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Gulf-Goans e-Newsletter
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DOHA MARCH 14, 2008: Christians in Qatar opened their first church on Friday,
joining fellow believers in most other Gulf Arab states who have long been able
to worship in churches rather than homes and other venues.
An inauguration event was held for St Mary's Roman Catholic church in Doha,
the first of five that will be built in Qatar.
The opening of the church was attended by high-ranking diplomats, Catholic
religious leaders and Qatar's minister of energy and industry, Abdullah bin
Hamad al-Attiyah.
"The church will send a positive message to the world," Attiyah told
reporters.
The secretary of the Anglican church in neighbouring Bahrain, Yussef Haidar,
boasts that the tiny state "hosts the first church of the Gulf region, founded
in 1906 by American Anglican missionaries".
Kuwait has about 10 churches.
Complaints by some Christians that they were forced to rent private
residences and turn them into places of worship, prompted the Kuwaiti
government three years ago to allot two large plots of land for new churches.
The United Arab Emirates, which prides itself on its religious tolerance and
cultural diversity, also has several churches used by hundreds of thousands of
Christian expats, mostly Filipinos, Indians and Arabs.
Land for churches in Oman has been donated by Sultan Qaboos.
However, Saudi Arabia, which adheres to a rigorous doctrine of Islam known as
Wahhabism and is home to Islam's holiest sites, bans all non-Muslim religious
rituals and materials.
Gulf a haven for Christian communities
Gulf Times
TODAY, when the first Catholic church in Qatar is consecrated by Cardinal
Ivan Dias at Mesaimeer, a remarkable milestone in the history of Qatar will be
reached. Although this is the first Catholic church in Qatar, it is not the
first church.
Centuries ago, long before the Revelation of Islam in the 7th century AD,
Christian communities flourished along the shores of the Arabian Gulf and
southwards along the Indian Ocean. They were followers of the Nestorian
doctrine, named after a Syrian monk, Nestorius, who died in 451 AD.
Christianity spread from its earliest home in Palestine and found homes among
both Jewish and Hellenistic populations in both settled and nomadic
territories. A 2nd century writer, Justin the Martyr, speaks of the spread of
the faith among tented herdsmen. The first Christian king, Abgar, ruled from
177 -212 in what is now Iraq. The earliest church building yet found, at Dura
on the Euphrates river, dates to the 3rd century. There is evidence of
Christian monasteries located along the overland trade routes in the region and
acting as caravanserai.
The historical recreation of the spread of Christianity in the Arabian Gulf
is difficult and is complicated by the disappearance of many written records
during the numerous early conflicts in the region. But what is known from
Byzantine and Syrian ecclesiastical records is that there were five sees
[bishoprics] on the western side of the Gulf by the early 5th century.
Qatar was one of the five, and the area included the whole peninsula. Along
with Bahrain and the eastern seaboard of Saudi Arabia, it was known by the
Syrian name of Beth Qatraye. The diocesan bishop in Qatar from c.650 onwards
until at least 676 was Thomas. In that year a Council was held in Qatar to deal
with some disciplinary issues which had been troubling the Gulf churches and
the names of several bishops who attended the Council are recorded, including
that of Bishop Thomas.
The see of Bahrain included the mainland, probably stretching from north of
the present Jubail southwards through the Al Hasa oasis and including Qatif.
Hatta is known to have had churches and bishops.
The other sees were Darin, now known as Tarut Island and situated just off
the coast of Saudi Arabia, Mashmahiq, which is the modern island of Muharraq,
site of Bahrain Airport, and Uman. The see of Uman, which included Oman and
the area included in the present-day United Arab Emirates, was based at Suhar
and the province had links with India and East Africa.
One of the greatest of the pre-Islamic poets, Labid, was born in the mid-6th
century. In later life he converted to Islam and was honoured by having some of
his work chosen as muallaqat: written in gold letters and hung inside the holy
Kaaba. In early life Labid wrote a fascinating account of his travels down the
east coast of Arabia and describes, as he approached settlements, the beating
of clappers [naqus] of the churches calling the inhabitants to worship.
To date, no structures dating to the Christian era have yet been discovered
in either Bahrain or Qatar, although it seems almost certain, from the records
of bishops and councils that such structures must have existed, even if they
were no more than barasti [palm leaf] huts. New and comprehensive
archaeological surveys are currently taking place in Qatar, and it may well be
that eventually the remains of ecclesiastical buildings will be found here.
Until a little over 20 years ago nothing was known about church buildings in
the region. Then, in February 1986, a young Saudi national was driving his
newly acquired 4x4 vehicle across some dunes near Jubail when he became stuck.
As he was digging it out he came across the top of a wall which disappeared
down into the sand.
Unfortunately, instead of contacting the Department of Antiquities the young
man first informed the police. They brought in a local contractor who dug out
the sand around the buried structure, doing considerable damage in the process.
When a wall with distinctive crosses came to light the Department of
Antiquities was immediately notified, and archaeologists then excavated the
rest of the building and put a protective fence around it. The remains of other
buildings could be seen beneath the sands, indicating that it was part of a
small settlement.
The church complex consisted of a courtyard and three rooms on its east side.
There were the remains of plaster decorated with crosses. The range of
potsherds indicated that the church may have been in use from the 5th to the
9th centuries.
The finding of the church came as a considerable surprise, and because of its
proximity to the coast Saudi archaeologists at first described it as a
seafarers chapel. But Muslim archival statements about Islams tolerance of
the peoples of the book, provided they paid their taxes, the site evidence
and, later, the discovery of a second church not far away at Thaj suggests it
is more likely to have been a parish or monastic structure situated within a
stable community. Grave slabs with crosses crudely incised on them were found a
few hundred metres away from the Jubail church.
The following year a church dating to the 5th to 6th centuries was found and
excavated by French archaeologists on Failaka island off Kuwait. Again, plaster
fragments were found, bearing traces of Nestorian-style crosses with flared
arms, and other sacred art. There were several rooms around the central church,
which had a nave and side aisles. Tombs were embedded in the walls of the side
chapels.
In 1992 the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey began excavations on the
island of Sir Bani Yas and over the course of several seasons uncovered a group
of stone built and plastered houses, a large administrative building and a
Christian monastic complex. The church was built on a low mound and had a nave,
apse and two aisles, plus an adjacent complex of around 13 small rooms with
enclosed courtyards.
The church was decorated with finely-made plaster motifs, with designs
including typical Nestorian crosses, palm trees and grape vines bearing bunches
of grapes. Most of them were on the inside of the building although there also
appears to have been a frieze running around the outside of the eastern
doorway. In 1996 a burial was found just outside the doorway, suggesting that
this was a person of importance, perhaps a bishop or even the founder of the
community.
The plaster had survived when the walls toppled over after the building was
abandoned. There is no evidence of destruction; it was simply left to fall into
ruin. All the evidence points to what is confirmed by Nestorian church records,
that following the Revelation of Islam in 627 -629 the majority of the people
of the Arabian Gulf, whether Christian or pagan, peacefully converted to Islam,
the new faith being adopted by leaders like the Christian governor of Hasa
Oasis in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.
Those Christians who chose to retain their beliefs were tolerated and
continued to fill official posts.
The fact that the monastery on Sir Bani Yas survived into the Ummayid period,
as is proved by the remains of datable pottery, showed that the occupants
practised their religion freely during the early decades of the Islamic era.
The opening of the Catholic church of Our Lady of the Rosary today at
Mesaimeer is, therefore, a symbol not only of historic importance but also of
the freedom of worship which is guaranteed by the government of Qatar, just as
it was in the earliest days of Islam.
Info source: www.mangalorean.com
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