CHRISTIAN MILITIAS KILLING MUSLIMS IN SYRIA

By Hadria n Mr lija h Bar Isral (http ://www. mar e lija h. or g)

Originally published by the Zeitoun News A gency (ZNA ) http://www. zeitou nn ew s. o rg

Violating the Commandment not to Kill, and refusing to flee, As more Syriac
Christians die fighting for Assads regime, the community is being drawn into the
battle more and more.

A dam aged chur ch in Maaloula v illage, nor theas t of D am as cus in Syr ia. T he r ecaptur ing of
Maaloula and Yabr oud both ar eas with lar ge Chr is tian populations clos e to the L ebanes e bor der
was cr ucial in pr ev enting oppos ition for ces fr om m ov ing weapons and s upplies between Syr i a
and L ebanon. Photogr aph: AP Photo/SANA

A recent article by Stephen Starr at the Irish Times says, Christian militias
have been fighting on the side of the Syrian government since 2012, fearing
an onslaught from the jihadi groups that emerged from the instability that
accompa nied the 2011 revolutio n.
The Times continues, Christian neighbourhoods, particularly in governmentcontrolled Damascus and Aleppo, are subjected to months - long shelling
campaigns from rebel forces occupying territory on the cities outskirts. Many
say the regime intentionally attacks rebels from positions inside Christian
districts to provoke rebel counterattacks and draw Christians further into the
conflic t.

Th e Pa t ri a rch o f An t i o ch , Hi s Ho l i n ess Ap h rem II a n d t h e S yri a c Ort h o d o x C h u rch syn o d

o f b i sh o p s p o si n g w i t h Presi d en t Assa d i n 2 0 1 5 a t t h e Presi d en t a l Pa l a ce i n Da ma scu s.

Sari a young resident of Saidnaya in northern Syria admits that he and his
Christian militia, armed by the Assad regime stopped them and we killed
them, he says, we made Saiydna safe.
There is only one bishop who knows many of these young people well, and
has been counselling them not to participate in the conflict, His Excllency,
Hadrian Mr lijah Bar Isral, whose official title is the Nazarani
Metropolitan. Sadly he is not affiliated with the Syriac Orthodox Church of
Antioch, has spent a great deal of time in the past year documenting the
activities of the Syriac militias and the young Christians who have been drawn
into the fighting.
Mr lijah says, I have done this in order to both discourage them dying, and
to preserve the church in the long term, since it is unlikely that the situation
on the ground in Syria is actually sustainable in the long term, as long as
foreign regimes continue to fund ISIS and Al- Qaeda in the region. Recent

advances by ISIS in Iraq and in southern Syria do seem to point to the fact
that his assessme nt may turn out to be true in the long term.
Earlier to- day he wrote me with the following message, peppered with biblical
citatio ns intended to prove his point that viole nce is not a Christia n value :
The Biblica l Teaching Against Killing, and Participation in
War can be summed up by a Few Short Verses from the Old
and New Testaments and an ev en shorter commentary from
the early church fathers.
The 8th Commandment is Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy
5:17, Matthew 19:18, Mark 10:19, Romans 13:9). Jesus Himself says that this
Commandment, and the nine others which Moses brought down from Mount
Sinai are still binding and effective on all of His followers; that " not one yod,
not one strok e of the Law shall pass" . (Matthe w 5:17- 18*)
They are spending money arming their youth, when instead they should be
spending it on resettlement in safe havens that will accept them. Instead of
killing, instead of taking up arms, an instead of participating in wars, Jesus
tells us to flee those who persecute us
"When they persecute you, flee from this city and go to another, for truly I
say to you that you will not see all of the cities of the House of Israel before
the Son of Man returns. " (Matthew 10:23 *)
This is the best advice that can be given to the Christian children and young
people of Syria now. The advice of Christ Himself, and this is the message
which the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch should be giving, but clearly
isnt.
Communicating with them over Skype, and reading their writings on Facebook
and in private chats, I have come to learn that the people involved in these
Syrian militias are for the most part angry, scared, confused young people,
being misled by others who do not have their best interests at heart, and ar e
leading them down an irreparable path of destruction. The almost nine hundred pages of such conversations which I have managed to gather together
containin g their writin gs and ranting demonstra te this fact clear ly.
Their desire for revenge and their fear and anger however, run contrary to
Saint Pauls saying, Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse
them Do not repay anyone ev il for ev il; be concerned for what is noble in
the sight of all. If possible, on your part, liv e at peace with all. (Romans
12:14 KJ21) "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's

wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to av enge; I will repay, " says the Lord. On
the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, giv e him
something to drink . In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. "
(Roma ns 12:19- 20 NIV)
In the conversation I had with one of these young men told me to fuck off ,
and said that I didnt understand what was actually going on, because I do not
live there, so I couldnt possibly understand him or his families strife. I found
out the next day that he actually lives in a quaint Alpine village in Switzerland
and is a European convert; meaning that the hate is spreading even among
Europeans. He has since left to go to Syria to join the fight against Jihadists.
One sev enteen year old boy tex ted to my phone
I k ill Jihadists !! !! ! BEFORE THEY KILL ME!!!!
In fact, what they are doing in Syria is not pleasing unto God at all, for YAH
(YHVH) Himself says that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wick ed,
but rather that the wick ed turn from his ways and liv e. Turn back , turn back
from your ev il ways! (Ezek ie l 33:11).
So why are they doing it? Because they have allowed the Muslims to control
them, to control their destinies, to destroy their church and their homelands,
by stubbornly refusing to give up the things of this world and instead to follow
the comma nd s of God. And for this they will loose everythin g.
Jesus gave a stern warning to "Return the sword to its place for all of them
who take up the sword, will die by the sword." (Matthew 26:51 - 52*, and see
also: John 18:10) The very fact that Syriac Christians composed only a small
ten per cent (10%) of the total population of Syria before the fighting began,
means that the numbers are against them. Like it or not, they cannot win out
in the long run by any means other than those commanded of them by Christ,
whic h is to flee the regio n, get support and regroup once it is safe to return.
Of course they justify their actions, by the blessings of their priesthood and
the moral and spiritual inaction of their bishops and even their Patriarch who
encourage them to continue to fight rather than deny their blessing and
demand instead that they follow the Bible, the te achings of Jesus and a life of
the men of peace.
The idea that breaking the Commandment not to kill can be justified was
opposed by Aristeides, Arnobis (300 A.D.), Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian
of Carthage (250 A.D.), Irenus (180 A.D.), Justin Martyr (15 0 A.D.),
Justinus (150 A.D.), Lactantius (300 A.D.), Lucifer bishop of Calaris (291
A.D.), Origen (240 A.D.), and Tertullian, (to name only a few) all agree that

participating in war is not a Christian value and should always be opposed. In

fact, there is not even one voice from the fathers of the early church opposing
the idea that killing is wrong, until the reign of the Emperor Constantine. It
is not a legitimate tradition of the Syriac Orthodox Church, to kill. Even
during the time of the Crusades Syriac Christians did not take up arms against
the invad er s (Chris tia n or Muls im)!

SOURCES:
Stephen Starr, Christian Militias Lend Muscle to Syrian Regime in Ongoing
Battle Againt Rebels, Irish Times, published Wed, Jul 9, 2014, 01:00,
retrieved
from
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle- east/christianmilitias- lend- muscle- to- syrian- regime- in- ongoing- battle- against- rebels1.1859569