lying mouth. He exudes evil, hatred of our country and protection of/aid to our enemies.

[NYer]

I add here (August 23) that Nostra aetate does not say that we respect the Moslem religion; but Moslems. (Ecclesia cum aestimatione quoque Muslimos respicit.) When S John Paul II kissed a Quran which had been given to him, he was, manifestly, showing respect and affection for the donatio and the donantes, not for the donum.

"They have uncrowned Him" (2) False Religions?

[maine-iac7]

Not ONE word from our Pres_ent re the slaughtering
of Christians - the word “Christian” does not pass his lips - nor the media, who take their orders from him.

Even the Saudi leaders are becoming increasingly un-enamored of him.

and the Saudi/Iraqi people.

Iraqis standing up for Christians...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymcy_kQNgaw

Here’s a Saudi newsman on the Christian butchering going on

http://www.westernjournalism.com/iraqi-tv-host-cries-air-isis-persecution-christians/#j8CivZ06Im015Ltg.99

and Islamic leaders condemning ISIS actions against Christians

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA7rtob-IN8

While our Pres_ent and MSM can’t utter the word “Christians”

[Travis McGee]

[ebb tide]

But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind,

Lumen Gentium

Do you worship along with the muslims their devil god?

[ebb tide]

I add here (August 23) that Nostra aetate does not say that we respect the Moslem religion;

I add here that Pope Francis says we, or at least he, does respect the Muslim religion.

Pope Francis sent a message to Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the great Imam of the Islamic University al-Azhar, the main cultural institution of Sunni Islam. The news was given in a statement by the same University with headquarters in Cairo, reporting that the Pope's message expresses esteem and respect "for Islam and Muslims" and the hope that one tries to make an effort in the "understanding among Christians and Muslims in the world, to build peace and justice".

http://www.news.va/en/news/africaegypt-pope-francis-letter-to-the-imam-of-al

Turning to mutual respect in inter-religious relations, especially between Christians and Muslims, we are called to respect the religion of the other, its teachings, its symbols, its values. Particular respect is due to religious leaders and to places of worship. Francis, Bishop of Rome.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/08/02/raise-the-young-to-respect-other-religions-pope-says-in-message-to-muslims/

[Organic Panic]

It’s not genocide if Muslims do it.

[Salvation]

Prayer for Peace in Syria   

 

God of Compassion, 

Hear the cries of the people of Syria, 

Bring healing to those suffering from the violence, 

Bring comfort to those mourning the dead, 

Strengthen Syria’s neighbors in their care and welcome for refugees, 

Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms, 

And protect those committed to peace.   

 

God of Hope, 

Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence and to seek reconciliation with enemies, 

Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria, 

And give us hope for a future of peace built on justice for all.   

We ask this through Jesus Christ,  Prince of Peace and Light of the World, 

Amen. 

 

From Anonymous:

Father God, Our Savior and King,

We come to You in despair over the evil being done to our Middle East Christian brothers and sisters. We ask that You would put Your hand of protection upon them and that You would sustain them as You did the Israelites in the desert. Lord, cause our brothers and sisters to cry out to You for help and show them the peace that only You can give in answer to their needs. In their darkest moments, Lord, keep them, strengthen them, and comfort them. When they despair that no one is coming to help them, Lord, reveal Your glory and restore their souls.

We ask you these things in the blessed name of Your precious son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

[Salvation]

 

Prayer for Iraq

O God, who art the unsearchable abyss of peace,
the ineffable sea of love, the fountain of blessings
and the bestower of affection,
who sendest peace to those that receive it;

Open to us this day the sea of thy love
and water us with plenteous streams
from the riches of thy grace
and from the most sweet springs of thy kindness.

Make us children of quietness and heirs of peace,
enkindle in us the fire of thy love;
sow in us thy fear;
strengthen our weakness by thy power;
bind us closely to thee and to each other
in our firm and indissoluble bond of unity:

Syrian Clementine Liturgy (in: For all God’s people; p. 73)

The full text of Patriarch Sako’s prayer for peace follows:

Lord,
The plight of our country
is deep and the suffering of Christians
is severe and frightening.
Therefore, we ask you Lord
to spare our lives, and to grant us patience,
and courage to continue our witness of Christian values
with trust and hope.
Lord, peace is the foundation of life;
Grant us the peace and stability that will enable us
to live with each other without fear and anxiety,
and with dignity and joy.

Glory be to you forever.  Amen.

Litany for Iraq

For lasting peace in this ancient land – From you, O Lord.
For wisdom and compassion for all in authority – From you, O Lord.
For comfort for families separated or bereaved – From you, O Lord.
For the release of captives – From you, O Lord.
For safety and security for minority communities.
For refreshment for the weary and healing for the sick – From you, O Lord.
For continuing faithfulness of the ancient churches of this land – From you, O Lord.
For tenacity of spirit for small Christian groups – From you, O Lord.
For the mutual enrichment and support of those of different Christian traditions – From you, O Lord.

You, Lord of all, we confess;
You, Lord Jesus, we glorify;
For you are the life of our bodies
And you are the Saviour of our souls.

The response in the litany and this hymn both come from the Chaldean liturgy. The ancient hymn celebrates Christ the source of resurrection in all situations of death and deprivation. (in: With All God’s People, p. 21, 22)

From Anonymous:

Father God, Our Savior and King,

We come to You in despair over the evil being done to our Middle East Christian brothers and sisters. We ask that You would put Your hand of protection upon them and that You would sustain them as You did the Israelites in the desert. Lord, cause our brothers and sisters to cry out to You for help and show them the peace that only You can give in answer to their needs. In their darkest moments, Lord, keep them, strengthen them, and comfort them. When they despair that no one is coming to help them, Lord, reveal Your glory and restore their souls.

We ask you these things in the blessed name of Your precious son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.