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Kurdish children textbooks in Armenia

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kurdish-bookBy 

Students in the regions densely populated by Kurds have textbooks in Kurdish now. Kurdish students in 1st to 12th grades will receive education in their mother tongue.

Kurdish children in Armenia will be able to learn their culture and mother tongue thanks to newly-published textbooks in Kurdish. Poet Alixane Mame, the head of Kurdish Writers Department of the Writer Union of Armenia, is the author of the textbooks in Kurdish. Speaking to Armenpress, Mame noted the historical and scientific significance of these textbooks: “In Kurdish history, there haven’t been any textbooks as extensive as these. We published 13 textbooks. In Armenia, we were able to publish these books, after the scientific studies sponsored by the state. This is a historical event for Kurdish people.” Mame also stated that there is not enough teacher who can teach in Kurdish in Armenia and they are working on it.

In the Kurdish textbooks, Kurdish literary works are compiled in accordance with the historical chronology.

A journey to old Yerevan of the 20th century through the book by Karine Khalatyan

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karine-khalatyanUnremitting modernization is the phenomenon of Yerevan, yet it has come to the systematic disadvantage of the city itself. This is not about the last 25 years, although mistakes had been made even before that. Today, not a single right thing is done in the city construction and architecture, architect Karen Babayan said today during a presentation of the book “Old Yerevan in Armenian classic stories and memories of the 1920-1940s” by Karine Khalatyan.

Babayan noted that Yerevan still preserves its phenomenon of being a multilayered city, yet the current generation sees and notices little of those layers.

“Architects are keeping on suggesting different projects of destroying those layers. They gather, discuss. Sometimes, the matter refers to major funds, where they could gain more money. The city is the only one that gets poorer, yet books are published about it,” Babayan said, exemplifying the book authored by Khalatyan.

The book presentation was held at Avetik Isahakyan Museum-House. It comprises memories about Yerevan, its residents, their daily routine through the works of renown Armenian writers, such as Aksel Bakunts, Stepan Zoryan, Vahan Totovents, Derenik Demirchyan, Gurgen Mahari and many others.

“This book is about my love and dedication to the motherland, to my Yerevan. It has been written with great inspiration. There are works that were translated years ago. I decided to compile them and publish a book, which also contains new translations,” Karine Khalatyan told Panorama.am.

She next emphasized that such books educate to love the city are designed for those who want to learn about Yerevan, its image, people, and traditions.

“Yerevan is revealed through artistic expression in the book,” the author stressed, also announcing her future plans of completing the second book about Yerevan.

 

Raoul Wallenberg Foundation unveils English version of Genocide ebook

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raoul-wallenberg-foundationThe Raoul Wallenberg Foundation presents the ebook “Armenian Genocide. The silenced extermination”, an English version of the original in Spanish by the Argentinian author, Sulim Granovsky, the Foundation said in a statement.

Edited and published by the foundation in 2010 (Spanish ebook format), the research focuses on the tragic events that took place in 1915. As all the works that comprise the RWF Digital Library, this new ebook is freely accessible to all.

Sulim Granovsky comments on his creation in his own words: “Six hundred years of peaceful coexistence had elapsed within the empire, where Armenians shared in managing finance, business and the exports. Most of the buildings in Constantinople were built by Armenian architects. The main mosques were also the work of Armenian architects. Armenian officials advised the Turkish hierarchy. However, it was a false peace, because a series of vicissitudes anticipated the end of the precarious harmony, prior to the 1915 Genocide. In just a couple of years since 1895 Abdul Hamid, the Red Sultan, named after his bloodthirsty intentions, unleashed the annihilation of 300,000 Armenians. During the Hamidian era “any Muslim had permission to test the sharpness of his sword on the neck of an Armenian Christian.” Hamid’s murderous instinct was somewhat selective: he ordered the massacre of the Armenians in Anatolia, particularly if they had links to political parties and religious missions that could pose a threat to his regime because of the strong influence they had over the people. Truth is that in 1908 the rising movement of the Young Turks had overthrown Hamid, generating the support of the Armenians. However, the charm did not last long, because in the course of secret meetings of the Union and Progress Party, the Young Turks resolved that the Armenians were internal enemies of the Turkification process and should be persecuted and annihilated. The Interior Minister, Talaat Pasha, considered that, since the Armenians “had lost the right to life in the Ottoman Empire”, not a single bullet should be wasted in a holy war and, therefore, they should be killed with knives or drowned in the Euphrates. And this was what was done.”

A recent initiative by the Raoul Wallenberg Foundation in connection with a special chapter dedicated to Turkish and Kurdish rescuers who, scattered around the Ottoman Empire, reached out to save Armenians during the 1915 Genocide. The exclusive research, assigned to and conducted by Professor Taner Akcam, renowned scholar who chairs the Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University (Worcester, Massachusetts), comprises 73 pages. The work was originally edited in Turkish and later translated into English, Armenian and Spanish. So far, 180 individuals have been identified as rescuers, and the Foundation is still working to unveil further cases.

Pan-Turanism, not Islam, motivated the Armenian Genocide

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harut-sassounian-740-newBy Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

A recently published book “Remembering for the Future: Armenia, Auschwitz, and Beyond,” edited by Michael Berenbaum, Richard Libowitz, and Marcia Sachs Littell, is a collection of scholarly papers delivered at a conference held at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, March 8-11, 2014.

In his paper, “The Armenian Genocide as Jihad,” Prof. Richard Rubenstein attributes the Armenian mass killings to Islamic fanaticism against Christians. This is an often misunderstood topic even by Armenians who proudly proclaim that they were the first nation to adopt Christianity as state religion in 301 A.D. There is a whole folklore based on the misconception that Armenians were martyred because of their faith and refusal to convert to Islam. Given the current anti-Islamic fervor in the United States and elsewhere, some people are misled by these false claims.

Prof. Rubenstein starts his paper on the wrong footing when he describes a gruesome scene from “Ravished Armenia,” a 1919 Hollywood silent film which showed several naked Armenian women nailed to wooden crosses. Believing that “the Turks” intended to send a particular anti-Armenian and anti-Christian message with such horrifying images, Prof. Rubenstein mistakenly claims that the movie “could not have been filmed without the involvement and consent of Turkish authorities.”

Prof. Rubenstein bases his assumptions of the religious motive behind the Armenian Genocide on the fact that “the Ottoman Empire was governed as a theocratic state at the apex of which stood the Sultan, both the supreme head of state and, for Sunni Muslims, the Caliph and, as such, the successor to the Prophet and supreme protector of Islam.”

The Professor insists on stipulating a religious causal factor for the Armenian Genocide, even after quoting from the eminent scholar Dr. Vahakn Dadrian, who contradicts him. According to Dadrian, the members of the Committee of Union and Progress or Ittihad who gained power in 1908 and masterminded the Armenian Genocide, were not “followers of the tenets of Islam…. While the Ittihad continued to run the State largely as a theocracy, its leaders were personally atheists and agnostics.” It is difficult to believe that a devout Muslim would murder a single human being, let alone millions!

Dr. Rubenstein emphasizes the central role of Islam in the Turkish mass killings of Armenians, even though he acknowledges that “[Ronald] Suny and other scholars have argued that the predominant motive for the murderous homogenization project was nationalism and there is no doubt that radical nationalism played a part.” Rubenstein dismisses the issue of Pan-Turkish nationalism, arguing that “the most important motivation for the monumental ‘ethnic cleansing’ projects was religious and specifically a consequence of the unchanging nature of certain aspects of Islam.”

To demonstrate that religion was a major determinant in the Turkish leaders’ designs, Prof. Rubenstein states: “on November 2, 1914, the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Entente powers, Britain, France, Russia, and their allies. OnNovember 13, the Ottoman Sultan, in his capacity as Caliph, issued an appeal for jihad. The next day, Mustafa Hayri Bey, the Sheikh-ul-Islam, and as such the chief Sunni religious authority in the Ottoman world, issued a formal (and inflammatory) declaration of jihad ‘against infidels and enemies of Islam.’ Jihad pamphlets in Arabic were also distributed in mosques throughout the Muslim world that offered a detailed plan of operations for the assassination and extermination of all ‘unbelievers’ except those of German nationality, the Empire’s wartime ally. Killing squads and their leaders were ‘motivated by both the ideology of jihad and Pan-Turkism influenced by European nationalism.’ While the practical influence of the jihad on the masses was limited, ‘it later facilitated the government’s program of genocide against the Armenians.’”

Prof. Rubenstein misses the point that religious fervor, rather than being the cause of the Armenian Genocide, was exploited to inflame the passions of the fanatical Turkish mobs in order to provoke them against the Armenians.

Instead of religion, the primary motivation for the destruction of Armenians was their removal as an impediment to Turkification and an obstacle to the Turkish leaders’ grand scheme of establishing a Pan-Turanist empire reaching Central Asia. Even though they were Muslims, a large number of Kurds were also killed, simply because they were not Turks!

Christian Armenians had no conflict with devout Muslims and their faith. In fact, large numbers of survivors of the Armenian Genocide were sheltered by Muslims in, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Armenians remember well The Sharif of Mecca, Al-Husayn ibn Ali, who issued an edict in 1917 ordering Muslims to defend Armenian survivors of the Genocide, as they would defend their own families.

The Young Turks’ plan to eliminate Armenians from Ottoman Turkey was motivated by Pan-Turkish fanatical nationalism rather than Pan-Islamic fervor!

Book Release: The Assyrian-Chaldeans and Armenians massacred by the Turks Joseph Naayem

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assyrian-genocideby Editions Cercle d’Writings Caucasians

Publishing Circle Writings Caucasians just published the book-testimony “the Assyrian-Chaldeans and Armenians massacred by the Turks” Naayem Joseph (1888-1964), a key eyewitness to the Assyrian-Chaldean and Armenian Genocide.

The Assyrian-Chaldeans and Armenians massacred by the Turks Joseph Naayem

Below editors note: “Of the three oldest indigenous Christian peoples of Asia Minor, Armenian, Greek and Assyrian-Chaldean, who, during the First World War, suffered a genocide in the true sense of the term, hatched and executed by the young Turk regime in the Ottoman empire, completed by their ideological heirs Kemalists in 1919-1923 and endorsed by the infamous Treaty of Lausanne of 1924, the Assyrian-Chaldean, the less numerous and less protected is one whose tragedy remains the most misunderstood.

Yet the rare testimony of Joseph Naayem should, by 1920, raise the indignation of the victorious powers, countless existing evidence of commitment on the Allied side of this small nation isolated, defenseless and surrounded by enemies secular jurors . The same enemies who, taking advantage of the chaos in Iraq and Syria since the 1990s, got down to the elimination of this people, once again under the eyes of the civilized world, who consider him a Christian minority that can be transplanted in Europe or North America, to save and ensure its sustainability. As was done for the Armenian and Greek survivors of Asia Minor … Oblivious to his cultural roots, the West has much wrong to believe, as the recent bloody events on the ground prove it, away from the savage monsters which itself has tolerated the existence and nurtured ambitions in Iraq and Syria, as he had tolerated the existence of the Young Turks in the early 20th century, who thanked him with a World war which commemorates the centenary, which contained the seeds of the second … This reissue includes -in addition the foreword of Joseph Yacoub, Professor Emeritus of the Catholic University of Lyon, specializing in the world’s minorities and Christians in East, author of “Who will remember? “And” Forgotten all »Editions du Cerf -those of Lord Bryce, RP Gabriel Oussani and two additional chapters translated from English absent from the 1920 edition.”

The book will be presented by the editor Hrach Petrosian in many cities in France, on November 18 in Valence (Drôme) by the association “Arménia”.

- “The Assyrian-Chaldeans and Armenians massacred by the Turks” Joseph Naayem. Editions Cercle d’Writings Caucasians, 300 pages, 22 €. http://lecercledecritscaucasiens.over-blog.com/

Book Review: Perspectives from Exile by Lucine Kasbarian

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lucine kasparian-bookBY PETER MUSURLIAN
It is hard to imagine a comfortable mix of cartoons and genocide, but artist and author Lucine Kasbarian has done just that in her new book.
Perspectives from Exile is a hundred pages you can breeze through in a day of focused reading, but it will leave you thinking for weeks to come.
The book showcases the exceptional political cartoons of the author. The artwork is good and serves its purpose.
But, much more important is the long-time activist’s point-of-view, enhanced by keen observational skills and a lifetime of experience reading, writing, thinking about, and participating-in Armenian issues. Not many Armenian-Americans could do what Kasbarian has done. In fact, one might suggest no other Armenian-American could combine such concise and profound opinions, in this genre, on such topics as: Hrant Dink, the Armenian Genocide, Turkish hypocrisy, corruption in Armenia, and assimilation in the diaspora.
Each cartoon leaves the reader thinking. Perhaps Kasbarian’s pointed perspectives leave some of them righteously indignant and others amused, but always intellectually stimulated.
The political cartoons were part of a 2015 Massachusetts exhibition commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centenary at the Cambridge School of Weston. Conceptualized and edited by Todd Bartel, director of the Thompson Gallery at the Cambridge School, the book also contains pictures from the exhibit, an insightful interview with Bartel and the author, and a gripping account (and update) of a trip she took to Der Zor in 2010, which she calls, “A Pilgrimage to the Killing Fields of the Armenian Genocide.”
Perspectives from Exile should be in every Armenian-American school library and taught in social studies classes in each one of those schools.
What Kasbarian has done is unique and a major contribution to understanding the relationship between Armenians, Turks, and America, in the context of the Armenian Genocide over the past 100 years of denial, propaganda, and moral failure.
Perspectives from Exile is available through the author’s website at lucinekasbarian.com

 

Edition in Yerevan Armenian Book “Islamized Armenians force” of the Turkish historian Taner Akçam

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Islamaix=zed ArmenianA Yerevan recently published book in Armenian Turkish historian Taner Akçam on Islamized Armenians force. Under the title “Islamized Armenians force” Akçam’s book consists of three parts. The first refers to the denial of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and the maneuvers of the Turkish State to not open these dark pages of history.

The second part discusses the denial of Turkey and censorship of the writings and testimonies of Armenian Sarkis Torossian, an officer in the Ottoman Army. Finally, the third section discusses the Islamization force Armenians in the years 1915 to 1918. Akçam details this page of history relatively unknown in the Armenian genocide of the process. The book was translated from Turkish into Armenian by Meline Anoumian under the direction of editor Haïgazoun Alvratsyan. The book is published by the Centre for analysis and study of Armenians of Western Armenia.

Krikor Amirzayan

DOCUMENTARY DVD release of “Armenian Genocide, the 1915 spectrum” by R. and N. Gente Jallot

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genocide-book1915: the Ottoman Empire is plunged into the Great War: it will cause his downfall. In this historical context so special, more than a million Armenians were massacred by the Turks. It is the first genocide of a century that will not be stingy.

To tell this bloody history page on the occasion of its centenary, the film Armenian Genocide, the 1915 spectrum co-written by Nicolas Jallot Genté and Regis, going to the meeting of two iconic characters, a Turk and an Armenian in Turkey: Hasan Cemal, Fethiye Çetin.

Family exorcise demons move Turkish society, this is the meaning of their struggle for recognition of the Armenian genocide. Through them, the film mixes the “big” and “little” history between family chronicle and national destiny, between History and Memory. With interventions of Raymond H. Kevorkian and Edhem Eldem.

Amazon by clicking here: https://www.amazon.fr/Génocide-arménien-spectre-Nicolas-Jallot/dp/B01G2KJSKY/ref=sr_1_17 ?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1464872433&sr=1-17&keywords=1915

BOOK: The Armenian military forces in the Byzantine Empire (Armen Ayvazyan)

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book 740Armen Ayvazyan, Doctor of History and Political Science, is the author of numerous articles and books on Armenian history.

Armen Ayvazyan’s book consists of two studies, dealing with aspects of the Roman and Armenian military history often overlooked, which are distinct but whose themes overlap. These studies are devoted to the Armenian revolt in 538-539 against the government of Emperor Justinian and the reasons for his failure in the Strategikon the Emperor Maurice, one of the most famous Byzantine treaties of the art of war. The author also puts into perspective the crucial aspects of military culture of Rome and Armenia from the fourth to the sixth century.

This, very little studied, is considered in a multidisciplinary way by the author on the basis of Armenian and Western sources. This book teaches us especially popular tactics used by Armenians between the V and VI centuries to fight against enemy forces superior in number. The formidable fighting efficiency of Armenian military forces was rarely challenged. From antiquity until the eleventh century AD, Armenia possessed one of the most experienced armies, most effective and most organized of the entire Middle East. The author also emphasizes the continuity between the Roman and Byzantine policies opposing the independence of Armenia and perpetuating mainly for geopolitical reasons some ethnic prejudices against Armenians living in the Roman and Byzantine societies.

This book also provides a concise but thorough study of military relations between Byzantium, Armenia and Iran.

The Armenian military forces in the Byzantine Empire, Armen Ayvazyan, Sigest Publishing, 152 pages, 14.95 euros

To order online from the publisher’s site

http://editions.sigest.net/page0001015a.html

Saturday, May 21, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Matthew Karanian’s ‘Historic Armenia’ wins gold for best history book (Video)

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karanian.thumbMatthew Karanian’s groundbreaking book Historic Armenia After 100 Years received the top honor for best independently published history book during the annual Benjamin Franklin Book Awards ceremony held on April 8 in Salt Lake City.
The Independent Book Publishers Association, the largest association of publishers in the US, awarded the prize, the Armenian Weekly reports.

It is the first time that a book about Armenia has earned this top award.

Nearly 1,400 titles, all published in 2015, competed for recognition. The award is one of the highest national honors for independent publishers in the US.

Historic Armenia After 100 Years is the first-ever historical guide to the cultural sites of Western Armenia, and includes 125 color photographs and maps.

Karanian accepted the gold medal during a gala awards ceremony that was attended by more than 250 authors and publishers from throughout the US Karanian told the group that he wrote the book in order to shine a bright light on the often-overlooked history of Armenia.

“Armenia is one of the oldest nations in the world that nobody’s ever heard of,” Karanian told the audience. He added that the book is a celebration of Armenia, and not a eulogy.

“Armenia was almost destroyed in 1915 during the first genocide of the 20th century. But the nation survived. This book is a celebration of that survival,” Karanian said during his acceptance speech.

The Benjamin Franklin Book Award is known informally in the publishing industry as a “Benny” and has been awarded each year since 1983. The award recognizes the best independently published books among diverse categories, which include fiction, memoir, photography, travel, and history. A panel of publishing professionals and librarians judge the books each year.

This is the second time this year that Historic Armenia has been recognized with a prestigious national award. Foreword Reviews recognized the book earlier this year as a finalist in the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards. The top winner of that book prize will be celebrated during a program at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla. in June.