Contrary to the lies and half truths that make the stuff out of which our traditional history textbooks are written, until very recently religious tolerance -let alone harmony- was the exception rather than the rule and that was true in Syria and elsewhere (the Muslim's description of minorities in the unedited version of the Arabian Nights is quite enlightening)
A case in point is the Damascus Affair of 1840 when the city's Christians accused its Jews of killing Father Thomas and his servant in order to use their blood in their bakery. The Christians solicited the aid of the governor of Damascus who put the suspects to torture (including caning and squeezing the genitals) thus succeeding in making them "confess" and even in converting one of the Rabbis to Islam in order save his skin. Sadly many until nowadays still believe this preposterous libel to be truthful and none other than Mustafa Tlas provided his contribution in a silly book entitled "The Matzo of Zion"
Twenty years later it was the Christians' turn
A case in point is the Damascus Affair of 1840 when the city's Christians accused its Jews of killing Father Thomas and his servant in order to use their blood in their bakery. The Christians solicited the aid of the governor of Damascus who put the suspects to torture (including caning and squeezing the genitals) thus succeeding in making them "confess" and even in converting one of the Rabbis to Islam in order save his skin. Sadly many until nowadays still believe this preposterous libel to be truthful and none other than Mustafa Tlas provided his contribution in a silly book entitled "The Matzo of Zion"
Twenty years later it was the Christians' turn
L'Univers illustré . 1859-1860, t. 3, p.281
ReplyDeleteفصل مشين في تاريخ دمشق: مذبحة 1860
خلافاً للاكاذيب و أنصاف الحقائق التي تسردها كتب التاريخ التقليدية، حتى أمد قريب لم يكن الانسجام بين الأديان هو القاعدة لا في سوريا و لا غيرها (كتاب ألف ليلة و ليلة الغير منقح يعطي بعض التفاصيل "المسقسقة" عن هذا الموضوع). أحداث عام 1840 في دمشق معروفة عندما قام مسيحيوها باتهام يهودها بقتل الأب توماس و تابعه و إستعمال دمهم لخبز فطيرهم و اشتكوا عليهم لحاكم دمشق و الذي جعلهم يعترفون تحت التعذيب (الفلقة و عصر المذاكير إلخ حتى أن أحد الحاخامات أشهر إسلامه كي ينقذ جلده) و مع الأسف لا يزال الكثيرون إلى يومنا هذا يصدقون هذه التهمة اللامعقولة و التي ألف عنها مصطفى طلاس كتابه التافه "فطير صهيون". بعد عشرين سنة من هذه الماساة جاء دور المسيحيين