The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, was in conversation with a Turkish diplomat about the deadly effects of World War One on their Armenian community. With some confusion, the Muslim Ottoman diplomat asked Ambassador Morgenthau why, as a Jew, he was so concerned about the Armenian Christian minority.
In the 1960s, a US citizen registered as a student at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, was called to the office of the Dean of Students within days after classes began. The Dean discussed the issues raised because the student had noted on his registration form under religion that he was an atheist. The Dean noted that AUB had nothing against atheists and welcomed them; but needed to know for their data base whether he was a Jewish atheist, a Christian atheist, a Muslim atheist, or some other kind of atheist!
The history of Southwest Asia—a major part of what we call the “Middle East” where many faiths originated—is still dealing with the way to handle the ethno-religious-cultural nationalisms as they relate to the present political realities. In the USA, the separation of religion and state is a key part of our Constitution; but this did not avoid these issues that are still with us today.
Armenian oral tradition notes that their ancestry can be traced to Haik, grandson of Noah via his father Japeth. Two disciples of Christ brought their faith to the Armenians in the first century: Bartholomew, and Thaddeus (Jude). Since then, the Armenians have had many serious persecutions resulting in survivors spreading into many parts of the world.* During the several Russo-Turkish wars, the Turks assumed that their Armenian minority Christians were pro-Russian—some were.
Many claim that the killing of up to two million Armenians during and after World War One can be called the “Armenian Holocaust.” To use the term “Holocaust,” where Hitler bragged that six million Jews were killed, is not the only misnomer. As soon as Hitler invaded a European country, his first step was to round up Jews and put them on trains headed for extermination camps in Germany. Hitler’s aim was extermination: Turkey’s aim was expelling Armenians from Turkey. The forced exodus has resulted in seven to nine million ethnic Armenians in the world today, three million of which remain in Armenia.
Russia and the USA have the greatest number of citizens with Armenian origin. Many have distinguished careers. In Russia, aeronautic engineers Mikoyan and Gurevich created the MiG. In the USA, Kim Kardashian needs no introduction. A well-known playwright and author is William Saroyan.** The famous actor and singer Cher is Cherilyn Sarkissian. These are just four examples of distinguished Armenians ‘in diaspora’.
Religion plays an historical role today in politics, often a subtle one. Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz has praised a coalition of mostly conservative Christians (not all are MAGAcolytes) with: “I am so grateful for the commitment and the passion of the Faith and Freedom Coalition because freedom, religious liberty and the Constitution are under attack right now, and yet I am encouraged that you are standing up to defend liberty.”
Meanwhile, back in Gaza during the Israeli bombing, a grieving Palestinian girl(about eight years old) cried: “We don’t have water to wash our hands before we pray, and we need it to drink also!” (The Qur’an’ requires the washing of hands and feet before the five daily prayers).
*The most recent has been in the news in late September 2023—the fate of Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in Azerbaijan.
**Most Armenian names end in “-ian.” When another vowel precedes the ‘i,” a “y” replaces both.