Baghdad Christians flee as violence against them mounts
This report comes as no surprise to anybody who lives in Baghdad. The complete collapse of the rule of law brought about by the American invasion and occupation of Irak has anyone who is a member of any minority prey for fanatics, extremists, and evildoers. As a Muslim I find this disgusting and completely reprehensible. The Holy Qur’an is very explicit that there must be no compulsion in matters of religion — ever. I will add also that “forced reversions” are not considered to be valid and those who force people to “revert” to Islam on pain of death or of violence have committed a grave sin.
I should not have to say this but lest there be any doubt I will say it anyway.
It is a flagrant and blatant lie to say that Iraki Christians support the American rape of Irak. I know several Christian families and I can testify that they hate the American invaders and what the American invaders are doing to our homeland quite as much a I do. During the war with Iran I fought alongside Iraki Christians and had a Christian commander. They were loyal and courageous soldiers and I am proud to have had such comrades.
My young colleague Mohammed Ibn Laith has Christian neighbours, indeed several members of his soccer team are Christians.
Far More importantly several members of the rescue organisation of which he is a member are Christians, they run just as quickly and just as bravely as any Muslim towards the scene of a bombing and to my certain knowledge several of them have died rescuing their fellow Irakis. It is shameful and disgusting that they are being targeted. After the Americans have finally admitted that their brutal and barbaric attempt to crush Irak’s people has failed there will be a reckoning with those who have persecuted our Christian compatriots using the American presence as an excuse.
Saba Ali Iihsan,
Baghdad,
Irak,
May 3rd 2007
BAGHDAD, 3 May 2007 (IRIN) - Kamar Anuar, a 44-year-old Christian, has abandoned his home after he found a threatening letter in his garden, signed by an alleged Islamist group, telling him to convert to Islam or leave the country.
 Photo: IRIN  |
| Gates locked outside a Christian church in Basra |
Anuar, a resident of Dora district, one of the mainly Christian Baghdad neighbourhoods, has decided to take refuge in a relative’s home in Kurdistan in the north.
“We [Christians] are at the end of our tether because in four years of [US] occupation and discrimination against our religion, we have never felt so threatened,” said Anuar. “In my neighbourhood, every Christian family has received threatening letters.”
Anuar is one of thousands of people from minority groups who live in fear of their lives.
“I saw a family being killed in front of me because they refused to leave their home. Insurgents shot dead the couple, an elderly woman and two children, and left a message by their side saying that it [the killing] was just to show what would happen if any other [Christian] family insisted on remaining in Dora district, which is already populated by Sunni fighters,” Anuar added.
Alleged Islamists have said the country should be cleansed of Christians as they support the US-led occupation.
“This is a country of people who are fighting against the US occupation and everyone who supports them. Christians can leave Iraq without being hurt but if they insist on staying, we don’t have any option but to kill them,” said Abu Ahmed, who claims to be from a Sunni insurgent group called Al-Qa’idah.
 I saw a family being killed in front of me because they refused to leave their home. Insurgents shot dead the couple, an elderly woman and two children. |
“We don’t support the US troops or anyone who is destroying our country. Extremists have this idea about us and we are paying for something we don’t believe in,” Anuar said.
Forced to convert
According to the local Christian Peace Association (CPA), the fatwa, issued by extremists and distributed in every Christian neighbourhood, said that Christians can only stay in their homes if they convert to Islam.
“They want us to change our beliefs. We are forbidden from going to churches or holding religious meetings in our homes and our women are being forced to wear abayas [the traditional full-length cloak that Muslim women wear] when out in the streets,” said the Christian cleric and spokesperson for the CPA, Lucas Barini.
“We have heard of cases of families who were taken from their homes by extremists to convert them to Islam. The brave ones who refused to convert were beheaded and their mutilated bodies were later dumped in front of their homes,” Barini said.
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More on Iraq persecution |
According to the CPA, about 600,000 Christians remain in Iraq, and make up less than 3 percent of the population.
Kidnapped children
The CPA said it had received information that some Christian children, kidnapped over the past two years, are being used by [Sunni] insurgents to fight [Shi’a] militias and US troops.
“We cannot release the source [of the information] for security reasons but we are sure about these children. There are about 25 of them and, according to a witness, they have been told that their families converted to Islam but were killed by US troops and now they have to help fight them,” Barini said.
Protection money
As the number of Christians in Iraq continues to fall, many of them are being forced to pay protection money to Shi’a militias or Sunni insurgents.
“The protection money has been increasing and we cannot afford it any more. Each time we pay, the following month they demand more,” said Rita Darnek, a 38-year-old Christian mother of four who is desperate to find a way to flee the country.
| They want us to change our beliefs. We are forbidden from going to churches or holding religious meetings in our homes and our women are being forced to wear abayas when out in the streets. |
“One of my neighbours in Baghdad’s Ijidida neighbourhood refused to pay because he didn’t have the money and they shot him dead together with his 13-year-old son,” Darnek added.
Father Boris Burdati said families who cannot pay the protection money are leaving for areas in Kurdistan which are hosting Christians who fled from Mosul and Baghdad.
“Many families are taking refuge in A’ain camp, a few kilometres from the city of Arbil in the Kurdish north and others are going to cities near the Syrian border like Bashika,” said Burdati.
“They sought our help before leaving as they couldn’t pay more protection money. Some families were paying more than US$ 2,000 a month and using up all their savings, so running away was a better way to ensure survival,” he added.
Indexed under: Baghdad, Christianity, IRIN, Islam, Refugees
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