Assyrians in Iraq in the 20th Century

Assyrians in Iraq in the 20th Century

 

By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com )  

 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- (ANS -- November 7, 2015) -- A new book by Professor Sargon Donabed and titled Reforging a Forgotten History: Iraq and the Assyrians in the 20th Century, presents a narrative history and analysis of the Assyrian experience in 20th century Iraq.

 

An article published by the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) asks who the Assyrians are, and what role they played in shaping modern Iraq. Were they simply bystanders, victims of collateral damage who played a passive role in its history? 

 

Furthermore, AINA asks, how have they negotiated their position throughout various periods of Iraq's state-building processes?

 

This book details a narrative of Iraq in the 20th century and refashions the Assyrian experience as an integral part of Iraq's broader contemporary historiography. AINA says "It is the first comprehensive account to contextualize a native experience alongside the emerging state." 

 

Using primary and secondary data, AINA says the book offers a “nuanced exploration” of the dynamics that have affected and determined the trajectory of the Assyrians' experience in 20th-century Iraq.

 

Reviewing the book, Nabil Al-Tikriti, of the University of Mary Washington says, “Sargon Donabed provides a comprehensive overview of the modern Assyrian story, merging emic and etic perspectives of their struggle to attain sovereignty over the past century and beyond. His work offers both an informative source for Assyrian ethnic history and an alternative reading for Mesopotamian regional history as a whole.”

 

Trinity Western University’s Paul S. Rowe says, “In telling the story of modern Assyrian responses to a history of displacement and exclusion, Sargon Donabed helps us understand them as actors in their own right. He thereby rewrites Iraqi history from the perspective of the marginalized." 

 

Donabed is Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Roger Williams University. He is co-editor of “The Assyrian Heritage: Threads of Continuity and Influence” (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2012), “Religion and the State: Europe and North America in the 17th and 18th Centuries (Lexington Books, 2012) and “The Assyrians of Eastern Massachusetts” (Arcadia Publishing, 2006). 

 

Photo captions: 1) Professor Sargon Donabed. 2) Assyrians in traditional clothing. 3) Assyrian church opening in Toronto with clergy and choir. 4) Jeremy and Elma Reynalds on their wedding day.

 

About the writer: Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, www.joyjunction.org. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional details on "From Destitute to Ph.D." are available at www.myhomelessjourney.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Elma. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@gmail.com .