The cross and the crescent

“Korset och halvmånen” (The Cross and the Crescent) is a book by Ingmar Karlsson, unfortunately only available in Swedish. Karlsson has worked as a diplomat in both Syria and Turkey. I haven´t seen the new edition of his book, but the original 1991 version is widely available in public libraries all over Sweden. It seems to be the only popularized introduction in the Swedish language to the thorny issue of religious minorities in the Middle East. It deals extensively with the Monophysite and Nestorian Christians, the Druze and with several “Ghulat” groups within Shia Islam. 

Karlsson valiantly tries to describe the esoteric messages of the Ismailites, Alawites and Druze (or what little was known about them in 1991), and he treats the various Christological controversies within the early Church with equal erudition. The most fascinating chapter deals with the Kurdish Yazidis, who have often been accused of “Devil-worship” (and therefore viciously attacked by the ISIS terrorists – a Yazidi recently got the Nobel Peace Prize). The weakest chapter in my opinion is the one about the Samaritans. But then, perhaps information about them was difficult to get by when the book was written? 

One thing that struck me when reading “Korset och halvmånen” is that many of the “minorities” mentioned are large enough to play important political roles – or at least well-placed enough to do so. Thus, Syria is controlled by a small clan of Alawis, while the Druze had a significant role in the Lebanese civil war. Today, many Yazidis have joined the leftist guerillas in northern Syria, while the Christian Question looms large all over the Middle East. 

I somehow suspect that Karlsson, or his publishers, will have to update this book again at some point in the near future…