Syrian Christian Author & Photographer Writes about Leaving Syria (2013 - Old News)

Hello folks. It has been almost a decade since hearing Syria on the news headlines, however, this article from 2013 shows that there are Christians in Syria who had to flee due to persecution, or to find more lucrative jobs. This article discusses a Syrian man who learned about Christianity from a friend, converted from Islam to Christianity, and left Syria to become a photographer for a Birmingham, Alabama based newspaper.

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Short Summary (<20% article length for fair usage reasons):

Karim Shamsi-Basha, a former Muslim from Damascus, Syria, has written a book titled "Paul and Me" about his journey from Islam to Christianity. He left Syria at 18 and now lives in the US. His book recounts his spiritual journey, including his upbringing in a religiously tolerant Damascus, his curiosity about Christianity, and his eventual conversion. Shamsi-Basha's family is still in Syria, and he worries about their safety amidst the ongoing civil war (as of 2013). He believes that both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are causing human suffering and advocates for love and peace.

Author: Greg Garrison
Publication Date: September 27, 2013

Yo, @dzheremi , as you are from Egypt, what are your thoughts on Syrian Christianity?

dzheremi said:

I'm not from Egypt...is my info box not showing up to the side of all my posts?

Anyway, I am glad that Mr. Shamsi-Basha is safe in the USA now, and I would join in prayer for his family, and for all Syrians. Syria is a famously tolerant country, or at least it was before the recent civil war/attempted Islamist takeover.

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Ooh, my bad. You are Coptic, but not Egyptian. I am glad that Mr. Shamsi-Basha is safe as well. Hopefully, Syria can go back to an open-minded nation again, and ditch the dictator. And we should pray for his family and Syrians in general.

So, are you Middle Eastern, but not Egyptian?

dzheremi said:

No, not Middle Eastern. Just a boring old American white guy. Haha.

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Well, that is alright. What got you to convert to Coptic Orthodox, if I may ask?

dzheremi said:

A bit of a long story. I was Roman Catholic and not being well-fed in those circumstances. I tried to connect with various Eastern Catholic churches, but also couldn't really connect with those. At the time I was also taking Arabic language classes in college, so as part of my searching the internet for more Arabic-language Christian materials (since I didn't want to learn about Muhammad or Islam), I came across some sermons by HH Pope Shenouda III, the Coptic Orthodox Pope at that time (2008-2009), that had English subtitles, so I decided to study them to learn more vocabulary. But instead I was impressed by the faith that was transmitted through them, and became interested in the Church through that. I didn't live in an area with any Coptic Orthodox churches, so it took three more years before I could go to my first liturgy, but I used that time to really study and pray to try to make sense of where I should be.

I began attending a Coptic Orthodox parish (St. Bishoy, in Albuquerque, NM) in 2011 and was baptized in 2012. So now here I am, a dozen years later.

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Congrats on your journey. And hey, Catholics and Orthodox are still close brothers, and we both believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.