Ano Jawhar Presents Burned Syriac Page to Pope
At a Glance
- Ano Jawhar visited the Vatican and presented a burned Syriac manuscript page
- ISIS destruction was remembered, and the delegation prayed for world peace
Kurdistan Region Minister of Transportation and Communications Ano Jawhar took part in a Vatican gathering focused on peace and presented the Pope with a symbolic artifact carrying the memory of persecution and survival.
Key Statements and Focus Area
- Ano Jawhar: Presented the Pope with a partially burned page from an ancient Syriac manuscript. The artifact represents the destruction suffered by local churches during ISIS attacks.
- Peace gathering: The international delegation joined in prayer for “the safety of humanity and world peace.”
Jawhar visited the Vatican on August 21 as part of an international delegation that included ministers, members of the US Congress, European lawmakers, and political representatives from the Middle East and Asia.
The delegation attended an official address by the Pope and participated in a joint prayer for peace and humanity.
The partially burned page Jawhar presented to the Pope contains an ancient Syriac prayer. Parts of the writing survived despite the document being exposed to fire.
The manuscript page was recovered from the ruins of a church affected by ISIS attacks in the region.
The artifact serves as a reminder of the destruction suffered by churches and minority communities during the period of ISIS control, while also representing the survival of their religious and cultural heritage.
The artifact also commemorates the liberation of areas affected by ISIS after its attacks on regional communities.
The liberation efforts involved Peshmerga forces working alongside Iraqi forces and the international coalition.
FYI
Syriac is an ancient dialect of Aramaic that serves as the liturgical language for several Eastern Christian churches in Iraq, carrying over fifteen centuries of deep cultural and religious heritage.
During the military occupation of the Nineveh Plains by ISIS, numerous historical churches and priceless libraries containing these ancient manuscripts were deliberately destroyed or burned. The preservation of these unique scripture fragments represents the cultural resilience of the region’s indigenous Christian population.
Following the successful liberation of these ancestral areas by a joint effort of the Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi forces, and the international coalition, local communities have worked to rescue these fragile historical artifacts from the rubble to document their history on the global stage.
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