Dear Editor,
I recently came across the article entitled Coming home
after 130 years (by Jessica Bateman – May 26, 2018) (https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-44242621).
It recounts the
story of a Syrian refugee family with Greek roots and ancestry who upon being
granted refugee status by Greece settled in Chania, Crete. While it is clear
the reporter has limited knowledge of the history of the area and missed an
amazing opportunity to establish the link between the ISIS-generated
devastation suffered by this family and the same devastation that had been
suffered by their forefathers in the hands of ISIS’s precursor – the Ottoman
Empire, it is nonetheless, an excellent article, one which illustrates the
400-year-suffering of Greek people under Islam.
This story is a marvelous
reminder of the diachronic devastation of ISIS (under its different aliases:
Ottoman Empire, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Taliban…) from its inception in the
seventh century AD (I am referring to the creation of Islam) all the way today.
And while the Middle East and Mediterranean countries have been
heavily afflicted this far, we see this rapidly changing to include western
countries (i.e.: with the repatriation of ISIS fighters to their countries of
origin).
As per this Syrian family’s admission, their ancestors were
Greek, living in Crete. They were converts from Christian Orthodoxy to Islam.
What do we know about Greek converts to Islam during that time in history? All
of Greece (from Macedonia to Thrace, to Epirus, to Thessaly, to Central Greece,
to the Peloponnese, to the islands, to Crete) was under Ottoman Rule. The
Ottoman conquerors, exactly like ISIS, enforced Sharia and the Koran. In
everyday life, this meant that non-Muslims were inferior to Muslims because
they were infidels. Options under the Ottoman Empire were very clear for
non-Muslims. They could either embrace Islam or face death by beheading, their
wives and daughters would become sex slaves, their boys would be abducted and
forced to become soldiers of the Islamic army. Taxation was also very much
heavier for those who were spared the above. (The tactics used then are exactly
those we have seen employed by ISIS). Converts of that time were not mesmerized
by the “peaceful religion” Islam is being portrayed to be nowadays but rather
by fear for their life. And since in those days the concept of becoming refugee
in a free land was not readily available, faced with conversion or death, many
people opted for conversion. As did this family’s forefathers.
It is indeed a blessing that this family was so lucky to be
able to go back to where their ancestors were from. I hope they will grasp the
opportunity of having access to the Christian country and customs that their
ancestors were robbed of and “come back home” to the Christian religion, too.
What an admirable tribute that would be to their forefathers who were forced to
give up their religion and customs at knifepoint in order to secure their life
in the caliphate of the day – the Ottoman Empire.
Regards,
Elpida Argyrakopoulos, M.A.
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