Thesis Statement: The rapid resurgence of Christianity in the Region will continue it’s already positive impact. As the prominence of Christianity in the region spreads throughout the region it wi ...

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Thesis Statement: The rapid resurgence of Christianity in the Region will continue it’s already positive impact. As the prominence of Christianity in the region spreads throughout the region it will enjoy continued peace and stability not yet seen as the Kurdish people, through the reformation of their society becomes more tolerant and thus continue to be a global safe haven for religious refugees globally.
Summary
The effects of religion on societies citizens secular, nonsecular alike are both inumerable and boundless in scope. Religion, since it’s most primal of orgins has shaped social frameworks, and formed the foundations for which civilizations have thrived and destroyed. Often, we see religions coincide with the geographic and thus cultural make up of a region. In areas such as the middle east, so routinely war torn and poverty stricken religion is all that many have left. Enter the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria, now Kurdistan. Now home to bussingling cities with a growing multi-religious and ethnic population was not such so long ago. In Kurdistan a communities that converted to Christianity from Islam are becoming more prominent Kobani, for example, was besieged by Islamic State for months, following an ISIS offensive of religious persecution. Kurdish converts lament the experiences of war, citing the onslaught of a fanatical soldiers proporting to fight for the tenants of Islam, bacame the catalyst for a shift in culture and religion.. The result, evangelical churches being erected in numbers unfathomable in years prior and thus a reformation of cultures customs and laws procedded.
Whilst the Islamic State’s radical interpretation of Sunni Islam has since been widely repudiated, the affected poplaces perceptions of faith shifted. Countless Kurdish enclaves of northern Iraq-Syria, whom urban communities are often secular, point to agnosticism as the case for both conversion and resurgence of and to Christianity and subsquently the emergence of a multi religious coalition in Kurdistan. Worth mentioning,Christianity is one of the region’s minority faiths that was persecuted by Islamic State. Utilizing the following cited works in conjnction with reviewed course material we will dissect, the socilogical,physiological, theological and economic impacts of both the Islamic faith in the Kurdish region juxtopposed with Christianity to understand why there is such a resurgence of Christianity and how deep it’s theological tenants have permiated the cultural makeup of the Kurdish region of Iraq and Syria.
Annotated Bibliography
Ševčenko, I. (1968). New Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire [Review of The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume IV: The Byzantine Empire, Part 1: Byzantium and Its Neighbours., by J. M. Hussey, D. M. Nicol, & G. Cowan]. Slavic Review, 27(1), 109–118. https://doi.org/10.2307/2493917
This work, pages 109-118, offers an authoritative view into the political and ideological occurrences that made the Byzantine Empire. With a history spanning from 500-1492 the history of the Byzantine Empire, marked by major theological events such as the fall of Constantinople in 1204, the authors look to illustrate the complex geopolitical, theological, and economic landscape of one of the world’s most influential empires. This resource is instrumental in allowing both the author and the reader of the wk8 assignment to glean a better understanding of the relationship between it’s neighboring nations, and the relationship between Islam and Christianity in the region.
Driver, G. (1922). The Religion of the Kurds. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2(2), 197-213. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00102083
Driver provides to the reader the storied historiography of the Kurdish people and their relationship with religion. From sun-worshipping nomadic tribal people to a people were converted to Christianity after a Greek priest, cleric St. Mar Saba in the 5th century (439–532) the Kurdish people have endured constant religious persecution. Driver further speaks to the relationship between the Kurdish Muslims and the other sects such as the
Yazidi’s which are much less known but are equally as important as we study the history of the Kurdish people.
Nicolle, D. (1994). Saracen faris, 1050-1250 ad (Ser. Warrior series, 10) p 7-10. Osprey.
This cited work provides an overview of the crusades of the 11th century and the effect that the Arabic conquest had on the region. The cited pages highlight the contributions the Kurdish people made in defense of the fortress city, Shayzar, now modern day Syria and the role their convictions played leading up to, during and leading up to the 12th century.
Maranci, C. (2003). [Review of The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor: The Life of Christ Illuminated, by T. F. Mathews & A. Taylor]. Studies in Iconography, 24, 256–259. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23923685While this work is centered around the relationship between the Aremenians and Christianity it also serves to highlight the relationship with the Byzantium empire, and the relationship with the Kurdish Christians, post Islamic conquest of the region. The
adoption of religious, political, and languages were all by products of expansion efforts.
The Kurdish Minority Problem 1948 : National Archives (United States) : Free download, Borrow, and streaming. Internet Archive. (1970, January 1). Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://archive.org/details/the-kurdish-minority-problem
This Journal, originally published in the height of the Cold War by the CIA, offers perspective of how the Kurdish are viewed and treated in the Middle East. Being that the Kurdish people inhabit a region that is not defined by political boundaries for centuries the political persecution suffered at the hands of Islamic nation states such as Turkey and Iran
and even Iraq are numerous. After reading this work the reader will have gleaned a better understanding of the social and geopolitical landscape that the ethnic minority find themselves in.
Sulaimaniyah. (2015, November 3). Sunni extremists threaten to kill Christian converts in North.
The New Humanitarian. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2007/05/21/sunni-extremists-threaten-kill- christian-converts-north
This article illustrates the religious and ethnic persecution Kurds endure for the act of conversion to Christianity. It does this by addressing some of the economic factors that that incentivize conversion. Being that majority of the Islamic youth in Iraq come from impoverished areas they view the conversion as a threat. Many Islamists in Sulaymaniyah cite non-Muslim organization’s as exploitative and that those who convert do so for financial gain and that is reason enough for their actions.
Flintoff, C. (2008, October 28). Some displaced Iraqi christians ponder kurds' role. NPR. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2008/10/28/96103301/some- displaced-iraqi-christians-ponder-kurds-role
This article speaks to the plight of Kurdish Christians and Yazidis as they live through secretarian slaughter. While they are contested still to this day, Kurdistan or its proposed region have long since been a safe haven for Christian refugees as many look to escape the Nineveh Plains of Iraq, to include Mosul in search of a more prosperous life.
Davison, J. (2019, April 16). Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State.
Reuters. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria- islamic-state-christians-idUSKCN1RS19N
In the wake of the aftermath of ISIS assaults on the North Eastern Syrian city of Kobani, a shift in religious preference is made clear. Religious Islamic extremist hoped to utilize fear and intimidation tactics as the building blocks for the caliphate they so long dreamed of building. Instead, as this article highlights the horrors of war and the onslaught of a group claiming to fight in the name of Islam pushed them in the arms of a new faith. This speaks directly to the thesis of the paper by illustrating the hold Christianity has taken on the Kurdish region of Iraq and Syria.
World Bank Group. (2015, May 19). The Kurdistan Region of iraq: Assessing the economic and social impact of the Syrian conflict and Isis. World Bank. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/macroeconomics/publication/the-kurdistan- region-of-iraq-assessing-the-economic-and-social-impact-of-the-syrian-conflict-and-isis
There have been several questions asking whether religion has an impact on the global economy. Notably, there are various religions worldwide. Among these religions, Christianity is among the most widely practiced. Christianity is practiced worldwide; statistics show that there are over two billion Christians in the world. Cumulatively, they represent thirty-one percent, thus making it the most practiced religion in the world. But what is the macro-economic and sociological impact of that same religion in a country where Christianity is the minority? This article, authored by the world bank gives the reader an idea of the impact Christianity and the civil and theological wars waged in Iraq and Syria.
The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://scholar.harvard.edu/mccleary/publications/oxford-handbook-economics-religion
In this cited work McCleary states that more businesses are going past the state of looking at the religious vs. the secular society before establishing their impacts on their business. Instead, organizations should look at the various subdivisions within a single religion and assess their roles towards the direction they would take the business. For example, some Christian sections do not openly condemn alcohol use; others completely describe alcoholism and its sale as a vice. Therefore, leaders should consider various aspects of the Christian religion before setting up their businesses. In our studies we have observe the power of religion and impact on state and local economics. An example would be the expansion of the Islamic religion with trade as it’s vehicle. As Kurdistan looks to allow for the expansion of its state and likewise a sanctuary for Christianity in the east it has to establish itself first economically. This work I believes posits some ideas in which they can accomplish those goals.