Courtesy of

Julie Bonnéric

In the centre of Failaka located within the Kuwait Bay lies al-Qusur, a Christian monastery that could be of high importance to understanding Christianity and monasticism at the beginning of the Islamic period, disclosed Dr Julie Bonnéric, the co-director of the French-Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission during her lecture presentation on “Christianity in the Gulf on the Eve of Islam in Light of Archaeological Discoveries” last Monday at the Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah (DAI) Yarmouk Cultural Centre that was attended by DAI Director General and Co-Founder Sheikha Hessa Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, the French Ambassador to Kuwait, some archaeologists, scholars and other distinguished guests.

Dr Bonnéric who has been in charge of the study of al-Qusur site, on Failaka Island (Kuwait) since 2011 is also a researcher at the Annemarie Schimmel College, University of Bonn (Germany). An archaeologist and pottery specialist, she has worked on excavations in Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Libya. Bonnéric holds a PhD in Islamic and Medieval History from the EPHE-Sorbonne (Paris), specialising in the history of light and fragrances in Islam.

Dr Bonnéric in her lecture presentation outlined that written sources reveal the presence of Christians in the Gulf, in particular through mentions of dioceses from the end of the 4th to the 7th centuries CE, while also suggesting their disappearance in the region after this period. On the contrary, archaeological discoveries testify to the presence of Christian communities in the Gulf during the two first centuries after the Muslim conquest, some settlements being abandoned circa 9th century CE. Archaeological sites such as al-Qusur (Kuwait), Kharg (Iran) or Sir Bani Yas (UAE) are particularly important for retracing the history of both the Gulf and Christianity, but also to understanding the relationship between Muslims and Christians at the beginning of Islam.

& National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters of the State of Kuwait

She cited that al-Qusur is an early Islamic settlement organised around two well-preserved churches, one of which was monumental. From the results of the French-Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission in Failaka, it appears now that this site was a monastery that was probably built at the end of the Sasanian period (probably 6th or 7th century) and was still occupied after the Muslim conquest until approximately the ninth century. It is yet to be determined whether a village surrounded the monastery or not.

She recounted that several archaeological field works were done on Failaka namely the Archaeological Mission in the Arabic Gulf 1975-1976; French Mission in Kuwait, 1988-1989, 2007-2009; Kuwaiti-Slovak Archaeological Mission, 2006-2009, 2016-present; Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission, 2011-2013; French-Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission in Failaka, 2011-present.

Dr Bonnéric cited that the two important churches were discovered in the 1980s and in the 2000s. Several expeditions, Italian, French, Slovak and Polish have gained interest in this archaeological site but still disagree about both its dating and nature — was the settlement an early Islamic village? Or was it a Sasanian monastery? Since 2011, the French-Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission in Failaka is carrying out excavations in both the Tell Sa’id — a Hellenistic Fortress and the al-Qusur sites.

Dr Bonnéric along with her team are excavating, mapping, registering and studying the objects found to better understand who were the Christians living in Failaka during the Early Islamic times. Moreover, the site is of utmost importance for understanding both Kuwait and the Arab Persian Gulf history. This site also has the potential to provide valuable information about the early Islamic period, the creation of the umma and the later Islamisation of the region.

She outlined that the presence of a Christian settlement in the Arabian Gulf is not in itself surprising. Indeed, Christians have a long and ancient history in the region that lasted from the fourth century until at least the ninth century. She explained that various hypotheses have been formatted to account for the partial Christianisation of the Gulf area dating to the fourth century and later. Certain Arabic tribes, who were in direct contact with the Christian Community of al-Hira in Central Iraq, might have contributed to importing Christianity in the Gulf. She added that the Church of the East seems to have developed missionary activities in this region, leading to the progressive Christianization of some local populations. The persecution of the Nestorians conducted by Shapur II, who ruled over the Persian Sasanian Empire from 309 to 379 led to the migration of Christians from the Empire and perhaps to the Gulf. The Gulf being a commercial road, interactions with Christian merchants could also be an explanation.

Dr Bonnéric stated that the Gulf is not often mentioned in the texts and there was scarcity in the textual materials. The Arabic sources are very silent about Christianity in the region. On the other hand, Syriac texts such as chronicles, synodic acts, hagiography and letters, mention the presence of bishops and monasteries in the Gulf, therefore accounting for the existence of many Christian communities in the area. One of the first mentions of Christians in the Gulf comes from the acts of synod of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, which took place in 410. This important council, during which the Church of the East broke with Antioch, refers to the bishops of the maritime islands, that is to say the islands of Bahrain archipelago, placed under the authority of the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. It attests to a Christian presence anterior to the Synod. It is difficult, in the absence of archaeological remains for the period, to date the apparition of Christians in the Gulf, but it seems according to the texts, that they were present as early as the end of the fourth century, perhaps before.