ICC Note: Congressman Frank Wolf has accused President Obama of ignoring the genocide of Iraqi Christians at the hands of ISIS. Last Saturday, ISIS declared that any Christian remaining in Mosul would have to convert, pay a tax, or die. Christianity in the Middle East is being wiped out, and the Obama administration continues to refuse to speak out. Mosul now stands empty of its Christians and monasteries and churches continue to be looted.
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ICC has launched a campaign to provide aid to the Iraqi church to assist those in need who have fled from the attacks. Go here to find out more and donate: Iraqi Crisis Response
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07/26/14 Iraq (Daily Caller) – Virginia Republican congressman Frank Wolf accused the Obama administration of ignoring the genocide of Iraqi Christians Thursday, saying that “Christianity as we know it in Iraq is being wiped out.”
“I believe what is happening to the Christian community in Iraq is genocide,” he said in a speech to the House of Representatives. “I also believe it is a crime against humanity. Where is the West? Where is the Obama Administration? Where is the Congress? The silence is deafening.” (RELATED: US Partially Evacuates Baghdad Embassy)
This is the second time this week Rep. Wolf has brought the issue to the floor. On Tuesday, he reminded the president that members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter in June urging him “to actively engage with the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to prioritize additional security support for especially vulnerable populations, notably Iraq’s ancient Christian community,” a call he has still not heeded. (RELATED: Local Chaldeans Worry About ISIS Deadline)
The Obama administration “needs to have the same courage as President Bush and former Secretary of State Colin Powell when they said genocide was taking place in Darfur,” he concluded. “The time to act is now.”
According to a letter he received from someone on the ground in Iraq, “All Mosul churches and monasteries are seized by ISIS. There are around 30. The cross has been removed from all of them. Many of them are burned, destroyed and looted. Many others are being used as ISIS centers. The religious Sunni, Shiite and Christian tombs are destroyed in Mosul. This destruction is endangering very ancient sites, such as prophet Jonah’s tomb, which was broken last week, according to many reporters.” (RELATED: ISIS To Destroy Ancient Biblical Artifacts In Northern Iraq)
Rep. Wolf, in addition to calling on the administration to speak out about the crimes against humanity being perpetrated against the Iraqi Christians, wants Obama to ensure relief funds are going to trusted humanitarian agencies and encourage the Kurdish government in its efforts to protect minorities.
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