YEREVAN-LUND, Sweden — Swedish historian and writer Svante Lundgren holds a doctorate in Jewish Studies from Åbo Akademi University, Finland. He has worked as a secondary school teacher and as a researcher and lecturer at Åbo Akademi University. He has for many years now worked as a teacher and researcher at the Center for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University. His research primarily focuses on the non-Muslim minorities of the Middle East, particularly Assyrians, Armenians and Yazidis. Additional research interests include the Armenian Genocide and Western missionary and humanitarian efforts among Ottoman Armenians. Svante Lundgren is author of a number of articles and books in Swedish, English and German.
Dear Svante, you are among the rare intellectuals in Northern Europe consistently raising awareness about the plight of Eastern Christians, including Armenians. French-Armenian researcher Tigrane Yegavian, in his study The Minorities of the Orient: The Forgotten Ones of History, argues that there is no future anymore for non-Muslim minorities in the Middle East. Based on your research and your studies of Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, what is your perspective on this issue?
I do not agree. If we look at the broader picture, at the whole region of the Middle East, the fact is that there are more Christians in absolute numbers now than before, although their share of the total population has decreased. However, in countries torn apart by war, like Iraq and Syria, the Christians have suffered tremendously, and their number has decreased dramatically. In other countries the situation is stable, like in Egypt with up to 10 million Christian Copts. Then there are specific situations, like the one for Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, where the survival of a particular Christian community is at stake. I admire the courage and dedication of the young people there who have taken up the fight and I hope and pray that they will prevail.
Recently, Azerbaijan has been attempting to increase its influence in Nordic countries by organizing paid trips for individuals from Sweden and Finland. How significant could such initiatives be in shaping Scandinavian politics and public opinion?
It has some significance, but it should not be exaggerated. As these paid trips are exposed there is normally a backlash with a critical debate about why people let themselves be used by autocratic regimes. We have seen during the last years both in Sweden and Finland that these Azerbaijani initiatives result in the despotic character of the Baku regime being exposed to a wider public.
You have openly criticized the Aliyev regime. Have you ever received threats for your views?
