Assyria (21st Century Crisis)

The Federation of Assyria (Syriac: ܫܘܼܠܛܵܢܵܐ ܐܵܬ݂ܘܿܪ, Arabic: الاتحاد أشور) is a country located in West Asia, bordering Iraq to the south, Turkey to the north, North Syria to the west, and Iran to the east.

Currently, the majority of Assyrians are Christian. Christianity accounts for approximately 75.6% of Assyria's population, Islam forms a 23.5%. The rest include Mandaeism, Bahá'í Faith, Zoroastrianism, Yazidism and Judaism.

Although Freedom of Religion is gauranteed for all Assyrian citizens, Assyria considers itself a Christian state, and all candidates for high-office positions are required to profess Christianity as their faith. In addition, Christian festivals such as Christmas, Lent and Easter are all publicly observed. Good Friday is considered Assyria's holiest day, on this day, all public facilities are closed, marked by a National Fast.

Standard Syriac and Standard Arabic are the two official state languages. However, the vernacular dialect of Syriac spoken by the Assyrians is the Eastern dialect. As for the Arabic-speakers, they speak Mesopotamian Arabic, the same dialect spoken in Iraq. Other languages spoken in Assyria include Persian, Kurdish and Turkish.