There is a lot of talk now about Islamized Armenians, especially the Islamized Armenians living in Turkey. However, there are people of Armenian descent living in certain countries of the Arab World and in Syria. “Hayern Aysor”’s correspondent sat down for an interview with press secretary of the Armenian Diocese of Aleppo, general speaker of the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical Communities of Syria Jirair Reyisian.

Jirair Reyisian: If we look at the issue from just the religious angle, we can call those people Islamized Armenians. Turkey has a problem with Islamized Armenians, who were forced to convert to Islam (this is a different topic), and there is a problem with Islamized Armenians in the Arab World, particularly Syria, which I am a little more informed about. Among them are lost Armenians and Islamized Armenians, but Armenians who still remember their roots and Armenians who preserve their identity. Of course, many don’t know them, especially since they don’t dare to speak out about their national belonging.

The Islamized Armenians of Syria can be divided into several groups. I’ll bring up examples. During the Armenian Genocide, for many reasons, many Arabian tribes supported migrant Armenians having reached Deir ez-Zor and Jezireh.

There were people who married women with young Arab men, whose children went on to proudly remember that their grandmothers were Armenian. During my visit to Jezireh, I, for example, visited a tribe, the members of which had an Armenian grandmother. When we entered the earthen house, we saw a nearly 100-year old woman sitting on the floor. She didn’t remember her roots very well. When we asked to take photos of her and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, more than 100 people gathered around her. It’s obvious that even if that many people tried to talk by whispering, there would still be a lot of noise. The most interesting thing was that when the woman struck her cane on the floor, everyone was silent. That showed that she was still loved, respected and had a reputation.

There are also cases when the Arabian tribes saved Armenian orphans and raised them in their families. At the same time, they also told those children that they raised them, took them into their homes and gave them the same rights as they did to their children, but told those orphans that they were Armenian and that it was their desire to see them choose an Armenian as a partner for life, and they wed them to people of Armenian descent. Therefore, not only the grandmother, but the mother and father of these people were Armenian. And even though their children have Arabian last names and believe in Islam, they recall that their parents have Armenian roots.

The third case is when the residents of an entire village are of Armenian descent. For instance, the Baggara tribe in Deir ez-Zor has allocated small villages to a man and woman of Armenian descent who got married to each other. There are only people of Armenian descent in that village. One of the villages is called Hatli. The residents know that their parents have Armenian roots, and if they were able to remember the last name of their mother or father, they have tried to keep it. For instance, there is a man named Muhammad Karapet in this village. The name Muhammad Karapet might sound a little strange, but there are many people with such names in Hatli. They are Muslim Arabs and often say that even though they are part of the Baggara tribe, they have Armenian roots.

I can bring up another example. There is a tribe called Ashiret Ermeni Shatat in Jezireh. The name of the tribe translates into “ashiret” (tribe), “ermeni” (Armenian) and “shatat” (dispersed). The name of the tribe says it all. So, it was formed by Armenians who have converted to Islam like the Arab Bedouins, but since they know that they have Armenian roots, they have called their tribe Ashiret Ermeni Shatat.

This is the story of Islamized Armenians living in the Arab World and particularly in Syria. They are the Armenians for whom Syria was the first landmark after the Armenian Genocide.

“Hayern Aysor”: Mr. Reyisian, those Armenians are now Arabs and believe in Islam, but aren’t they different from the Arabs?

J. R.: Yes, of course. For example, when the youth of Hatli are mature enough to get married, their parents wed them to people “like them” in order to preserve the national identity. In 2001, we gave gifts to the leaders of Arabian tribes whose tribes had been hospitable to the Armenians’ grandfathers and grandmothers during the deportations. During the preparations, we visited the Holy Martyrs Armenian Church of Deir ez-Zor. When we were coming out of the memorial complex, the priest approached us, showed us the youth standing away from us and told us that they would like to speak with us. When I approached them and asked what we could do to help them, they told us that they were of Armenian descent and had wanted to enter the complex for a long time, but hadn’t dared to do that because they are now Arabs and believe in Islam. The youth were from Hatli. I told them they could enter the complex, even if they didn’t have Armenian roots. The youth entered the complex, visited the church, said a prayer, went down to the exhibition hall showcasing testimonies of the Armenian Genocide, viewed them, got emotional and asked us what they could do, if they ever had the desire to return to their roots.

This is strange in Syria and in Muslim countries because whenever someone believing in Islam rejects Islam, he or she deserves to die. To avoid all that, I told them the following: “We are happy that you haven’t forgotten your roots and your real identity, but you are also aware of the fact that taking such a step will lead to negative consequences. Preserve your identity, and we’ll keep our ties with you. Let’s leave the rest for the future and see what it brings.”

However, there are also people among them who are lost and don’t remember anything about their roots and identity.

“Hayern Aysor”: Mr. Reyisian, how should we treat those people, especially since the Armenian Church is a little precautious?

J. R.: Yes, discussing and even speaking out about such a topic is already strange for Arabs and Muslims. As I said a little earlier, whenever a Muslim rejects Islam, he or she is sentenced to death. They accept that religions, especially atheism have emerged one after another. This means that after Moses was Christ who took one step forward, and then came Muhammad, in whose case religion advanced. Therefore, they can’t go back. Those who go back, retreat and don’t deserve to live.

True, we have to be careful with them, and our Church as well.

“Hayern Aysor”: But today there are many Turks who are returning to their roots and being baptized. Should we really overlook this?

J. R.: Turkey is different. For Turkey, religion and the government go hand-in-hand. I’ll bring up a small example. In Syria and in the Arab World, if the religious authorities don’t accept a marriage, the government doesn’t either. That’s not the case in Turkey. A marriage can be considered legitimate, if it is registered in court.

“Hayern Aysor”: Nevertheless, it’s interesting to know your personal opinion. How should Armenians treat those who overlook the danger and speak out about their real identity?

J. R.: I wouldn’t like to express my opinion on that, but I’ll simply share my conviction. We should welcome that and focus on those Armenians, but we should also be careful because we might make mistakes. In other words, it’s hard to receive a person with such feelings with open arms because there have been such mistakes in the world of politics, and they could harm us.

Interview by Lusine Abrahamyan