ICC Note:
“There are so many reasons to attack the Christians,” Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda told Aid to the Church in Need. “There are people who discriminate and attack Christians because they are Christians; there are other groups that attack the Christians because it makes international news – to show the whole world that the political process in Iraq is a failure; there are people who attack Christians out of social interest and finally others for economic reasons. This last group threatens Christian families forcing them out of their homes simply in order occupy the abandoned houses.”
3/30/2012 Iraq (Aid to the Church in Need) – When Iraq’s new ambassador to the Holy See presented his credentials, Pope Benedict XVI stated unequivocally that this was a Church in a struggle for her very survival. Mark Riedemann for Where God Weeps in cooperation with Aid to the Church in Need interviews the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil in northern Iraq, Bashar Matti Warda, about the story of Catholics in Iraq.
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Q) A year before your ordination the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul was killed. There were death threats to the church hierarchy. With all these challenges, of which you were well aware, did you not want to say: “I do not want this responsibility; it is too much”?
A) It is not natural but I said I am ready whatever it takes. It is obedience. I knew that it was demanding and challenging. I have since undergone several experiences in Baghdad during and after the war. Thankfully Erbil is safe but there is a natural sense of fear which is also there but once you are committed you just go; that’s it.
Q) You completed your studies in Louvain, Belgium, and your thesis was on violence in Islam. Why did you choose this particular topic?
A) In 1993 and 1994, the former regime in Iraq turned to Islam and the Islamic movement, not because they believed in it, but to establish greater control especially during the time of the sanctions. We then experienced a rise of violence inside Islam and among the Muslims especially in the Middle East. I studied the roots of these movements and I expected that there was going to be an increase in the politicization and radicalization of Islam. From 2001 to 2003 it was obvious to see an emergence of radicalized Islamic movements on the street, which is not normal. I realized that the whole of the Middle East is undergoing a very delicate and challenging time especially with Islamic radicalism.
Q) Is violence inherent in Islam or is Islam being manipulated by the fundamentalist?
A0 I would go for the second, manipulation, because we have lived together for so many years in a peaceful co-existence with the Shia or Sunni Muslims. It is certainly a manipulation as opposed to violence being inherent. There is of course violence in the history of Islam and still is; not so long ago a bishop was killed and so many families have been forced to leave Mosul and Baghdad. Many groups within Iraq believe that Islam is the only religion and using violence to achieve it is justifiable.
Q) For what purpose?
A) Conquest. Their explanation is that it is part of their belief. It is part of Jihad. It is demanded of them. It is not a choice but a way of life. Some politicians use these movements – not believing in the idea – but only as a means for political end.
Q) Is there a dedicated campaign to force the Christians to leave?
A) Violence is all over the country. The situation with the Christians is a special phenomenon. The Shia respond with violence towards the Sunni when they are attacked and vice versa while Christians are the only community that do not respond with violence. So it makes them special….
Q) …a soft target if you will…
A) Exactly. And there are so many reasons to attack the Christians; the Christians are victims of a social, economic and political process and interest. There are people who discriminate and attack Christians because they are Christians; there are other groups that attack the Christians because it makes international news – to show the whole world that the political process in Iraq is a failure; there are people who attack Christians out of social interest and finally others for economic reasons. This last group threatens Christian families forcing them out of their homes simply in order occupy the abandoned houses.
Q) The American soldiers have left. What is your feeling for the future of the country? Will violence increase?
A) I hoped that we’ve learned that war is damaging, brutal and has cost us the lives of our loved ones. I also hope that we have learned that only dialogue between all Iraqi parties is beneficial to the country. But if it goes the other way and communication among the political parties is curtailed then we might experience more violence, even a civil war. And as you know, the minorities are the ones who will suffer from such situation and of course the Christians will be the target.
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Q) I want to ask you about the Internally Displaced Persons coming from the south and flooding into the north. What is the impact on your diocese?
A) The experience of these poor people has prompted us to care for them pastorally. So it is a grace from God and a sign of hope for us. In the dioceses of Baghdad and Mosul, they are forced to close churches while for us we are thinking of building new churches for these families. We have over 5000 new Christian families and they need a place. It is not, however temporary, because many people, thanks be to God are purchasing property in Erbil and Ankawa. Purchasing a property is a sign that they think of permanent settlement.
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Q) Is there one particular story that struck you personally when you think of refugees?
A) A family was asked to prepare their daughter to be married to an emir, a head of a small radical group, within 24 hours. The ultimatum was marriage; convert to Islam and to leave the house.
Q) This was in Baghdad?
A) This was in Baghdad and they left immediately and went north.
Q) There has been a proposal to develop a Christian enclave on the Nineveh plains. Is this a good idea?
A) In discussions with the Christian politicians, none of them have ever thought of this idea at all. There is no one who believes it a good idea to gather Christians in one spot. This has been misunderstood from the beginning. There are some historical villages and cities, which have been known as Christian. A certain Islamic group started buying the Christians properties at double the price just to own the property and to change the demographical status of the village until the people realized the deeper motivation behind this and they stopped selling. The demand is, instead of changing the demographics of these cities, to have constitutional rights to those historical cities and villages. No-one, however, has asked for a gathering of Christians in one place.
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