Islam in Armenia
Islam in Armenia has generally been avoided throughout the centuries. During the Arabic invasion, Islam had been forced over Armenians however, most Armenians never converted to Islam. The story was similar in the Ottoman Empire. In the 1990s the number of Muslims (mostly Azeris and Kurds) in Armenia reduced sharply due to emigration at the time of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. There is also a significant community of Kurds (50-70,000 people), few of whom are Sunni Muslims, but most of whom practice Yazidism. Since the early 1990s, Armenia has also attracted diverse esoteric and sectarian groups. [1]
Arab invasions and Armenian revolts
The Arabs first invaded Armenia in 640. Prince Theodoros Rshtuni led the Armenian defense. In about 652, a peace agreement was made, allowing Armenians freedom of religion. Prince Theodoros traveled to Damascus, where he was recognized by the Arabs as the ruler of Armenia, Georgia and Albania.[2] By the end of the seventh century, the Caliphate's policy toward Armenia and the Christian faith hardened. Special representatives of Caliph called ostigans were sent to govern Armenia. The ostigans made the city of Dvin their residence. Before Dvin was the residence of Armenian Catholicos. [2]
Although declared domain of Caliph, Armenia remained faithful to the Christian religion. The Arabs failed in several attempts to convert the Armenians to Islam. The Armenian obstinacy exasperated caliph Abd al-Malik. In 705, he gave to one of the ostikans an unprecedented order to murder all Armenian Nakharars. More than 400 Armenian noblemen were entrapped to one of Nakhichevan churches, then the doors were closed and the church was set in fire. Later, the Arab historians termed that time as The Year of Great Burning. Quoting Pope John VI, "...ocean of tears flooded Armenia". A number of unsuccessful insurrections followed that tragic event during the 8th century.[2]
The Koran
There were Koran (Armenian: Ղուրան, Ghuran) manuscripts translated into Classical Armenian, Grabar. However first printed version of Koran translated into Armenian language from Arabic appeared in 1910. In 1912 a translation from a French version was published. Both of them were in Western Armenian language. A new translation of Koran in Eastern Armenian language was started with the help of the Islamic Republic of Iran embassy in Yerevan. The translation was done by Edvard Hakhverdyan from Persian in three years[3]. A group of Arabologists have been helping with the translation. Each of the 30 parts of Koran have been read and approved by the Tehran Center of Koranic Studies[4]. The publication of 1000 copies of the translated work was done in 2007. The big interest towards the volume pushed the embassy to order another 3000 additional copies.
References
- ^ Armenia - church and country profile (Europe Desk)
- ^ a b c Arab invasions and Armenian revolts - Yuri Babayan
- ^ The Koran is published in the Armenian language
- ^ Koran in Armenian
See also
External links
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1 Entirely in Southwest Asia; included here because of cultural, political and historical association with Europe. 2 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border between Europe and Asia. 3 Mostly in Asia. 4 Entirely in the African Plate, included here because of cultural, political and historical association with Europe. 5 Only recognised by Turkey. |
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