Persecuted Christian's exodus from Iraq gathers pace
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Pastor Dale Morgan
unread,
Dec 24, 2010, 8:53:53 PM12/24/10
Reply to author
Sign in to reply to author
Forward
Sign in to forward
Delete
You do not have permission to delete messages in this group
Copy link
Report message
Show original message
Either email addresses are anonymous for this group or you need the view member email addresses permission to view the original message
to Bible-Pro...@googlegroups.com
Faith Under
Fire....
Persecuted Christian's exodus from Iraq gathers pace
Churches empty and Christmas decorations are put away after
al-Qaida renews deadly threat
* Martin Chulov in Baghdad
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 December 2010 15.04 GMT
A shrine for Iraqi Christians who were k A shrine to Christians
killed at the Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad in the
autumn. Al-Qaida has renewed threats against Iraq's Christians.
Photograph: Ali Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images
Their cathedrals stand silent and their neighbourhoods are rapidly
emptying. Now Iraq's Christians face two further unthinkable
realities: that Christmas this year is all but cancelled, and that
few among them will stay around to celebrate future holy days.
It has been the worst of years for the country's Christians, with
thousands fleeing in the past month and more leaving the country
during 2010 than at any time since the invasion nearly eight years
ago. Christian leaders say there have been few more defining years
in their 2,000-year history in central Arabia.
The latest exodus follows a massacre led by al-Qaida at a Chaldean
Catholic church in central Baghdad on 31 October, which left about
60 people dead, almost 100 maimed and an already apprehensive
community terrified. Since then, the terrorist group has targeted
Christians in their homes, including family members of those who
survived the attack.
In Baghdad, as well as the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk,
Christmas services have been cancelled for fear of further
violence. Church leaders said they would not put up Christmas
decorations or celebrate midnight mass. They told families not to
decorate their homes, for fear of attack after al-Qaida reiterated
its threat to target Christians earlier this week.
"Now more than 80% of Christians are not going to the churches,"
said the head of Iraq's Christian Endowment group, Abdullah
al-Noufali. "There is no more sunday school, no school for
teaching Christianity. Yesterday we had a discussion about what we
would do for Christmas. We took a decision just to do one mass. In
years before we had many masses."
Noufali's church was closed and barricaded in 2005 when violence
was consuming Baghdad. Many others had stayed open since then.
Until now. In the wake of the attack on the Our Lady of Salvation
church, at least 10 churches are believed to have been closed. At
others, congregations are down to a handful.
Iraq's Christian population has halved since the ousting of Saddam
Hussein. But in the past two months, the rate of departure has
soared. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is
reporting high numbers of registrations by Christians in Syria,
Jordan and Lebanon. And in Iraq's Kurdish north, the number of
refugees is overwhelming.
Christians have been arriving since the president of the Kurdish
regional government, Massoud Barazani, offered them protection and
refuge days after the massacre.
Kurdish officials say at least 1,000 families have taken up the
offer. Noufali believes the number is far higher. He says the
Kurds have been warm and welcoming, but fears that moving there
does not offer his community a long-term solution.
"We have seen in Kurdistan that they have no ability to accept the
Kurdish students in the universities," he said. "There are not
enough chairs in the university for them. They must have
opportunity to learn and work. The problem is not just security."
In Lebanon, the plight of Iraq's Christians is being carefully
scrutinised. Father Yusef Muwaness, of the Council of Catholic
Churches in the Middle East, said: "We understand the shock [the
Iraqis] are enduring. We want them to know that they won't be left
alone.
"There are ancient issues at work. These people [al-Qaida] are
killing because of a fatwa. There has not been a mufti who has
stood up and said this is wrong."
Lebanon's Christians once held a demographic majority. Emigration
and a brutal civil war has whittled numbers away. Amin Gemayel, a
former Lebanese president and now patriarch of many of the
country's remaining Christians, believes far more could be done by
Muslim leaders to ensure that the exodus is not total.
"The Christians were very nationalistic," he said. "They are part
of the foundations of this area. We can't understand such
extremity then passivity from the leaders. When the region is
completely cleansed of other religions (apart from Islam) it will
be a surrender to the fundamentalists."
In the Chaldean archdiocese in Baabda, above Beirut, Father Hanna
has been receiving Iraqi families fleeing their homeland. "I would
go back there to give a service in front of one person, if I had
to," he said. "But even that may not be possible now. Since 1
November, we have seen 450 families register here. Many more have
gone to the UN."
Among those who have stayed in Iraq and tried to build a new life
in the north, there are mixed feelings. "Three days after the
church attack I left my house (in Baghdad) and came to the KRG,"
said Georges Qudah, 30, a pharmacy assistant. "At the main
checkpoint I said we are a Christian family, and they said we are
welcome to stay as long as we want. I feel safe and comfortable
here, but the problem is how to live. The council here has given
us blankets and beds, but housing is very expensive."
In Baghdad, there are few signs of the joy of Christmas.
"There is no hope here anymore," says Noufali. "No one can believe
they [the Christians] will stay. Christmas came with two messages,
peace in the world and hope for the people and we need these two
things for our life in Iraq. If there are no more Christians here,
I am certain Iraq will become a more dangerous country."
Christianity in the Middle East
Freedom of worship for Christians varies greatly across the Middle
East.
In Lebanon, where about half the population are Christian,
believers are allowed to practise their faith without fear of
persecution. The Maronite Church is the largest, most politically
active and influential denomination, holding 34 of the 64
Christian seats in the Lebanese parliament.
In Jordan, Christians are free to profess their faith, build
churches, schools, hospitals and universities. They attend mass
and there are public celebrations of religious festivals and
ceremonies. They experience less discrimination and more freedom
than fellow believers in Egypt and Iraq. There is a similar
portrait of stability and freedom in Syria, where Christians
comprise up to 10% of the population.
Evangelising bvy Protestants in Jordan has prompted a crackdown on
churches, visas and summer camps. Attempting to convert Muslims is
illegal, but there is no law against proselytising to other
Christians and some Catholic and Orthodox groups have complained
of energetic wooing from Protestants. It is this evangelising that
has offended authorities, keen to avoid religious zealotry of any
sort.
What Saudi Arabia lacks in violent persecution it makes up for in
outright intolerance. There is no religious freedom in Saudi
Arabia, which counts a million Catholics in its population. The
country allows Christians to enter for work purposes but severely
restricts the practise of their faith.
Christians worship in private homes and there are bans on
religious articles including Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings
and items bearing religious symbols. The religious police bar the
practice of any religion other than Islam. Conversion of a Muslim
to another religion is considered apostasy and carries a death
sentence if the accused does not recant. Still, Christians in
Saudi Arabia are positively blessed compared with those of Iraq.