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Link to إحصائية: العام 2010 كان الأقسى على مسيحيي العراق">إحصائية: العام 2010 كان الأقسى على مسيحيي العراق</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/2010/" rel="tag">2010</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amil/" rel="tag">Amil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-churches-and-monasteries-attacks-on/" rel="tag">Christian churches and monasteries - attacks on</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-exodus/" rel="tag">christian exodus</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-families/" rel="tag">christian families</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-minority/" rel="tag">christian minority</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-population/" rel="tag">christian population</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-university-students/" rel="tag">christian university students</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-kidnappings-of/" rel="tag">christians - kidnappings of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-killing-of/" rel="tag">Christians - killing of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-persecution-collusion-of-army-and-police/" rel="tag">Christians - persecution collusion of army and police</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-in-iraq/" rel="tag">christians in iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/" rel="tag">churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/gzg-failure-to-protect-christians/" rel="tag">GZG failure to protect Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/hammurabi-human-rights-organisation/" rel="tag">Hammurabi Human Rights Organisation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights/" rel="tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kidnapping/" rel="tag">kidnapping</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mosul/" rel="tag">Mosul</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/murder/" rel="tag">murder</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ninawa-governorate/" rel="tag">Ninawa (Governorate)</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ninawa-plain/" rel="tag">Ninawa Plain</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ninawa-plain-project/" rel="tag">Ninawa Plain Project</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/nineveh/" rel="tag">Nineveh</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/statistics/" rel="tag">statistics</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d9%85%d9%86%d8%b8%d9%85%d8%a9-%d8%ad%d9%85%d9%88%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a8%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%82%d9%88%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%86/" rel="tag">منظمة حمورابي لحقوق الانسان</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p dir="rtl" align="right">كشفت منظمة حمورابي لحقوق الانسان العراقية ان العام 2010 كان الأسوأ على ابناء الجالية المسيحية في العراق، وان استمرار الاستهداف المباشر لهم زاد من هجرتهم لخارج العراق. <br/>ووصف وليم وردا رئيس المنظمة الأرقام التي تم إحصاءها خلال العام الماضي بالمخيفة كونها كانت أسوء مما سُجل في الاعوام الأسبق، نظراً لاستهداف المسحيين بكافة مسمياتهم، وفي كافة أرجاء البلاد خاصة بغداد والموصل. <br/>واضاف انه وخلال عام واحد تعرض 92 مسيحي للاغتيال وأصيب 280 آخرين، بالإضافة لتفجير كنيستين في بغداد واختطاف فتاتين في بغداد والموصل، فضلاً عن تلقي عشرات رسائل التهديد بالتصفية. <br/>واكد وردا ان هذه الاحداث أجبرت اكثر من 1800 عائلة مسيحية على النزوح لمناطق مختلفة من سهل نينوى وتوقف اكثر من 1700 طالب عن الدراسة و300 موظف دولة.</p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-13427"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/05/23/hammurabi-organisation-for-human-rights-year-2010-was-hardest-on-christians-in-iraq/#respond" title="Comment on Hammurabi Organisation for Human Rights: Year 2010 was hardest on Christians in Iraq">No Comments</a></span> Posted on May 23rd, 2011 by Mohammed Ibn Laith</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2011/05/23/hammurabi-organisation-for-human-rights-year-2010-was-hardest-on-christians-in-iraq/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Hammurabi Organisation for Human Rights: Year 2010 was hardest on Christians in Iraq">Hammurabi Organisation for Human Rights: Year 2010 was hardest on Christians in Iraq</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/2010/" rel="tag">2010</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amil/" rel="tag">Amil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-churches-and-monasteries-attacks-on/" rel="tag">Christian churches and monasteries - attacks on</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-exodus/" rel="tag">christian exodus</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-families/" rel="tag">christian families</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-minority/" rel="tag">christian minority</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-population/" rel="tag">christian population</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-university-students/" rel="tag">christian university students</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-kidnappings-of/" rel="tag">christians - kidnappings of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-killing-of/" rel="tag">Christians - killing of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-persecution-collusion-of-army-and-police/" rel="tag">Christians - persecution collusion of army and police</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-in-iraq/" rel="tag">christians in iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/" rel="tag">churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/gzg-failure-to-protect-christians/" rel="tag">GZG failure to protect Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/hammurabi-human-rights-organisation/" rel="tag">Hammurabi Human Rights Organisation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights/" rel="tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kidnapping/" rel="tag">kidnapping</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mosul/" rel="tag">Mosul</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/murder/" rel="tag">murder</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ninawa-governorate/" rel="tag">Ninawa (Governorate)</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ninawa-plain/" rel="tag">Ninawa Plain</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ninawa-plain-project/" rel="tag">Ninawa Plain Project</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/nineveh/" rel="tag">Nineveh</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/statistics/" rel="tag">statistics</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d9%85%d9%86%d8%b8%d9%85%d8%a9-%d8%ad%d9%85%d9%88%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a8%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%82%d9%88%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%86%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%86/" rel="tag">منظمة حمورابي لحقوق الانسان</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div style="text-align: left; unicode-bidi: bidi-override; direction: ltr"> <p>The <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.hhro.org/hhro/index.php?lang=en" target="_blank" class="external">Hammurabi Organisation for Human Rights</a> revealed today that the year 2010 was the worst for the people of the Christian community in Irak, and that in response to the continuation of the direct targeting of them they increased their migration out of Irak. </p> <p>Last year was worse than previous years due to the increased targeting of Christians of all denominations in all parts of the country but especially in Baghdad and Mosul.</p> <p>During the year 92 Christians were murdered and another 280 wounded. Additionally there was the bombing of two churches in Baghdad and the kidnapping of two girl chlidren one in Baghdad and one in Mosul. Furthermore many Christian families received letters threatening their liquidation. </p> <p>In response to this persecution more than 1800 Christian families have been forced to flee their homes to different parts of the Nineveh Plain. More than 1700 students no longer dare attend their study and 300 state employees have abandoned their posts in response to threats of death.</p> <p>Mohammed Ibn Laith</p> </p></div> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-12029"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/28/we-will-resist-and-we-will-remainmgr-sako/#comments" title="Comment on We will resist and we will remain–Mgr Sako">1 Comment</a></span> Posted on December 28th, 2010 by Hussein Al-Bayati</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/28/we-will-resist-and-we-will-remainmgr-sako/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to We will resist and we will remain–Mgr Sako">We will resist and we will remain–Mgr Sako</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/religion/" title="View all posts in Religion" rel="category tag">Religion</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/archbishop-louis-sako/" rel="tag">Archbishop Louis Sako</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/asianews/" rel="tag">asianews</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/basrah/" rel="tag">Basrah</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christianity/" rel="tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-and-muslims/" rel="tag">Christians and Muslims</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christmas/" rel="tag">Christmas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/" rel="tag">churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-christians/" rel="tag">iraqi christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/martyrs/" rel="tag">Martyrs</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mosul/" rel="tag">Mosul</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/religion/" rel="tag">Religion</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-measures/" rel="tag">security measures</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkmen/" rel="tag">Turkmen</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <blockquote><p>" We live in Iraq today, a painful experience, culminating in the massacre of Our Lady of Deliverance, which have shocked Christians and Muslims together, but we are determined to withstand the ordeal. We will not give in to temptation and frustration because life is a gift from God and it is greater than the hands of evil can destroy it".</p> <hr/></blockquote> <p>Many liturgical functions called off, no Christmas decorations, and no celebrations after dark. The Iraqi prime minister calls attacks on Christians "a crime against national unity". An appeal for peace and solidarity among ethnic groups and religions, and a message of hope from the archbishop of Kirkuk.</p> <p>Kirkuk (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/A-gloomy-Christmas-in-Iraq.-Mgr-Sako:-we-will-resist-and-we-will-remain-20350.html" class="external" target="_blank">AsiaNews / Agencies</a>) – A Christmas of fear and sadness for Iraqi Christians, in memory of the martyrs killed Oct. 31 in the Syrian Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad. Many masses were called off across the country, and security measures heightened. But in the midst of this also the determination expressed in a message also sent to <i>AsiaNews </i>by Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk. According to <i>Middle East Concern</i>, the celebrations were cancelled as a result of threats posted on Web sites of Islamic groups. "The decision was taken after the threats were repeated on Tuesday, December 22. The churches in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk have decided not to put up Christmas decorations and called off ceremonies after dark”.</p> <p>Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called on Christians not to leave Iraq. "Attempts to keep Christians away from their homeland and their land, which clung to them through the centuries, is a great crime against national unity," al-Maliki said in a statement marking the Christmas holiday. But many churches in Mosul did not hold celebrations while in Basra the roads leading to churches were cordoned off with barbed wire, and the buildings were surrounded by security forces.</p> <p>In this gloomy picture, the archbishop of Kirkuk, wants to talk about hope. "As long as we get back to each other: Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, Muslims and Christians, we resist and we stay, because Iraq without us loses its beautiful multi-identity. We remain because are committed to love and to return to each other. This is the road to resurrection, life and renewal".</p> <p>Archbishop Sako recalled Oct. 31: " We live in Iraq today, a painful experience, culminating in the massacre of Our Lady of Deliverance, which have shocked Christians and Muslims together, but we are determined to withstand the ordeal. We will not give in to temptation and frustration because life is a gift from God and it is greater than the hands of evil can destroy it".</p> <p>"If we go back to the essence of religion and to our common human roots, inevitably we will meet tour national fraternity in equality, justice, solidarity. Then risk will vanish and life will reflect abundantly This is good news of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ with his message of hope: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace. "</p> <p>The Archbishop of Kirkuk concluded his message with an appeal for peace: "Peace is the base of all goods: we ask it in prayer and implement it with mutual love and solidarity. Then the miracle happens and we will have peace on earth for human beings and the glory of God in the highest. We both believe that God is the Lord of the impossible".</p> <p></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/A-gloomy-Christmas-in-Iraq.-Mgr-Sako:-we-will-resist-and-we-will-remain-20350.html" class="external" target="_blank">IRAQ A gloomy Christmas in Iraq. Mgr Sako: "we will resist and we will remain" – Asia News</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-12011"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/25/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%af-%d9%8a%d9%82%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%82%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%87%d9%85-%d8%a8%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7/#respond" title="Comment on المسيحيون في بغداد يقيمون قداسهم بمشاركة المسلمين">No Comments</a></span> Posted on December 25th, 2010 by Mohammed Ibn Laith</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/25/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%af-%d9%8a%d9%82%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%82%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%b3%d9%87%d9%85-%d8%a8%d9%85%d8%b4%d8%a7/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to المسيحيون في بغداد يقيمون قداسهم بمشاركة المسلمين">المسيحيون في بغداد يقيمون قداسهم بمشاركة المسلمين</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/religion/" title="View all posts in Religion" rel="category tag">Religion</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-churches-and-monasteries/" rel="tag">Christian churches and monasteries</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-minority/" rel="tag">christian minority</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-persecution-of/" rel="tag">Christians - persecution of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-right-to-protection/" rel="tag">christians - right to protection</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christmas/" rel="tag">Christmas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/" rel="tag">churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing/" rel="tag">Ethnic Cleansing</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p dir="rtl" align="right"><a title="20101225_christians_pray_baghdad_Our_Lady_of_Deliverance_Sayidat_al-Nejat_church_scene_of_masacre by Gorillas Guides, on Flickr" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorillasguides/5290457278/" class="external" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 5px 0px" height="464" alt="20101225_christians_pray_baghdad_Our_Lady_of_Deliverance_Sayidat_al-Nejat_church_scene_of_masacre" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017im_/http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5290457278_794f1cd6c8_o.jpg" width="300" align="left"/></a> أحيا المسيحيون في بغداد اليوم السبت قداس عيد الميلاد وسط تدابير امنية مشددة عقب تهديدات أطلقها تنظيم القاعدة ، بعد نحو شهرين على الهجوم الذي طال كنيسة سيدة النجاة في بغداد . <br/>وأرجأت أقامة القداس من مساء امس الجمعة الى اليوم لدواعي أمنية، فقد شارك عدد من المسؤولين والسياسيين أخوانهم المسيحيين في قداس كبير أقيم في كنيسة سيدة النجاة . <br/>وقال قاسم عطا الناطق بأسم عمليات بغداد أثناء حضوره القداس ،بأنه تم رفع درجة التأهب ولم تسجل اي حوادث ، مؤكدا عدم وجود مخاوف من تكرار حادث كنيسة النجاة . <br/>وأشار عطا الى أن عمليات بغداد اتخذت سلسلة من الاجراءات الامنية لحماية الكنائس عبر نشر قوات حول جميع الكنائس منذ ثلاثة ايام، أضافة الى وضع جدران للحماية ونشر اعداد أضافية من الجيش والشرطة .</p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-12001"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/25/%d9%84%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b8%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%b1-%d9%84%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%af-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%af-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%86%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b3-%d8%aa%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%88%d9%84/#respond" title="Comment on لا مظاهر للعيد في بغداد والكنائس تتحول الى مايشبه القلاع">No Comments</a></span> Posted on December 25th, 2010 by Yusuf Al-Jezani</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/25/%d9%84%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b8%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%b1-%d9%84%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%af-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%af-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%86%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b3-%d8%aa%d8%aa%d8%ad%d9%88%d9%84/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to لا مظاهر للعيد في بغداد والكنائس تتحول الى مايشبه القلاع">لا مظاهر للعيد في بغداد والكنائس تتحول الى مايشبه القلاع</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/religion/" title="View all posts in Religion" rel="category tag">Religion</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-minority/" rel="tag">christian minority</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-persecution-of/" rel="tag">Christians - persecution of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christmas/" rel="tag">Christmas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/" rel="tag">churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing/" rel="tag">Ethnic Cleansing</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/gzg-failure-to-protect-christians/" rel="tag">GZG failure to protect Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/monasteries/" rel="tag">Monasteries</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div dir="rtl" align="right"> <blockquote> <p><a title="20101225_a few_christians_pray_under_heavy_guard_baghdad_christmas_2010_3panel by Gorillas Guides, on Flickr" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorillasguides/5290129768/" class="external" target="_blank"><img style="display: inline; float: left; margin: 5px 5px 5px 0px" height="399" alt="20101225_a few_christians_pray_under_heavy_guard_baghdad_christmas_2010_3panel" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017im_/http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/5290129768_8272a8f5c6_o.jpg" width="300" align="left"/></a>بغداد (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.iraq-ina.com/showthis.php?type=1&tnid=54497" class="external" target="_blank">رويترز</a>) – على غير العادة حضرت بان زكي هذه السنة الى كنيسة سيدة النجاة بوسط بغداد قبل يوم واحد من بدء احتفالات عيد الميلاد وراس السنة وهي متشحة بالسواد لتقف في المكان الذي قتل فيه زوجها قبل اسابيع في هجوم مسلح على الكنسية التي حولتها الاسيجة الخرسانية التي وضعتها قوات الامن العراقية مؤخرا الى ما يشبه سجن حصين. <br/>وقالت زكي ان زوجها (51 عاما) لقي حتفه في الهجوم المسلح الدامي الذي تعرضت له كنيسة سيدة النجاة اواخر شهر اكتوبر تشرين الاول والذي نفذه متشددون ينتمون لتنظيم القاعدة واسفر عن مقتل اكثر من خمسين شخصا اغلبهم من المسيحيين كانوا يحضرون صلاة الاحد انذاك. <br/>وحضرت زكي (49 عاما) الى الكنيسة برفقة ولديها وابنتها الذين انخرطوا مع مجموعة من نظرائهم لا تتجاوز اعدادهم العشرين وهم يحضرون لتراتيل سيؤدونها يوم عيد الميلاد يوم السبت. <br/>قالت وهي تحاول السيطرة على دموعها " لا عيد هذه السنة … نحن هنا (نتحضر للعيد) لكن بدون فرح." <br/>واضافت "كيف نفهم ان للعيد معنى وصور قتل زوجي والهجوم مازالت امام عيني لا تغيب عن بالي لحظة… لا يمكن ان انسى ابدا ما فعلوا بنا وكيف قتلوا الناس وكيف قتلوا زوجي." <br/>ولم تسلم زكي هي الاخرى من الهجوم فقد تعرضت الى اصابة بطلقة نارية اصابتها في خاصرتها اليمنى وقالت وهي تضع يدها على مكان الاصابة وكأنها تحاول ان تتعكز عليها ان الطلقة التي اصابتها ادت الى تمزيق جزء من كليتها واحشائها والقولون وانها مازالت حتى الان تعالج من جروحها. <br/>وكانت بغداد قد شهدت في الاسابيع الماضية عمليات مسلحة منظمة استهدفت المسيحيين ادت الى قتل العديد منهم وهو ما دفع بالمئات من العوائل المسيحية لترك منزلها بحثا عن ملاذ امن. <br/>واعلن التنظيم المسلح لدولة العراق الاسلامية وهو تنظيم يرتبط بالقاعدة مسؤوليته عن تلك الاحداث وهدد التنظيم بشن عمليات مماثلة اخرى. وطالب التنظيم في بيان وضع على موقع على الانترنت عادة ماتستعمله جماعات مسلحة القيادات المسيحية بالضغط على الكنيسة المصرية لاطلاق سراح مسيحيين قال التنظيم انهم اعتنقوا الاسلام. <br/>كما طالب التنظيم المسيحيين في العراق بعدم التعاون مع القوات "المحتلة" واعلان البراءة منهم. <br/>وازاء هذه الاحداث والخوف مما قد ينتج عنها من هجمات مسلحة اخرى طالب مجلس كنائسي يسمى الامانة العامة لمجلس رؤوساء الطوائف المسيحية في بيان له قبل ايام اتباعهم المسيحين باقتصار الاحتفالات هذه السنة على الصلاة داخل الكنائس. <br/>ولم يظهر على الكنائس في بغداد اي مظهر من مظاهر الاحتفالات بعيد الميلاد ورأس السنة الميلادية والتي عادة ما تبدأ مراسمها في بغداد ابتداء من مثل هذا التاريخ من كل عام. <br/>وازاء هذه التهديدات قررت السلطات الامنية العراقية اتخاذ تدابير احترازية اضافية فشرعت بوضع اسيجة اسمنتية بارتفاع يصل الى ثلاثة امتار حول معظم الكنائس في بغداد وهو اسلوب تتبعه السلطات الامنية منذ فترة عند اي مكان او موقع مهم للوقوف بوجه الهجمات الدامية. <br/>وعند كنيسة سيدة النجاة انتصبت هذه الجدران تعلوها الاسلاك الشائكة وهو منظر حول الكنيسة الى ما يشبه القلعة. <br/>وقال العريف عبد اسود محمد وهو رجل اطفاء كان يقف قرب شاحنة لاطفاء الحرائق على مقربة من كنيسة القلب الاقدس في بغداد ان "هذه الاجراءات هي جزء من خطة امنية لحماية الكنائس في بغداد." <br/>لكن هذا المنظر لم يرق للكثير من المسيحيين الذي قالوا انه منظر محبط ويثير الكآبة. <br/>وقال يوسف وهو يشير الى كنيسة سيدة النجاة " اقسم بالله عندما جئت الى هنا قبل ايام ورأيت هذه الجدران تحيط بالكنيسة بدأت بالبكاء." <br/>واضاف " انظر الى المكان. كانه قلعة حصينة او سجن حصين وليس مكان للعبادة." <br/>وفي داخل كنيسة سيدة النجاة مازالت اثار الطلقات النارية تغطي المكان بكامله ومازالت اثار تفجيرات الهجوم المسلح على حالها بينما راح عدد من الصبية ينشدون تراتيلهم استعدادا للاحتفال المقرر السبت وهو يوم عيد الميلاد. <br/>لكن بان كانت تقف لوحدها منشغلة بذكرياتها المؤلمة. <br/>وقالت وهي تشير باصبعها على المكان وبصوت يتهدج " كنت هنا على الارض ممددة وجرحي كان ينزف. وكان زوجي هناك لا يبعد عني سوى امتار معدودة وكان هو ايضا ممددا على الارض. لكن كان قد فارق الحياة." <br/>واضافت " لم استطع الوصول اليه. خفت ان يقتلوني او يقتلوا اولادي الذين كانوا في حضني. بقيت اتفرج عليه ولا استطيع ان افعل له اي شيء." <br/>وبسبب تلك الهجمات اضطرت المئات من العوائل المسيحية الى النزوح الى الاقليم الكردي في شمال العراق فيما قرر البعض منهم الهجرة الى خارج العراق وهو مادفع بالقيادات المسيحية الى ان تطلب من هذه العوائل عدم ترك منازلها والبقاء فيها. <br/>لكن بان زكي شانها شأن العديد من المسيحيين العراقيين قرروا حزم امرهم والهجرة. <br/>وقالت " قدمت زوجي ضحية . ماذا يريدون منا ان نقدم بعد. انا غير مستعدة لتقديم اي تضحية اخرى. لم يعد لدي سوى اولادي. ساخذهم وسارحل. يكفي ماقدمت من تضحية." </p> </blockquote> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.iraq-ina.com/showthis.php?type=1&tnid=54497" class="external" target="_blank"><strong>المصدر : </strong>  لا مظاهر للعيد في بغداد والكنائس تتحول الى مايشبه القلاع</a></p> </p></div> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11976"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/20/archbishop-sako-of-kirkuk-a-christmas-of-mourning-for-iraqs-christians/#respond" title="Comment on Archbishop Sako of Kirkuk: A Christmas of mourning for Iraq’s Christians">No Comments</a></span> Posted on December 20th, 2010 by Mohammed Al-Hamadani</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/20/archbishop-sako-of-kirkuk-a-christmas-of-mourning-for-iraqs-christians/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Archbishop Sako of Kirkuk: A Christmas of mourning for Iraq’s Christians">Archbishop Sako of Kirkuk: A Christmas of mourning for Iraq’s Christians</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/religion/" title="View all posts in Religion" rel="category tag">Religion</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/abductions/" rel="tag">abductions</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amil/" rel="tag">Amil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/asianews/" rel="tag">asianews</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/assassination/" rel="tag">assassination</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/assassinations/" rel="tag">Assassinations</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/chaldean/" rel="tag">chaldean</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-persecution-of/" rel="tag">Christians - persecution of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christmas/" rel="tag">Christmas</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christmas-eve/" rel="tag">christmas eve</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christmas-mass/" rel="tag">christmas mass</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/" rel="tag">churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/gzg-failure-to-protect-christians/" rel="tag">GZG failure to protect Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-christians/" rel="tag">iraqi christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kirkuk/" rel="tag">Kirkuk</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/martyrdom/" rel="tag">martyrdom</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/midnight-mass/" rel="tag">midnight mass</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/parish-churches/" rel="tag">parish churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sulaymaniyah/" rel="tag">Sulaymaniyah</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>After the series of anti-Christian attacks, Iraq will mark Christmas again under tight security. No functions will be held on Christmas Eve, nor decorations or ceremonies. A community enduring suffering and losses is preparing to experience the message of hope brought by Jesus to earth because, for Iraqi Christians, Christmas is always a time of joy as well as martyrdom. Mgr Louis Sako, Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk, bears witness.</p> <p>Baghdad (<a title="Asia News English" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.asianews.it/en.html" target="_blank" class="external"><strong>AsiaNews</strong></a>) – Midnight Christmas Mass has been cancelled in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk as a consequence of the never-ending assassinations of Christians and the attack against Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral on 31 October, which killed 57 people. For security reasons, churches will not be decorated. Masses will be sombre and held during the day.</p> <p>A sense of sadness and mourning prevails among Christians. There is much concern for the future of young people. For the past two months, they have been unable to go to university. The same is true for many families that fled north who now must plan a future without any concrete bases. </p> <p>No one expects anything from the government as far as protecting Christians. Political leaders are too caught up in setting up a new administration.</p> <p>Security is slightly better in Kirkuk than in the capital, but here too abductions and threats occur. For this reason, we have decided for the first time since the war began not to celebrate Midnight Mass. We shall simply not have any feast, period. Santa Claus will not be coming for the children; there will be no official ceremony with the authorities proffering their best wishes.</p> <p>For the past six weeks, we have not celebrated Mass because of a lack of security, except late in the morning and Saturday afternoons. For now, we have also stopped teaching the catechism. </p> <p>We do not have the right to put people’s lives in danger. All our parish churches have security guards, but when worshippers step outside the church and into the street, they become an easy target. </p> <p>Yet, despite everything, we shall pray for peace this Christmas and help the poor families of Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah. So far, 106 families have arrived from Baghdad and Mosul.</p> <p>In my homily, I am going to focus on such problems, on the clashes and on people’s fears but also on the fact that Christmas brings a message of hope. Of course, heaven and earth are two different realities. The Massacre of the Innocents followed Christmas. Thus, for us in Iraq, Christmas is a time of hope and joy as well as pain and martyrdom.</p> <p>Peace is a goal that people of good will should make happen. If we Christians want to be Christian and welcome Christmas and its message, we must be peacemakers, and build harmony among our Iraqi brothers and sisters.</p> <p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/A-Christmas-of-mourning-for-Iraq’s-Christians-20297.html" class="external" target="_blank">IRAQ A Christmas of mourning for Iraq’s Christians – Asia News</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11944"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/14/analysis-an-exodus-of-christians-from-iraq/#respond" title="Comment on Analysis: An exodus of Christians from Iraq">No Comments</a></span> Posted on December 14th, 2010 by Yusuf Al-Jezani</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/14/analysis-an-exodus-of-christians-from-iraq/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Analysis: An exodus of Christians from Iraq">Analysis: An exodus of Christians from Iraq</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/religion/" title="View all posts in Religion" rel="category tag">Religion</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-qaeda/" rel="tag">Al Qaeda</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/analysis/" rel="tag">Analysis</a>, <a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b3%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%85%e2%80%8e/" rel="tag">الإسلام‎</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div style="border-right: black 1px solid; padding-right: 5px; border-top: black 1px solid; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; border-left: black 1px solid; width: 360px; padding-top: 5px; border-bottom: black 1px solid"> <p>“What is often unnoticed in the Middle East is the devastating effect of U.S. policy on Christians in the region. U.S. policymakers have never taken the plight of Christians seriously, whether in Iraq or in Lebanon. There may be protests of specific violations, but not in those areas where the U.S. or Israelis have other strategic interests. For all the communication with U.S. government over the past 20 years, I have seen no serious action from any administration to improve protection for Christians. Religious freedom is basically a reporting matter and no more.”<img style="display: block; float: none; margin: 0px auto 5px" height="286" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017im_/http://gorillasguides.com/images/UNHCRstartstohelphundredsofIraqiChristia_33C/20081024_christian_refugee_child_syria.jpg" width="359"/></p> <p>"Iraqi Christians represent only 3 percent of the population, they account for 20 percent of the Iraqis who have emigrated abroad."</p> <p>"That’s largely because they have the connections to Western churches and family members who are already abroad in places like Detroit, Toronto, Los Angeles and elsewhere and therefore have a better chance of getting out."</p> </p></div> <p>WASHINGTON — A steady exodus of Christians from the Middle East and — most dramatically — from Iraq since the October slaughter of 57 churchgoers in Baghdad, has a long and layered history.</p> <p>The diminishing Christian presence in the land where the faith began some 2,000 years ago is an issue about which anyone — of any faith, or of no faith — who is concerned about the future of the Middle East, should care deeply.</p> <p>But when it comes out of a simple, emotional response by a Christian West wanting to defend a Christian minority in the East during Christmas time, it leads down a dangerous road in history. It’s a perilous path that sets out from the Crusades, when England and France marched off to save the Holy Land and its Christians from Muslim conquest, and one littered with moral hazards and potential for even greater violence.</p> <p>The whole message of the New Testament would be to care about all who are suffering in war-torn Iraq, not just Christians. And there are lots of people suffering in Iraq.</p> <p>So the starting point to understanding the lessons of the recent Iraqi Christian exodus is to not allow the religious extremists — neither Muslim nor Christian nor any other faith — to exploit the attacks and present them out of context as a “clash of civilizations,” that self-fulfilling prophecy coined by the late Harvard University historian, Samuel Huntington.</p> <p>A glimpse of the writing on the wall can be seen along the back alleys in the Iraqi Christian neighborhoods of Baghdad and Mosul. That’s where a militant fringe has for years been scribbling anti-Christian hatred in the form of graffiti.</p> <p>A particularly ominous anti-Christian bit of graffiti, which I first saw spray-painted on walls at least 12 years ago in Egypt when Islamic fundamentalists were targeting Coptic Christians, has reportedly resurfaced in Iraq in recent months. The translation from the Arabic slogan is this: “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.”</p> <p>The phrase is an overt threat intended to say that Muslims, who worship on Friday, have already pushed many Jews, who worship on Saturday, out of the Middle East and that now they will do the same to the Christians.</p> <p>Long before Sept. 11 and the “War on Terror,” it often felt like Selma, Ala. circa 1960 in many Christian minority communities of the Middle East.</p> <p>This climate of threat and intimidation and sometimes violence has been boiling to the surface in places around the world where the Muslim majority collides with a Christian minority, such as Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, Nigeria and elsewhere.</p> <p>But nowhere is a palpable sense of fear and a Christian exodus from the Middle East more dramatic right now than Iraq, where analysts estimate that fully half of the country’s Christians have left since 2003.</p> <p>It was Oct. 31, a Sunday, at the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad that the climate of fear was made horrifyingly real and where it became clear that Al Qaeda-inspired elements were going to go right to the third rail of the Western influence in the Middle East by targeting indigenous Christians — trying to break the 2,000-year continuum of a living Christian presence in Iraq.</p> <p>It was at the very end of an All Saints Day mass, when eight heavily armed men, purportedly inspired by Al Qaeda, invaded the church in the heart of Baghdad just as Wassim Sabih, the priest, was about to conclude the service with the words, “The Mass has ended, go in peace.”</p> <p>According to published reports based on eyewitness accounts, Sabih never got the words out as the militants opened fire. They pointed their weapons at him and silenced him as he began pleading for the release of his parishioners.</p> <p>They took the parishioners hostage and demanded the release of two Muslim women who were supposedly held by Egyptian Coptic Christians. Iraqi Security Forces responded and in the wild gun battle that ensued, grenades were thrown by the militants, and in the end of that Sunday’s mass, 57 people were dead, including two priests.</p> <p>A group calling itself The Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack. Believed to be an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the group issued a bulletin, saying, “All Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers are legitimate targets.” And that they will kill Christians “wherever they can reach them.”</p> <p>In the historical comparison of Selma, the Ku Klux Klan, which in this context would be Al Qaeda, has always been menacing, but now it is on the rise and openly attacking churches.</p> <p>It is attempting to stoke the emotional fury of a Christian West to defend the indigenous Christians, and draw it deeper into a fight, to draw us into an understanding that this is indeed a “clash of civilizations.”</p> <p>That is precisely how Al Qaeda sees this historical moment. And it is precisely why it’s wise for the United States and the West to avoid seeing it that way. Al Qaeda is a tiny criminal, terrorist organization with a warped, 12th-century ideology.</p> <p>It is not a civilization.</p> <p>Drew Christiansen, editor of "America," a national Catholic weekly magazine published by Jesuits, said that too often there is an overreaction or selective reaction to these attacks, and too little done by U.S. policymakers.</p> <p>“What is often unnoticed in the Middle East is the devastating effect of U.S. policy on Christians in the region,” he said. “U.S. policymakers have never taken the plight of Christians seriously, whether in Iraq or in Lebanon. There may be protests of specific violations, but not in those areas where the U.S. or Israelis have other strategic interests. For all the communication with U.S. government over the past 20 years, I have seen no serious action from any administration to improve protection for Christians. Religious freedom is basically a reporting matter and no more.”</p> <p>Predictably, there are often shrill responses to these kinds of attacks on churches, particularly from the Christian right and at times from right-wing Jewish groups that see peril in the whole message of Islam and are quick to see these attacks as evidence of that.</p> <p>Here’s an example. I recently sat with John Eibner, head of something called Christian Solidarity International, which is a Washington-based advocacy group focusing on the persecution of Christians around the world, said on the Christians in Iraq, "Only the U.S. can save them and if we don’t, the U.S. will be responsible for what amounts to genocide."</p> <p>"The human rights community doesn’t want to touch this because it is not politically correct," he said.</p> <p>There’s a kernal of truth in that and no reason to doubt Eibner is well intentioned, but overreacting to events in the Middle East can often conflate the problems and calling the violence and intimidation a "genocide" is ridiculous.</p> <p>Prince Turki Al Faisal, the longtime head of Saudi intelligence and the former ambassador to Washington, was in the United States in November and participated in an interfaith dialogue with Christian groups. In an interview with GlobalPost, he referred to the attacks in Iraq, saying, “It’s Al Qaeda being Al Qaeda. They are making a concerted strategy knowing it would cause a reaction and an overreaction in the West. They absolutely know what they are doing … We have to be careful not to let them succeed by overreacting.”</p> <p>The truth is just about everyone lives in fear in Iraq, and just about everyone has suffered violence. Many religious and ethnic groups have been targeted in much larger numbers in the violence and chaos that followed the 2003 invasion.</p> <p>Just two days after the church attack, a spate of bombs in Sunni and Shia neighborhoods killed 68 people and wounded hundreds. An article in Monday’s editions of<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/world/middleeast/13iraq.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast" class="external" target="_blank"> The New York Times</a> [2] provides an important piece of context to focus on: While Iraqi Christians represent only 3 percent of the population, they account for 20 percent of the Iraqis who have emigrated abroad.</p> <p>That’s largely because they have the connections to Western churches and family members who are already abroad in places like Detroit, Toronto, Los Angeles and elsewhere and therefore have a better chance of getting out.</p> <p>More than half of the Iraqi Christian community, estimated to be 800,000 prior to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, have left, according to the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute.</p> <p>But the threat to Christians and the violence they are suffering is just as bad as the threat to Shia or Sunni Muslims, who are also trying to be part of a new Iraq — one where violence is beginning to subside and where the governing crisis is finally settling down. Those Iraqis care about their Christian neighbors and friends and know the important role they play in Iraq moving forward. Those are the Iraqis who don’t want the Christians to flee.</p> <p>In 2006, I had a chance to actually ask Samuel Huntington about his 1996 book, "The Clash of Civilizations," and about whether it’s central premise might actually be self-fulfilling, particularly in the wake of Sept. 11. He often felt that his scholarship was taken out of context, he said, and he confided that he wished he had titled it differently, perhaps “Clashes of Civilizations” or something not to allow people to so easily misinterpret his work.</p> <p>Huntington passed away, but we have a chance to not allow people to misinterpret history or the events unfolding around us, and that’s how best to ponder the suffering of Christians — and everyone else — in Iraq.</p> <blockquote></blockquote> <p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/iraq/101213/iraq-christians-al-qaeda?page=0,0" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq | Christianity | Al Qaeda</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11835"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/02/hundreds-of-christian-families-on-the-move-in-iraq/#respond" title="Comment on Hundreds of Christian families on the move in Iraq">No Comments</a></span> Posted on December 2nd, 2010 by Suheila Jamil</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/12/02/hundreds-of-christian-families-on-the-move-in-iraq/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Hundreds of Christian families on the move in Iraq">Hundreds of Christian families on the move in Iraq</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/amil/" rel="tag">Amil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ankawa-com/" rel="tag">ankawa com</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/azzaman/" rel="tag">azzaman</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-families/" rel="tag">christian families</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-minority/" rel="tag">christian minority</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christianity/" rel="tag">Christianity</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians/" rel="tag">Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christians-persecution-of/" rel="tag">Christians - persecution of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/" rel="tag">churches</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ethnic-cleansing-of-christians/" rel="tag">Ethnic cleansing of Christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-christians/" rel="tag">iraqi christians</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kirkuk/" rel="tag">Kirkuk</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kurdish-regional-government/" rel="tag">kurdish regional government</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/leon-barkho/" rel="tag">leon barkho</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/monasteries/" rel="tag">Monasteries</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/northern-iraq/" rel="tag">northern iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <p>Hundreds of Iraqi Christians families have fled their hometowns in search for security. </p> <p>Anti-Christian violence has escalated recently with several cities turning into bloody scenes in which innocent Christians have been killed or injured. </p> <p>The attacks have in the past few days targeted Christian property with several houses blown up in both Baghdad and Mosul. </p> <p>The fleeing Christians leave behind homes, furniture, jobs, professions, careers as well churches and monasteries some of which are more than 1000 years old. </p> <p>The government has promised to help but the aid is peanuts. It offers every fleeing family 500,000 Iraqi dinars (about $400). The sum can hardly cover one-month rent in the relatively quiet Kurdish north, for instance. </p> <p>More than 500 families, fleeing mainly cities such as Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk, are on the move. </p> <p>Iraqi Internet news web sites with a focus on the plight of Iraqi Christians, among them the prominent <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.ankawa.com/english/" class="external" target="_blank">ankawa.com</a>, have shown pictures and footage of Iraqi Christians fleeing their areas to safer towns and villages in the north. </p> <p>Many of the families are among low-income groups and cannot afford to rent flats or houses. They are temporarily housed in churches and schools. </p> <p>The Kurdish regional government has promised to help, but it is extremely hard for any authority in a developing region such as northern Iraq to deal with the an influx of hundreds of families. </p> <p>Christians in some cities like Mosul are reported to be terrified. Despite the hardship, some families have decided to stay put as they find it too painful to abandon hometowns where family roots date back to the birth of Christianity. </p> <p>There are no exact numbers on how many Christians remain in Iraq, but their population has dwindled and many fear that the country is on its way to lose its once vibrant, intelligent and hard-working Christian minority forever.</p> <p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\new%20folder\kurd.htm">Hundreds of Christian families on the move in Iraq</a> By Leon Barkho <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?code=ennewsen" class="external" target="_blank">Azzaman in English</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11757"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/11/03/if-christians-leave-the-gates-of-hell-will-open/#respond" title="Comment on If Christians leave, the “gates of hell” will open">No Comments</a></span> Posted on November 3rd, 2010 by Suheila Jamil</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/11/03/if-christians-leave-the-gates-of-hell-will-open/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to If Christians leave, the “gates of hell” will open">If Christians leave, the “gates of hell” will open</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/analysis-briefings-commentary/" title="View all posts in Analysis Briefings Commentary" rel="category tag">Analysis Briefings Commentary</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/features/" title="View all posts in Features" rel="category tag">Features</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/asharq-alawsat-newspaper/" rel="tag">asharq alawsat newspaper</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/asia-news/" rel="tag">Asia News</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/assassination/" rel="tag">assassination</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/atrocities/" rel="tag">atrocities</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/catholic-church/" rel="tag">Catholic Church</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/christian-churches-and-monasteries-attacks-on/" rel="tag">Christian churches and monasteries - 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The result is that it “is clear now is that they [Christians] will all leave Iraq,” said Pius Kasha, vicar of Iraq’s Syriac Catholic Church. Both quotes are in an editorial signed by Tariq Alhomayed, editor of the London-based pan-Arabic daily <i>Al Sharq Al Awsat</i>. </p> <p>In his article, he asks a question, namely “What has been done since 2008, rather than 2003, by the Iraqi government to protect an Iraqi component from repression and organized violence?”, and answers it: “Unfortunately, [. . .] nothing!” </p> <p>For Alhomayed, al-Qaeda is obviously to blame. The terrorist group has in fact not hesitated in carrying out massacred and committing atrocities, but for him the issue is what Iraqi authorities have done to defend Iraq’s Christians, for “Iraqi Christians remain targets in public”’ despite being “outspoken in their demand for government protection”. </p> <p>Since 2008, Iraqi Christians have turned to the Churches (rather the government) for protection against violence, at least the half that is still left in the country. </p> <p>Without self-defence militias, Christians have turned to church buildings that are guarded by security personnel. He wonders though, “how did the terrorists get in” in the latest incident. </p> <p>In his view, targeting “minorities, including Iraqi Christians, means the disintegration of Iraq”. It “is an infringement upon its cultural and political composition. We must ensure that minorities are not excluded on sectarian or ethnic grounds, for this will open the gates of hell. [. . .] We must also ensure that tomorrow, the same events do not occur but with Lebanon’s Christians, God forbid. Therefore we say: protect the Christians in our region, in order to protect the virtue of co-existence.” </p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/If-Christians-leave,-the-%E2%80%9Cgates-of-hell%E2%80%9D-will-open-19891.html" class="external" target="_blank">IRAQ If Christians leave, the “gates of hell” will open – Asia News</a></p> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> <h3>Protect Iraq’s Christians </h3> <p></p> <p><a title="02/11/2010" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=22895" class="external" target="_blank">02/11/2010</a> </p> <p>By Tariq Alhomayed</p> </p> <p>Fearing that our readers might think I only want to fill column space, I would have re-published my article “We Must Protect Iraq’s Christians”, first published on October 12th 2008. </p> <p>In that article I said that “it is the duty of all Iraqis, not just the government in Baghdad, to protect Iraqi Christians from murder and displacement, and all types of repression against them, especially because they have never been part of alliances against Iraq. They did not come with [L. Paul] Bremer, and others. Iraqi Christians also suffer the worst conditions of any Christians in the region”. </p> <p>This came against the backdrop of an appeal from the Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Luis Saca, informing the Iraqi government of the need to protect Iraq’s Christians, when he said that “The Christians in Iraq do not have militias or clans to defend them”. He added “I feel pain and injustice, because innocent people are being killed and we do not know why”. </p> <p>At the time, we faced condemnation and media campaigns by people affiliated with the Iraqi government, but here we are today witnessing a massacre, along with other atrocities against Christians in Iraq. The massacre did not happen at a checkpoint, or as the result of an assassination of a Christian figure at his home, or on a random road. Instead, it was an organized, armed attack on the Syriac Catholic Church of Our Lady, in the Karrada district of Baghdad. Reports suggest 52 people were killed, nearly two years after the call of Bishop Luis Saca, urging the Iraqi government to protect Christians. </p> <p>It was striking when Father Youssef Thomas Mirkis, head of the Dominican sect in Iraq, said after yesterday’s massacre that “the plot had been in preparation for a long time, considering the weapons and ammunition found in the cathedral…these take a long time to stockpile”. The words of the vicar of Iraq’s Syriac Catholic Church, Pius Kasha, were deeply saddening, when he said “what is clear now is that they [Christians] will all leave Iraq”. </p> <p>Thus, the question today is: What has been done since 2008, rather than 2003, by the Iraqi government to protect an Iraqi component from repression and organized violence? Unfortunately, the answer is nothing! It is easy to accuse al-Qaeda, an organization which never hesitates to commit massacres and atrocities. However, Iraqi Christians remain targets in public, and are outspoken in their demand for government protection, so what has Nuri al-Maliki’s government done for them? </p> <p>One of the hostages in yesterday’s terrorist attack said “Men wearing military uniforms broke into the church carrying their weapons, and killed a priest on the spot”. It is well known that since 2008, Iraq’s Christians, nearly half of whom have left the country, are now turning to the churches [instead of the government] in search of protection from violence. Interestingly, the targeted church was under the protection of security personnel, so how did the terrorists get in? </p> <p>We can only return to what we said in 2008; that the targeting of minorities, including Iraqi Christians, means the disintegration of Iraq, and is an infringement upon its cultural and political composition. We must ensure that minorities are not excluded on sectarian or ethnic grounds, for this will open the gates of hell. Some are able to incite such a possibility, but so far no one can ensure this will not happen. We must also ensure that tomorrow, the same events do not occur but with Lebanon’s Christians, God forbid. Therefore we say: protect the Christians in our region, in order to protect the virtue of co-existence. </p> <p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=22895" class="external" target="_blank">Protect Iraq’s Christians Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English)</a></p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/If-Christians-leave,-the-%E2%80%9Cgates-of-hell%E2%80%9D-will-open-19891.html" class="external" target="_blank"></a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-11700"> <div class="postmetadata"><span class="comments"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/10/26/exodus/#respond" title="Comment on Exodus">No Comments</a></span> Posted on October 26th, 2010 by Ali</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/10/26/exodus/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Exodus">Exodus</a></h3> <p class="postmetadata">Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/human-rights/" title="View all posts in Human Rights" rel="category tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/category/religion/" title="View all posts in Religion" rel="category tag">Religion</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-amin/" rel="tag">al-Amin</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/arabs/" rel="tag">Arabs</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/arbil/" rel="tag">Arbil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/archbishop-paul-faraj-kidnapping-and-murder-of/" rel="tag">Archbishop Paul Faraj - 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Anwar</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/saudi-arabia/" rel="tag">Saudi Arabia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vatican/" rel="tag">Vatican</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/west-bank/" rel="tag">West Bank</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b3%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%85%e2%80%8e/" rel="tag">الإسلام‎</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86/" rel="tag">بالمسيحيين</a></p> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <div style="padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; width: 360px; padding-top: 0px"> <div class="container"> <div class="shadow"> <div class="frame"> <strong>From Israel to Iraq, a Christian flight of Biblical proportions has begun.</strong> <p><a title="20100913_cross_with_lights_Arbil by Gorillas Guides, on Flickr" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.flickr.com/photos/27086036@N02/5117481728/" class="external" target="_blank"><img height="238" alt="20100913_cross_with_lights_Arbil" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017im_/http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1189/5117481728_113dc0d2e6_o.jpg" width="350"/></a></p> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> </p></div> <p>In the centre of the rebuilt Beirut, the massive old Maronite Cathedral of St George stands beside the even larger mass of the new Mohammad al-Amin mosque. The mosque’s minarets tower over the cathedral, but the Maronites were built a spanking new archbishop’s house between the two buildings as compensation. Yet every day, the two calls to prayer – the clanging of church bells and the wailing of the muezzin – beat an infernal percussion across the city. Both bells and wails are tape recordings, but they have been turned up to the highest decibel pitch to outdo each other, louder than an aircraft’s roar, almost as crazed as the nightclub music from Gemmayzeh across the square. But the Christians are leaving.</p> <p>Across the Middle East, it is the same story of despairing – sometimes frightened – Christian minorities, and of an exodus that reaches almost Biblical proportions. Almost half of Iraq’s Christians have fled their country since the first Gulf War in 1991, most of them after the 2004 invasion – a weird tribute to the self-proclaimed Christian faith of the two Bush presidents who went to war with Iraq – and stand now at 550,000, scarcely 3 per cent of the population. More than half of Lebanon’s Christians now live outside their country. Once a majority, the nation’s one and a half million Christians, most of them Maronite Catholics, comprise perhaps 35 per cent of the Lebanese. Egypt’s Coptic Christians – there are at most around eight million – now represent less than 10 per cent of the population.</p> <p>This is, however, not so much a flight of fear, more a chronicle of a death foretold. Christians are being outbred by the majority Muslim populations in their countries and they are almost hopelessly divided. In Jerusalem, there are 13 different Christian churches and three patriarchs. A Muslim holds the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to prevent Armenian and Orthodox priests fighting each other at Easter. </p> <p>When more than 200 members of 14 different churches – some of them divided – gathered in Rome last week for a papal synod on the loss of Christian populations in the lands where Christianity began, it was greeted with boredom or ignored altogether by most of the West’s press.</p> <p>Yet nowhere is the Christian fate sadder than in the territories around Jerusalem. As Monsignor Fouad Twal, the ninth Latin patriarch of Jerusalem and the second to be an Arab, put it bleakly, "the Israelis regard us as 100 per cent Palestinian Arabs and we are oppressed in the same way as the Muslims. But Muslim fundamentalists identify us with the Christian West – which is not always true – and want us to pay the price." With Christian Palestinians in Bethlehem cut off from Jerusalem by the same Israeli wall which imprisons their Muslim brothers, there is now, Twal says, "a young generation of Christians who do not know or visit the Holy Sepulchre".</p> <p>The Jordanian royal family have always protected their Christian population – at 350,000, it is around 6 per cent of the population – but this is perhaps the only flame of hope in the region. The divisions within Christianity proved even more dangerous to their community than the great Sunni-Shia divide did to the Muslims of the Middle East. Even the Crusaders were divided in their 100-year occupation of Palestine, or "Outremer", as they called it. The Lebanese journalist Fady Noun, a Christian, wrote a profound article from Rome last week in which he spoke of the Christian loss as "a great wound haemorrhaging blood", and bemoaned both Christian division and "egoism" for what he saw as a spiritual as well as a physical emigration. "There are those Christians who reach a kind of indifference… in Western countries who, swayed by the culture of these countries and the media, persuade eastern Christians to forget their identity," he wrote.</p> <p>Pope Benedict, whose mournful visit to the Holy Land last year prompted him to call the special synod which ended in the Vatican at the weekend, has adopted his usual perspective – that, despite their difficulties, Christians of the "Holy Land" must reinvigorate their feelings as "living stones" of the Middle Eastern Church. "To live in dignity in your own nation is before everything a fundamental human right," he said. "That is why you must support conditions of peace and justice, which are indispensable for the harmonious development of all the inhabitants of the region." But the Pope’s words sometimes suggested that real peace and justice lay in salvation rather than historical renewal.</p> <p>Patriarch Twal believes that the Pope understood during his trip to Israel and the West Bank last year "the disastrous consequences of the conflict between Jews and Palestinian Arabs" and has stated openly that one of the principal causes of Christian emigration is "the Israeli occupation, the Christians’ lack of freedom of movement, and the economic circumstances in which they live". But he does not see the total disappearance of the Christian faith in the Middle East. "We must have the courage to accept that we are Arabs and Christians and be faithful to this identity. Our wonderful mission is to be a bridge between East and West."</p> <p>One anonymous prelate at the Rome synod, quoted in one of the synod’s working papers, took a more pragmatic view. "Let’s stop saying there is no problem with Muslims; this isn’t true," he said. "The problem doesn’t only come from fundamentalists, but from constitutions. In all the countries of the region except Lebanon, Christians are second-class citizens." If religious freedom is guaranteed in these countries, "it is limited by specific laws and practices". In Egypt, this has certainly been the case since President Sadat referred to himself as "the Muslim president of a Muslim country".</p> <p>The Lebanese Maronite Church – its priests, by the way, can marry – understands all too well how Christians can become aligned with political groups. The Lebanese writer Sami Khalife wrote last week in the French-language newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour – the francophone voice of Lebanon’s Christians – that a loss of moral authority had turned churches in his country into "political actors" which were beginning to sound like political parties. An open letter to the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, warning him to try to turn Lebanon into a "front line" against Israel, was signed by 250 Lebanese. Most of them were from the minority Christian community.</p> <p>Nor can the church ignore Saudi Arabia, where Christianity is banned as a religion just as much as the building of churches. Christians cannot visit the Islamic holy cities of Mecca or Medina – the doors of the Vatican and Canterbury Cathedral are at least open to Muslims – and 12 Filipinos and a priest were arrested in Saudi Arabia only this month for "proselytism" for holding a secret mass. There is, perhaps, a certain irony in the fact that the only balance to Christian emigration has been the arrival in the Middle East of perhaps a quarter of a million Christian Filipino guest workers – especially in the Gulf region – while Patriarch Twal reckons that around 40,000 of them now work and live in Israel and "Palestine".</p> <p>Needless to say, it is violence against Christians that occupies the West, a phenomenon nowhere better, or more bloodily, illustrated than by al-Qa’ida’s kidnapping of Archbishop Faraj Rahho in Mosul – an incident recorded in the US military archives revealed on Saturday – and his subsequent murder. When the Iraqi authorities later passed death sentences on two men for the killing, the church asked for them to be reprieved. In Egypt, there has been a gloomy increase in Christian-Muslim violence, especially in ancient villages in the far south of the country; in Cairo, Christian churches are now cordoned off by day-and-night police checkpoints.</p> <p>And while Western Christians routinely deplore the falling Christian populations of the Middle East, their visits to the region tend to concentrate on pilgrimages to Biblical sites rather than meetings with their Christian opposite numbers. </p> <p>Americans, so obsessed by the myths of East-West "clashes of civilisation" since 11 September 2001, often seem to regard Christianity as a "Western" rather than an Eastern religion, neatly separating the Middle East roots of their own religion from the lands of Islam. That in itself is a loss of faith.</p> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-exodus-the-changing-map-of-the-middle-east-2116463.html" class="external" target="_blank">Robert Fisk: Exodus. The changing map of the Middle East – Robert Fisk, Commentators – The Independent</a></p> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="navigation"> <div class="alignleft"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/churches/page/2/">« Previous Entries</a></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" class="span-10 last"> <div class="span-10" id="tabs"> <ul> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a href="#featured-articles">Featured Articles</a></li> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a href="#latest-articles">Latest Articles</a></li> </ul> <div id="featured-articles" class="widget"> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130126114017/http://gorillasguides.com/2012/04/19/hezbollah-says-latest-bombings-in-iraq-thwart-mission-to-build-state/">Hezbollah says latest bombings in Iraq “thwart mission to build state”</a></li> <li><a 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