Iraq

Some 200 Christians have been kidnapped for ransom, 900 Christians have been killed, and more than 60 churches have been bombed in Iraq between 2003 and 2012, the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization reports. Despite more than half the Christian population having fled the country since the war’s outbreak in 2003, persecution and hardship against the church that remains relentlessly continues, Open Doors reports.

Some 200 Christians have been kidnapped for ransom, 900 Christians have been killed, and more than 60 churches have been bombed in Iraq between 2003 and 2012, the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization reports. In this article published by the American Conservative, Andrew Doran explains how the war in Iraq turned into a war on Christians.

Some 200 Christians have been kidnapped for ransom, 900 Christians have been killed, and more than 60 churches have been bombed in Iraq between 2003 and 2012, the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization reports. Despite more than half the Christian population having fled the country since the war’s outbreak in 2003, persecution and hardship against the church that remains relentlessly continues, Open Doors reports.

Abdi Ali Hamzah, better-known as Pastor Jamal, was released after spending 21 months in prison due to the efforts of a U.S. ministry and an Oklahoma senator, CBN reports. Jamal was arrested in July 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage, though supporters claim that Abdi was jailed for no other reason than his Christian faith.

Christians in Iraq celebrated an unusually peaceful Easter this year as heavy security was posted outside churches and in Christian neighborhoods, the Christian Science Monitor reports. According to Louis Raphael Sako, the new head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, more than 1,000 Christians have been killed and 60 churches have been attacked since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.

More than half of the Christian population in Iraq has fled the country following the US-led invasion in 2003 as a result of rising persecution. “As Iraq descended into civil war, Christians… were cleansed from their neighbourhoods, either killed or intimidated with threats of murder,” the Catholic Herald reports. “The most extreme culmination of the campaign came on October 31 2010, when an al-Qaeda affiliate… stormed the Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad during evening Mass, killing almost 60 people and injuring 80 more in the worst single attack on Iraqi Christians since 2003. Church bombings have become a habitual occurrence in Iraq: 72 have been attacked since 2004.”

“Rana stepped out of church in Baghdad in December 2006 to find an envelope wedged against her car windshield. Inside was a bullet -- a message that meant she and her family were next on an assassin’s list,” NBC News reports. Rana and her family fled the next day, leaving everything behind. Her story is similar to thousands of Iraqi Christians, most of whom know family or friends who have been kidnapped and murdered following since the war’s beginning in 2003. According to a 1987 census, there were 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. Today, fewer than 400,000 remain due to rising persecution in the country. More than 900 Christians have been killed and some 60 churches have been bombed since the US-led invasion of the country which opened up the door for Islamic extremism.

According to a 1987 census, there were 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. Today, fewer than 400,000 remain due to rising persecution in the country. "Maybe we will follow in the steps of our Jewish brothers," said Monsignor Pios Cacha, a priest in Baghdad, referencing Iraq's Jewish population, which once thrived but is now practically non-existent.

Louis Raphael I Sako, the Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, told his congregation to stop emigrating, lest Christianity in the Middle East risks becoming “a distant memory”, Independent Catholic News reports. According to a 1987 census, there were 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. Today, fewer than 400,000 remain due to rising persecution in the country. “These past years have been full of events and dangers and still the shadow of fear, anxiety and death is hanging over our people, said Patriarch Sako.  “Look deeper into the reality we face today and understand the importance of your presence and witness.”

There is hope that imprisoned Christian pastor Abdi Ali Hamzah may soon be released after World Compassion Ministries met with high-ranking Iraqi officials and petitioned for his freedom, the Christian Post reports. On February 14, ICC reported that Pastor Abdi was suffering from severe health problems that could be life threatening if Abdi remains in prison. Abdi was arrested in July 2011 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage. Supporters, however, believe that Abdi was jailed for no other reason than his Christian faith.

More than half of the Christian population fled Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. Thousands more took refuge in Iraq’s northern region of Kurdistan after fleeing severe persecution in their home cities of Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul, among others. “Christmas in Kurdistan takes on a special meaning for Christians knowing that not all their fellow citizens are free to celebrate the holiday,” RFI reports.

A bomb was detonated near Sacred Heart Cathedral in Kirkuk, Iraq on December 16, causing anxiety among many worshipers, Agenzia Fides reports. More than half of Iraq’s Christian population has fled the country due to targeted bombings on churches, kidnappings of Christians, and widespread violence since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.