Iraqi Christians Remain Under Siege

    

SANTA ANA, California – christiannewswire — On Tuesday the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will hold a press conference to update the status of religious freedom in Iraq.

A press release issued last week from the USCIRF states: “Although there has been some reduction in violence in Iraq since the Commission’s last report on the country in May 2007, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom remains seriously concerned about severe violations of religious freedom there.

The situation is dire for Iraq’s smallest religious minorities, including ChaldoAssyrian Christians, other Christians, Sabean Mandaeans, and Yazidis, who face a threat to their very existence in the country. Open Doors, an international Christian ministry which for over 50 years has supported and strengthened persecuted Christians around the world, is among a small group of Christian agencies working effectively in Iraq, according to a recent story in World Magazine.

Although it is difficult to state how many Iraqi Christians are in the country, the number in 2003, prior to the fall of Saddam Hussein, was around 550,000. Violence targeting Christians has caused many to leave the country. Church leaders in Iraq conservatively estimate that almost 75,000 Christians live outside Iraq in Syria, Jordan or in the West and that another 75,000 have fled to northern Iraq.

That means less than 400,000 Christians remain in mainland Iraq. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that at least 2 million Iraqis have fled the country since 2003 and another 2 million are displaced inside the country, mostly in northern Iraq. Some say that in the past few years almost 500 Iraqi Christians, including pastors and priests, have been murdered because of their faith. Even more Christians have been killed in attacks, fighting or kidnapping for money.

 Approximately 2,000 families (a total of 10,000 Christians) fled the northern city of Mosul two months ago due to terrorism. The violence resulted in an estimated 25 to 40 Christian deaths. Hundreds remain homeless. Open Doors is one of the major providers of Bibles and Christian materials in Iraq. Open Doors also offers language and computer classes and other vocational training. I

t is working with displaced Christians in northern Iraq, Syria and Jordan with housing, food, blankets and clothing as well as offering trauma counseling seminars. Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA, says: “the marginalized people of Iraq desperately need our support. The situation continues to grow grimmer for the targeted minority Christian community in Iraq, especially in Mosul.

Pray that 2009 will be the year when the violence will decrease and Christians will not be killed and kidnapped simply for their belief in Jesus Christ.”