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

Maaloula is a town in a mountainous region of Western Syria, in which Christians and Muslims have lived together for centuries. The town was not unaffected by wider political violence, but the townspeoples’ lives were historically marked by marking shared religious festivals, and cross-confessional social interaction. 

The context in which the memory made a difference at the time

Maaloula is one of a few towns to the north of Damascus in which Christians (and some Muslims) have continued to speak Aramaic (technically Western Neo-Aramaic). The town is celebrated for this, and for the Eastern Catholic Mar Sarkis Monastery and the Greek Orthodox Convent of Saint Thecla. The inhabitants are both Christians and Muslims, and pilgrims to the monastery include both Christians and Muslims. For centuries, Christian and Muslim inhabitants have joined in making bonfires to mark the start of the Festival of the Holy Cross on September 14, and Muslims would participate in church services. The monastery has historically been a home for orphans from both Christian and Muslim communities.

Maaloula, like other towns in the mountainous region, was able to keep its distinctive traditions by virtue of its isolation, even in times in which minorities were oppressed. Violent attacks struck the town in 1850 and 1925, and again in 2013. A German academic who stayed in Maaloula in the 1980s noted that all feasts are held together by both Muslims and Christians, with neighbours commonly paying a visit to each other with good wishes for the other’s festival. 

The published sources do not give a sense of the relationships between ordinary Christians and Muslims in Maaloula, and that is what the Memory Bank is designed to highlight and explore further. We are also looking for recollections from Syrian towns about the ways in which ordinary cross-confessional friendships were valued and helpful, in areas of social and economic life that go beyond the religious area.

What has happened since, which makes the memory valuable

In 2013, Maaloula was taken over by Al-Nusra-Front, unleashing a period of brutality and terror. Maaloula was retaken by the Syrian regime and allied forces in April 2014.

The city retains its Christian and Muslim composition. The violence of 2013 has nevertheless affected attitudes within the population, where statements about continuing coexistence may be nuanced with comments about the participation of some Muslim citizens in the Al-Nusra-led attack on the town.

Akram Qutayman, 58 and a member of the [newly formed security] committee, said that residents of different faiths had lived together peacefully before the war.

“Where I live, I was surrounded by Christians,” he said. “They would celebrate Ramadan with us, as if we were one hand.”

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

The common life of Christians and Muslims in Maaloula is told in many contexts in ways that highlight social and political conflicts. Much has changed, but then the history of Maaloula is one of repeated changes, and a resilient return to common Christian-Muslim religious and social engagement. It remains a valuable history and point of reflection insofar as Christian-Muslim solidarity here has been seen to be heightened by the community’s isolation, and by the shared lack of resources. We may judge that everyday solidarity is often beneficial, and even necessary, in these conditions – and showing interreligious solidarity openly can make this everyday solidarity easier and more valuable.

Additional context/Some additional reading

https://www.hart-uk.org/blog/long-read-the-story-of-maaloula/ This short essay by Andrew Ashdown reflects on the nature of coexistence in the town, and the challenges to it, separating a narrative about external political forces and interests from a narrative about positive religious relationships. The essay presents a historical overview, though it does not seek to capture all perspectives. Ashdown writes further on the context for Christian-Muslim relationships in Syria in his doctoral thesis, available at https://cris.winchester.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/12112904/FINAL_THESIS._CHRISTIAN_MUSLIM_RELATIONS_IN_SYRIA.pdf.