The fate of the Christian community in Afrin, Syrian Kurdistan

Christen from Afrin, Syrian Kurdistan, Rojava 2024 — Christians from Afrin on the run – church in a barrack. Photo: Dr Kamal Sido/GfbV/handout to iKurd.net

Dr. Kamal Sido | Exclusive to iKurd.net

‘We are Christians. We used to be Muslims. This is our church,’ a woman tells me in a Kurdish dialect spoken in Afrin in the Syrian Kurdish region when I visit a refugee camp in the north of the Syrian metropolis of Aleppo in April 2023. She had just come out of a barrack where a church service was taking place. The pastor was also preaching in this dialect. It was the first time in my life that I had heard this, because when I left Afrin in 1980, there were no Christians there. Most of the people living in Afrin were Kurdish Sunni Muslims, few Yazidis and even fewer Alevis.

When and how did the Christian community in Afrin come into being?

When an uprising against the Assad dictatorship broke out in Syria in 2011, Assad had to make a decision and set priorities. The regime’s most dangerous enemies were no longer the Kurds, who had always called for a democratic system in Syria, but the Sunni Islamist militias, which were supported militarily, politically, diplomatically and financially by Turkey, but also by some Western governments. These militias not only wanted and still want a ‘regime change’, but an Islamist system based on Sharia law. In such a system, the Alevi minority, to which dictator Assad also belongs, would have no place. The numerous Christian communities as well as the Ismailis, Druze and Shiites would also not be welcome in a future ‘Islamic state’ in Syria. These circumstances have led to Assad withdrawing his troops from most of the Kurdish-majority areas in the north of the country along the Turkish border, including Afrin.

The withdrawal of Assad’s troops marked the Kurds’ hour. Having always been in opposition and well organised, they began to take their fate into their own hands. Within a very short space of time, they succeeded in establishing an ‘oasis of peace’ in their settlement areas in the turmoil of the Syrian civil war. However, the goal was not a state of their own, but the beginning of a democratic Syria with self-administration in a federal state that protects minorities and enforces political freedoms for all population groups.

From 2013, a separate self-government was established with a government, quotas for the various minorities according to their share of the population, equal rights for women, cultural centres and its own militia and police (Kurdish: Asyayîş) force. The police and the People’s Defence Units (YPG) (Kurdish: Yekîneyên Parastina Gel) successfully defended northern Syria against the Islamic State (IS) and other radical Islamists. The women’s military units (YPJ) (Kurdish: Yekîneyên Parastina Jinan) were also involved in the military structures with 30 to 40 per cent.

The same applied to the police and the civil administration. The Kurds and their allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Arab militia of the Shammar (Arabic: Quwat as-Sanadid) tribe and the Christian Sutoro militia succeeded in defending large parts of the province of Al-Hasakeh in the far north-east of Syria, the neighbouring districts of Tall Abyad (Belonging to the province of ar-Raqqa) and Kobani and Afrin (Afrin and Kobani belong to Aleppo province) in the far north-west of Syria.

However, the Kurds were confronted with numerous problems for the self-government they had established: On the one hand, their territories were attacked by radical Islamists; the armed conflicts were fierce and the civilian population increasingly became the target of radical Islamic forces. Secondly, the area referred to by the Kurds as ‘Rojava’ (Western Kurdistan), including Afrin, was subject to an embargo from various sides: In the south, there was a blockade by radical Islamists; in the north, the Turkish state built a wall and closed all border crossings. However, Turkey has kept and continues to keep the borders open for radical Sunni militias. Islamists were and are welcome in Turkey.

This total embargo had fatal consequences for the civilian population in Rojava: medicines and food became increasingly scarce and people became increasingly impoverished. There was a lack of fuel for heating and cooking in the emergency shelters and infectious diseases broke out. All of this led to some people emigrating, including to Europe. But many wanted to stay in their homeland.

The Kurdish self-government in Afrin pursued an extremely tolerant policy towards religious minorities and religious freedom in general. In Afrin, for the first time in history, Muslims were able to change their religion without being killed, persecuted or expelled by the state, their neighbours or their own family.

A few kilometres away, in neighbouring Idlib or Azaz, which is predominantly inhabited by Arab Sunnis and has been ruled by pro-Turkish militias since 2011, which are also supported by some Western governments, it is absolutely inconceivable for Muslims to change their religion and become Christians. The rule there was and still is: Anyone who openly abandons Islam and publicly professes another religion, in this case Christianity, is considered a traitor who must be killed’. (More on the topic of “Apostasy and the death penalty in Islam” at: https://www.igfm.de/wenn-muslime-christen- Werden/) The new freedoms in Afrin were utilised by people who wanted to leave Islam. Many did. This is how the first Kurdish-Christian community in Afrin came into being.

Before the start of the Turkish war of aggression on Afrin on 20 January 2018, the number of Christian converts in Afrin had grown to around 1,500 to 3,000 people. They built up their own community and were able to practise their faith openly and freely. Their church services, for example the Christmas celebrations, were broadcast live in the local media, radio and television, but also in international media such as ‘Voice of America’. The converted Christians did not have to fear political persecution or discrimination from either the Kurdish administration or their neighbours.

I was able to see this for myself when I travelled to Afrin for around three weeks in February 2015. At the time, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) was preparing a documentary to mark the 100th anniversary of the genocide of the Armenians, Assyrians/Chaldeans/Aramaeans and Pontos Greeks. I went in search of the last Armenian in Afrin. I found him and conducted an interview, which was also published in the STP documentation.

The fate of the Christian community in Afrin, Syrian Kurdistan — Harot Kevork, the last Armenian from Afrin, North Aleppo, February 5, 2024, Photo: STP archive/Dr. Kamal Sido/handout to iKurd.net

Afrin after the Turkish invasion

After all of Turkey’s attempts to conquer Afrin from Azaz in the west and Atma in the south-west with the connivance or encouragement of the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) in 2013 had failed and all further attempts by other Islamist militias supported by Turkey to take control of Afrin had also failed, Turkey itself invaded Afrin on January 20, 2018. The invasion was codenamed ‘Operation Olive Branch’. For 57 days, Afrin was attacked by Turkey from all directions from the air and on the ground.

The Turkish invasion was categorised by international law experts as a clear violation of international law – the NATO governments, in particular the German government, as well as the entire international community supported or tolerated the invasion. No state was prepared to put this breach of international law on the agenda of the UN Security Council or other international bodies. The Russian ruler Putin, who had troops in Syria, also tolerated the invasion and made deals with the Turkish ruler Erdogan.

Turkish-backed fighters celebrating in Afrin, Syrian Kurdistan — Turkish-backed Syrian mercenary Islamic fighters from the Free Syrian Army FSA are celebrating in the Kurdish city of Afrin after occupying it, Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) on March 18, 2018. Photo: Reuters

After 57 days of defence, the Kurdish defenders, who were only equipped with light weapons and ultimately stood no chance against the second strongest NATO army and received no political, diplomatic or military support from anyone, had to give up and retreat to the southern regions. Turkish ruler Erdogan definitely wanted to conquer Afrin on 18 March 2018, before the Kurdish festival of Newroz (21 March). For the Kurds, Newroz not only marks the start of a new year, but also a day of resistance and freedom. Another reason why Erdogan wanted to invade Afrin on 18 March is the historical parallel to Turkey’s victory over the British and French troops at the Dardanelles in the First World War. The Turkish media labelled Erdogan as ‘Afrin Fatihi’ (conqueror of Afrin). For many Turks, the term ‘Fatih’ (conqueror) stands in the ‘tradition of the great Turkish victor and conqueror Mehmet II, who took Constantinople in 1453.

The Turkish army’s victory in March 2018 over the small Syrian-Kurdish region of Afrin, which covers just 2,033 square kilometres and was home to only 1,500 Christians, was therefore associated with the victory of the Ottoman Empire over the powerful Eastern Roman Christian Byzantium (Constantinople). In fact, the invasion of Afrin was supported worldwide by pro-Turkish Sunni Islamists. In almost all pro-Turkish mosques from Indonesia to the Balkans to Germany and the USA, prayers were said for the victory of the Turkish army over Afrin. Leading Sunni Islamists such as Chalid Mashal, a political leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas, or the Saudi journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi, who was murdered by Saudi security forces in Turkey a few months later, praised the Turkish invasion of Afrin.

After the occupation of Afrin by Turkey, the life of the small and historically young Christian community changed abruptly. A story of suffering, displacement, flight, starvation and further Turkish attacks, especially with combat drones, began.

The humanitarian consequences of the Turkish offensive and occupation of Afrin are devastating. Six years after the start of the invasion in violation of international law, numerous human rights violations and war crimes continue to be committed against the civilian population. Murder, looting and rape are taking place. With the support of the STP and other human rights organisations, Kurds from Afrin are trying to bring the crimes of Turkey and its Islamist mercenaries before German courts. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) and their partners filed a criminal complaint with the German Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in January 2024, calling for comprehensive investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In addition to the murder and persecution of people, the Turkish occupation in Afrin has caused great economic damage. There have also been cultural disruptions: Kurdish places and squares, including Christian, Yezidi and Alevi ones, suddenly have Turkish-Islamic and Arabic-Islamic names, the Turkish flag is emblazoned on school uniforms and the people, who are Syrian citizens, now need Turkish ID cards. The Turkish occupation has made Afrin Christian-free. Almost all Kurdish Christians had to flee. Those who could not flee had to hide their Christian faith for fear of the Turkish military and Islamist mercenaries. The proportion of the Kurdish population, including the Yezidi, Alevi and Christian parts, fell from 96 to under 35 per cent. Turkey is obviously seeking a demographic change in the Afrin region, which is a crime against humanity. Christians and Kurdish Sunnis and Yezidis have fled to Aleppo and have also settled in the Kurdish districts of Sheikh Maksud or Ashrafiya.

However, many of them now live in refugee camps between Aleppo and Afrin. This area is still partly held by Kurdish forces. After the Turkish occupation of Afrin, I visited the Christians who had fled to the north of Aleppo in spring 2019 and 2023.

Pastor Hanan, a converted Kurdish Christian from Afrin who, like everyone else, had to flee from the Turkish military and the Islamist mercenaries, told the North Press Agency about the situation of the Christians in Afrin: ‘We were 425 families. A week after the expulsion, we gathered in tents that we had taken with us from the Sardam camp in the Susin Valley and set them up in a place known as the ‘Armenian Fields’. Later we almost had a permanent place there. We also had no problems with the newly established Kurdish provisional administration there.’ Before the Turkish occupation of Afrin, Pastor Hanan led the ‘Evangelical Kurdish Union Church’ there. The Christians from Afrin, who have now fled to northern Aleppo, receive humanitarian aid not only from their Kurdish neighbours, but also from their brothers and sisters in faith around the world. However, this aid has not always arrived; it has often been stolen by Syrian Islamist groups, which are supported by Turkey and control many access roads with the help of the Turkish army.

With regard to the Christian Kurds from Afrin in Aleppo, Pastor Hanan reported that they are not always able to provide for everyone due to the growing number of believers. There are also problems with the Assad regime. It wants to mobilise young people, including Kurdish Christians from Afrin, for military service. But the young people don’t want that. That is why these young people, who are wanted by the Assad authorities, are moving to the Kurdish-controlled neighbourhood of Sheikh Maksud.

Pastor Hanan is grateful for any humanitarian support. The Kurdish Christian community, which was established in Afrin and is now on the run, needs more donations to keep the believers afloat. The community also needs a lot of money for medical care. Seriously ill people who cannot be treated locally have to be taken to the Syrian capital Damascus. This is because not all illnesses can be treated in the refugee camp or in neighbouring Aleppo. The Christians in Afrin also need further donations for the construction of new buildings.

Regarding the situation in occupied Afrin, Pastor Hanan reports that his church there is controlled by the pro-Turkish Islamist militia Jaysh al-Sharqiya. Their armed groups had broken down the church door and were searching for gold on the premises. The Islamists suspect the Christians of being rich and hiding gold in the ground. According to Pastor Hanan, there are no more Christians in Afrin.

Pastor Hanan is very worried about the future of the Christians in Afrin. Nevertheless, he wants to stay there and look after his congregation. He does not want the Christians to emigrate, even though the congregation has received offers to emigrate to some Western countries. He and all the Christians from Afrin are constantly praying for a return to their home in Afrin. But as long as the Turkish army and the Islamists supported by Turkey occupy the Afrin region, there can be no return there.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan July 11, 2023. Photo: NATO/via iKurd.net

Erdogan also attacks at Christmas

It is not only the Christians in Afrin, who had to flee their home from the Turkish army and Islamists in 2018, who live in constant fear.

All Christians in northern Syria live in fear. Erdogan is constantly threatening new invasions, including in north-east Syria, where not only converted Kurdish Christians live, but also long-established Christian Assyrians/ Aramaeans/ Chaldeans, as well as some Armenian Christians. In northern Syria, Turkey flies almost daily attacks with combat drones on the cities of Kobane, Manbij, Tell Tamr, Amuda, Qamishlo and Derik. What happened in Afrin in 2018 could happen there at any time. That is why Western countries must stop their NATO ally Turkey at all costs. And they must stop supporting its war against Kurds and other minorities.

As already mentioned, Erdogan is also committing war crimes in north-east Syria. His drive for expansion is unbroken. The eastern part of northern Syria is not yet occupied by the Turkish army. Many people have found refuge there. But they are not safe there either: between 23 and 30 December 2023, Turkish warplanes and drones flew 74 attacks on critical infrastructure in northern and eastern Syria. They bombed medical facilities, cultural assets and water and food supplies. At the beginning of October 2023, Turkey had already destroyed large parts of the civilian infrastructure within a few days, killing 92 people and injuring 89. Targets included waterworks, oil refineries and power plants, as well as refugee camps and hospitals. The repair work has only just begun. Water, electricity and gas are still missing. But the people carry on. They want to continue living in freedom.

In Hasaka, in north-east Syria, where Kurdish-led forces have driven out IS, religious and ethnic diversity is still present: Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians/Aramaeans, Yazidis, Christians and Alevis live there. As always on my travels, I also met Christian dignitaries there in April 2023, such as the Bishop of the Syrian Orthodox Christians, Mar Maurice Yacoub Amsih. Bishop Amsih affirmed: ‘We all want to stay in our beloved homeland!’ He told me about the regular attacks by the Turkish army and appealed to the German government: ‘Please ensure that Turkey stops its attacks on our country and withdraws from the occupied territories.’ Like many people in northern Syria, he cannot understand why the German government, under pressure from Turkey, is not delivering aid there, even though it is so urgently needed.

[Quote for caption]: ‘The suffering of the people in our country is indescribably great, our people are tired of the war. The economic situation is deteriorating from day to day. Added to this are the daily attacks by our northern neighbour Turkey. Turkey is destroying our country and forcing more and more people to flee. Turkey is also using water as a weapon of war against us. All of us, Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians/Aramaeans, Christians, Muslims and Yazidis want to stay in our beloved homeland.’ (Mar Maurice Yacoub Amsih, Bishop of the Syrian Orthodox Christians in Hasakeh in north-east Syria, in conversation with Kamal Sido, photo: STP archive.

The converted Christians in Afrin and all Christians in northern Syria deserve our solidarity

In 2023, Christians in Afrin, as in over 70 countries including North Korea, China and Iran, continue to face significant restrictions on their religious freedom. Millions of Christians around the world suffer persecution and discrimination, ranging from harassment to acts of violence such as expulsion and murder. As described above, Christian converts in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Turkey are particularly affected. In Nigeria, there were at least 4,726 kidnappings in 2023, and in many parts of Asia, Christians are under threat from the advance of radical Islamists. Last September, Azerbaijan expelled 120,000 Armenians from their homeland of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) under the watchful eyes of Russia and NATO.

In Germany, the persecution of Christian communities is hardly ever addressed by politicians and the major churches. It does not seem opportune to demand religious freedom for Christians, especially in Islamic countries. As a result, Christian communities in Islamic countries such as Afrin and throughout the Middle East feel alone and abandoned. Officials at the Federal Foreign Office and politicians in the traffic light coalition seem to have no problem courting Islamic fundamentalists, anti-Semites and enemies of Israel. However, when it comes to Christians or liberal Muslims, these officials and politicians are very quick to be ‘politically correct’. Christians who demand the right to religious freedom and conversion are accused of ‘Christian fundamentalism’. Conversion to Islam, on the other hand, is celebrated by influential Muslim politicians and media such as the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera. These Islamist circles, led by Turkey’s ruler Erdogan, are also fighting tolerant Muslims everywhere, especially Kurds who are standing up for their Christian neighbours, such as in Afrin, and for religious freedom. The dangerous situation of Christians requires international solidarity and increased efforts for religious freedom.

Dr. Kamal Sido, a prominent Syrian Kurdish intellectual. He is a Middle East Consultant for ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities at the German Society for Threatened Peoples (STP).

The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.