In Response to the BBC Article: Coming Home After 130 Years (May, 26, 2018)

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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