New Reality in the Middle East in Wake of Revolts, Reforms and Religion: Eroding Diasporas Cling to Traditions

The first is residual, in which the community gradually and steadily weakens, such as the Armenian community in Ethiopia, which was “very strong” from the 1920s through the 1970s and now has practically disappeared.

Next, there are the emergent communities, which are the result of new migration, thus they have higher numbers and great commitment to their culture.

Third, he said, are the dominant communities, for example, Lebanon before 1975 and Iran before 1979.

Tölölyan said that “just the passage of time changes the nature of any country.”

He ascribed many changes in the Armenian community there to those of the greater host community, including the introduction of widespread media, including Al Jazeera and Western program, as well as wealth from oil and greater Islamization.

Tölölyan said that perhaps one should consider that a smaller community is not necessarily a weakened community. “The core group becomes even more committed. I don’t feel that everything is in decline,” he said, though in some communities the numbers are halved.

Western Armenian Culture in Jeopardy

One result of the move out of the Middle East, Sanjian said, is the erosion of Western Armenian culture and language. In fact, he said, last year the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Western Armenian an endangered language.

“Western Armenian culture is under serious threat. This is a delayed consequence of the Armenian Genocide,” he added.

The Middle East, including Istanbul, traditionally has Armenian-speakers for about three generations, Sanjian said. However, in Iran, he said, Armenians have been able to keep their language for generations.

In France, the US and Canada, where newer waves of immigration have led, there is more pressure to conform and speak the host country’s language.

Tölölyan agreed that the attitude in Lebanon, unlike Iran, has been much more inclusive.

“The attitude is, ‘Let’s all be Lebanese together.’ It is much more receptive. Intermarriage has tripled and quadrupled. They say we can’t keep separate,” Tölölyan said.

Sanjian agreed that assimilation is happening rapidly. In countries, like Egypt and Lebanon, he said, with large Christian Arab populations, Armenians regularly intermarry with them. The region is “overwhelmingly Muslim” and thus, Armenians are marrying within their group, though increasing the definition to mean Christians.

“They think it’s much easier to be with fellow Christians,” Sanjian said.

At the same time, Tölölyan said, what is going on in Turkey, namely “a debate among themselves to figure out if there is a pluralist way” to define their identity and to find out what makes a pluralist society, makes it unique.

From about 1900-1940s, the Middle East experienced a pan-Arab movement, with the movement peaking in the 1960s. However, since the 1970s, instead of pan-Arab nationalism, it is pan-Islamism that has risen.

“Since the 1970s, there has been a shifting identity” in the Middle East, so that any person does not define themselves as Arab, but rather as Libyan, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, etc., Tölölyan noted.

The number of students in Armenian schools in Lebanon has gone down accordingly — if not alarmingly. In 1975, he said, there were 21,000 Armenian students in grades K-12, but now it is about 7,000. There are many more ethnic Armenian school children, but now, he said, most parents opt for private Arabic-language schools in hopes of creating a better future for their children by making them more fluent in Arabic.

In Syria, he said, the number of students has been holding, approximately around 15,000.

In Egypt, Sanjian said that the number of Armenians, once so numerous, is down to a few thousand. The creation of the new Egyptian government, he said, once the dust settles, will resonate throughout the Arab world. “It will affect policy and discourse in other Arab countries,” he said, including Lebanon and East Jerusalem. “The changes are not going to stop at the Egyptian border,” he said.

One bright light, paradoxically, is Istanbul, he said. “It still has a thriving community,” though many are Turkish or Kurdish speakers. “It has recovered the feel of a community.”