Farid Nuzha

Farid Elias Nuzha (, ; 1895 - 1971), also spelled Farid Nazha or Farid Nozha, was an Assyrian nationalist and journalist. Born in Hama to a Syriac Orthodox family in 1895, he immigrated to Argentina due to religious conflicts in his hometown. While in Argentina, he helped establish a cultural club and a newspaper, Syriac University/Assyrian Association, which he subsequently wrote for throughout most of his life and career.

In his writings, Nuzha advocated for the preservation and promotion of Assyrian culture, identity and language. He also maintained a stance on unity within the Assyrian community and emphasized bringing together members of the various Syriac churches. Nuzha opposed the mixing of ethnic identity with religious affiliation and pushed forward an inclusive Assyrian belonging through his community advocacy. He also frequently criticized the clergymen of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Most notably, his criticism of and conflict with Ignatius Aphrem I Barsoum led to his excommunication from the church, though it was later reversed.

Nuzha's writings through the Assyrian Association magazine would serve as an inspiration for Assyrian nationalists in the 1950s, including the formation of the Assyrian Democratic Organization. Today, he is remembered for his contributions to both Assyrian nationalism as well as Assyrian journalism, and is celebrated alongside other figures such as Naum Faiq and Freydun Atturaya.

Early life Farid Elias Nuzha was born in 1895 in Hama, Ottoman Syria to a Syriac Orthodox family. His grandparents were immigrants originally from Elazığ (Harpoot) in Turkey who migrated to Hama in 1760. The name "Nuzha" descends from a great-grandmother who had the same name, while his middle name "Elias" came from his father's name. Nuzha would be educated in the Syriac Orthodox education system that was established by the church in the 1840s.

In 1911, a number of Syriac Orthodox Assyrians converted to the Syriac Catholic Church, which initiated a bitter conflict in Hama's Assyrian community. Nuzha's father decided to send him to Argentina, in order to prevent him from becoming involved in the conflict. In August of that year, he arrived in Buenos Aires, where he studied Mathematics and Economy. In March 1920, he married an Argentine woman of Italian descent and moved to Santiago del Estero for work; he returned to Buenos Aires eleven years later. Gabriele Younan adds that the magazine was republished briefly in 1969. The newspaper was initially aimed towards Assyrian/Syriac immigrants in Argentina, but its popularity grew as Assyrian journalists from other parts of the world started to contribute to it. The magazine would later incorporate a correspondent, Yusuf Namek (originally from Urfa), who wrote under the pen-name "Bar-Ashur" , although many of his writings would later be altered to replace "Assyrian" with "Aramean" in the Middle East. The magazine would arrive in Syria from overseas, and partly serve as inspiration for the establishment of the Assyrian Democratic Organization in the 1950s.

Nuzha himself had a column in Assyrian Association, where he commented on various matters concerning the Assyrian populace during this time. In his writings, he maintained an inclusive approach to denominational names used among the different Syriac churches and sought unity between them, while opposing the mixing of religious affiliation with ethnic identity. retracted his excommunication in the late 1950s. Nuzha's work would go on to inspire other Assyrian nationalist activists such as Ninos Aho. In Buenos Aires, original copies of the Assyrian Association magazine were on display in an exhibit at the Museum of Immigrants until December 2025. Philoxenos Yuhanon Dolabani had saved most issues of Nuzha's magazine, but by 2003, most of them had either disappeared or were destroyed. Assyrian journalist Augin Kurt Haninke states that the loss of the issues may have been because they were "dragged away and shoved in some corner."