An Arabic Source On The Armenian Genocide

Dear Friends,
The book carries the title " Al-Qusara Fee Nakabat Al-Nasara " (The Uttermost Peak of the Christians’ Calamities) authored by an eye-witness (Syrian Catholic priest Ishaq Armala) and published in Aleppo (without a date). The book (504 pages) is about the massacres and all kind of atrocities that took place in Mesopotamia, especially in Mardin, during 1895 and 1914-1919. The author used the then Arabic language that contained words that are not often used in modern Arabic. But the book did not hold the Sultan responsible for these atrocities, referring them to the Kurds, the tribes and mobs. The author also mentioned that "inspectors" came from Istanbul who held the Armenians and the British responsible for these events. I contained these parts of this book in the book I am preparing now about the Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
Concerning the genocide committed against the Armenians and other Christians in the Ottoman Empire during 1915-1919 (pp. 67-499), the book contains eyewitness evidences, a blow-by-blow account of the massacres and other atrocities, names of the perpetrators and victims. Therefore, it is impossible to cover them all in this letter, but I would refer to some events and notes mentioned in the book:
· The author of the book profoundly condemns the Turkish (Ittihadist) government for being responsible for these massacres and atrocities. Furthermore, he condemns the Austrians and the Germans for not defending the Christians and even inciting Turkey to these crimes (p. 75).
· The author notes that Turkey (or the Turkish government), trying to justify these crimes, had resorted to lies and tricks accusing the Christians of possessing weapons, communicating with enemy states and establishing secret societies against Turkey. The author disclosed and refuted these lies invented by the Turkish government to kill its Christian subjects (p. 79).
· The author mentions, according to an eyewitness evidence, that the Turks in Beiburt, deceitfully killed 50 Armenians (after gathering them in a mosque), changed their clothes and photographed them to allege that these were the corpses of Turks killed by Armenians (Footnote of p. 91, p. 149). It is noteworthy that the same Turkish act was referred to by a Muslim Arab eyewitness, the lawyer and the politician Fa’iz El-Ghusein, who authored the book titled “The Massacres in Armenia”.
· The author remarks that the Armenian newspapers and magazines in the Ottoman Empire were calling the Armenians for fighting the Russians. They even, according to the author, put the appeal of the CUP urging the Ottomans to fight the Russians on (their) court’s door (pp. 110-111). This refutes the allegations made by the Turkish state that the Ottoman Armenians co-operated with the Russians against the Ottoman Empire.
· The author notes that the Turkish government issued a declaration on the “deportation” of the Armenians, but the plan in secret aimed at forming special military groups to aid the (Turkish) soldiers in killing the Armenians and all Christians and possessing their properties and belongings (p. 158).
· The author quotes from what a Muslim Imam (religious leader) wrote on these crimes denouncing especially the killing of Armenian children and women, which is against the principles and rules of Islam and all religions (pp. 287-288).
· The author describes in detail many ways adopted in killing the Armenians and the Christians. He mentions that the Turkish soldiers were “selling” the convoys of Armenians and Christians marching from Diyarbekir to the Kurds for little amounts of money (500-1000 liras). The Kurds used to take these convoys of people to the wilds and valleys, torture and kill them all after taking what they had (pp.291-292).
· The author discourses at large (in pp. 335-439) on the massacres committed in different cities of Mesopotamia, like Urfa (pp. 335-337), Diyarbekir (pp. 337-343), Ras Ul-Ein (pp. 359-363), Der El-Zor (pp. 364-369), El-Jazeera (pp. 383-385), Seghert (pp. 386-390), El-Sur (pp.413-415), Nasibin and Dara (pp. 415-420), Tel Ermen (pp. 435-439).
· The author mentions that the (Turkish) public officials were telling the Armenians and Syrians in Weran Shahr (and other places) that “There is no difference between a black dog and a white dog and the whole Christians are dogs and ought to be killed like them” (p. 359) (The dog symbolizes impurity in the Islam religion).
· The author mentions that after killing the Armenians and Christians in Mesopotamia, their plundered properties and precious belongings were auctioned at public places and churches. He took as an example the auctions that took place in Mardin city (pp. 445-447).
· The author mentions that after killing the Armenian and Christian men and women the adversary (the Turkish officials) announced that Muslim families would reach Mardin. They alleged that the Armenians tortured the men, cut their arms and legs and tortured their women too. Contrary to these false allegations, the author says that when the immigrants reached the city they brought all their belongings with them, and their women were in their best condition and jeweled. These immigrants were very dirty and used to remove the wood and steel from the occupied houses. Consequently, the flourishing houses of Armenians went to rack and ruin. (pp. 449-450.

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