The memory of ordinary, everyday intercultural or interreligious relationships, in brief 

Idlib has historically maintained a significant Christian minority and a small Alawi population, living alongside mostly Sunni Muslim neighbours, and the fact that residents of different religions and backgrounds thrived together in good times is noted in history books on the area. Today, Christians have mostly had to flee, but individuals in Idlib and living elsewhere recall how neighbourly relations characterised their lives, and their family history, in Idlib city and in smaller towns and villages nearby. The memories that are shared include the practice of Muslims travelling to the Christian monastery of St Anna, and as is normal in the area sharing congratulations at festival times and marking significant life events.

The context in which these relationships made a difference at the time 

We hope that by sharing memories via the Memory Bank we will open a discussion about the kinds of interreligious and intercultural relationships that have been common in this area, and the reasons that they were once normal here, and in some locations still are. Idlib’s prosperity as a medium sized city is related to its position at the heart of an agricultural area near Aleppo, and on trading routes that fostered commercial enterprise in the surrounding towns and villages as well. Its trade and its situation at a distance from the nearby metropolis of Aleppo created the conditions in which cooperation between residents was a matter of course – in the market place, and in securing professional services, for instance. Idlib’s cotton was exported from Aleppo around the world; it was a contributor to the city’s commercial success in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In these conditions, the numerically small Christian population was nevertheless well integrated, and a number of different Christian denominations flourished. Relations across parts of the population with different religions and cultures took many forms. In the village of Al-Yaqoubiyah, for instance, Armenians settled in the midst of a number of Sunni villages, and some Greek Orthodox and Latin Christians joined them. As the public sector grew in the twentieth century, local Christians also took jobs in local government and other fields. An Alawi community and a Roman Catholic community lived alongside each other in the village of Al-Quniya. An Alawi community flourished in the town of Jisr, and Ismailis and other Islamic religious communities were also present in the province. The largely Sunni village of Zarzur nearby saw a number of clans begin to convert to Shia Islam after 1945, with support from the Iranian government after 1979. Religion figures in many of the most basic social activities across Idlib, and in this environment mutual encounter and change are historically far more normal than is presented in some of the common perceptions of Idlib as a rural area fixed in its traditional ways.

The reasons that Muslims journeyed to the monastery of St Anna in the Armenian speaking village of Al-Yaquibiyah are multiple. One source suggests the visitors happened to speak English, putting the cross-cultural experience in their comfort zone. It has also been put down to a popularly held belief that St Anna can cure illnesses. The divergent interpretations of this practice mean it would be really valuable to have more personal testimonies. 

What has happened since, which makes the memory valuable 

Idlib has faced repeated conflicts, and many have left in order to seek safety or in order to enrich their lives. The fact that the local population is mostly Sunni has coloured many accounts of the nature of more recent social and political history in Idlib. When the Syrian government targeted the Muslim Brotherhood movement in the 1980s, Idlib one of the areas targeted by security forces. Again after 2011, Idlib became a centre of opposition to the regime, and militant groups, often led by outsiders, targeted local independent minorities and political competitors. Christians and other minorities have had to flee when attack was imminent, and in some cases have not been able to return. Those ordinary local relationships which were long cherished by many Idlib residents are still spoken of as reflecting local culture, and traditional religious sensibilities. They are a meaningful counterweight to the impression that is left by the presence of extremist groups and the propaganda of different actors in the ongoing conflict. We are keen that locals sharing memories take the opportunity to explain what the memories mean to them personally, knowing this will often be more complicated than the most widely-heard political narratives about the area.

How might the memory be used in bringing people together in practice now?

We hope to gather suggestions from contributors in Idlib as to how they would like to see memories shared, and how the memory bank may support that. At present, the residents of Idlib are facing one of the most difficult times they have ever seen. What makes sense locally at present may join conversation about the past with the pressing needs experienced today. Idlib’s cultural pluralism has always been an important part of its economic livelihood. It is a counter to the notion that Idlib is culturally and socially weakened by the degree to which life here is rural and often traditionalist. A quite different picture is possible, building on the millennia of heritage from different civilisations in all parts of Idlib. It is a crossroads, and the area’s pluralism has long been endemic to its life, not accidental or sentimental. Just as Idlib has proven a welcoming location for previous waves of refugees, so too today it is hosting a large displaced population, and there will be very concrete lessons to share about this. Difference has been a settled feature of local security as well, and there are certainly lessons to be shared about the ways in which local reserves of trust have been affected as the population has faced brutal attacks and devastating economic deprivation. What learning there is to share amongst the residents of Idlib (including those who have fled in recent times and in former times) will be of wide international interest as well. 

Additional context/Some additional reading

Environmental and Social Development Centre, Report of the Christian community in Idlib (Arabic), 2010. https://www.etccmena.com/2010-04-15-15-15-01/ This report notes frustrations, but also conditions in which friendships mattered.

Links to discussion of basic contextual factors will be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idlib_Governorate.