Archbishop Warda of Erbil and the future for young Christians in Iraq
Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil describes his vision for the future of the Church in Iraq and how the Catholic University in Erbil will help ensure a continued Christian presence in the region. In this podcast, he speak with John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) , a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church, supporting Chri…
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Iraqi Christians’ Slow Decline
Iraq’s dwindling Christians, driven from their homes by attacks and intimidation, are beginning to abandon the havens they had found in the country’s north, discouraged by unemployment and a creeping fear that the violence they had fled was catching up to them. Their quiet exodus to Turkey, Jordan, Europe and the United States is the latest chapter of a se…
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Theresa May and Al-Qaeda's "Assurances"
It appears that an Al-Qaeda hate preacher, has now got more rights to protection in Britain, than either a civilian or victim of Al-Qaeda, as proven by Theresa May’s example, of wanting to gain assurances from the Kingdom of Jordan , that if deported, Osama Bin Laden’s right hand man Abu Qatada , will not face another trial with evidence, allegedly, obtaine…
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Fears for Iraq’s Christians
The number of Christians in Iraq has more than halved since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, according to UN figures. The amount is now down to around half a million. In Baghdad Iraqi soldiers patrol the largest Christian neighbourhood. Over the past 9 years its estimated that over 900 Christians have been killed and 54 churches attacked, and sectarian t…
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Fatwa: end attacks on christians
A group of senior Iraqi clerics have issued a joint Shiite, Sunni and Christian fatwa calling for the end of violence against the Christian minority in Iraq. They had been meeting at a three-day conference between 12-14 January in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, to discuss the increasing spate of attacks against Iraqi Christians.The deadliest was the siege …
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Christian Club raided by Iraqi police
Eight men carrying handguns and steel pipes raided a Christian nongovernmental organization here on Thursday night, grabbing computers, cellphones and documents, and threatening the people inside, according to members of the group. "They came in and said, 'You are criminals. This is not your country. Leave immediately,’ " said Sharif Aso, a bo…
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Germans Angered by Christian Persecution
Many Germans voiced outrage following the New Year's Eve terrorist attack on Coptic Christians in Alexandria. But despite the strong words, critics argue that Germany could do more to help Christians seeking asylum. It's not generally a simple matter for the representative of a religious splinter group with only 6,000 members to get an appointment w…
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Iraqis call for Christians' protection
Iraqi Muslim and Christian religious leaders on Thursday called for a united front in protecting Christians following a spate of attacks against them. Thousands of Christians have fled the capital Baghdad after an assault on a Syrian Catholic cathedral in October in which 52 people were killed, and a series of bomb attacks on the homes of Christians in Dece…
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Arab world must face its demons
In the wake of the recent attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, warned that Christians face a campaign of "religious cleansing in the Middle East". But, given Western governments' colonial history and double standards on human rights, Arab Christians would be better served by an end to destructive Western…
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US aid may help few Iraqi refugees
Jordan, one of two main destinations for Iraqis displaced by the US-led war, has received nearly $400 million in aid designed to help as many as 1 million Iraqis reported to have fled there. Much of the aid came from the United States and went to the Jordanian government directly. The idea was that donors would help Jordan, and Jordan would help the Iraqis.…
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The Fate of Christians in the Middle East
Should we be concerned about the fate of Christian communities in the Arab world? This burning issue hits the headlines time and again whenever a church is attacked in Iraq or Egyptian Copts are bullied. Most recently an appeal by a group of Arab intellectuals to rise above sectarian divisions was published in the French media following a gory attack agains…
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Iraq Is Bleeding Every Day
Iraq enters 2011 – the year in which American forces are supposed to finally leave – with all too many wounds from our occupation. While we hear little here in the US about the effects of our war and occupation, Iraqis live with the results daily. Take for example, the continuing level of violence. Western media keep reminding us that the casualty count is …
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A new attack on Iraqi Christians
The latest bloody attack on Iraq's Christians was brutal in its simplicity. Militants left a bomb on the doorstep of the home of an elderly Christian couple and rang the doorbell. When Fawzi Rahim, 76, and his 78-year-old wife Janet Mekha answered the doorbell Thursday night, the bomb exploded, killing them, Mekha's brother told The Associated Press…
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Iraqi Christians consider their future
Some Christians in Iraq's capital were considering leaving, following a wave of bombings targeting members of their religion that left two dead and 16 others wounded. "I am 60 years old and I gave a lot to this country, but this tough situation is like a message asking me to leave my country," said Kiyour Kizarab, the male head of a Christian …
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Video: Iraqi Christians bury their dead
Christians in Baghdad, Iraq's capital, have buried their family members killed as a result of a wave of attacks targeting the religious minority community. The unrest has forced thousands of Christians to flee from their homes. In the most recent incident, two Christians were killed from a series of coordinated explosions across the Iraqi capital.It cam…
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Two killed and eight injured in bomb attacks
Two people were killed yesterday and at least eight injured in a series of bomb attacks on Christian homes in Baghdad. The grenade and bomb attacks came a week after Islamist militants linked to al-Qaida threatened a wave of violence against Iraq's beleaguered Christian community. In an attack in the south-west of the city, two grenades were thrown into…
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Germany should help Iraqi Christians
Germany should do more to help Iraq's Christian minority, urged the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) in an interview published Sunday.'I am in favour of building up joint development projects,' the CDU's parliamentary leader Volker Kauder told Welt am Sonntag newspaper. 'This should include…
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Iraqi Christians join worship in France
Iraqi Christians who survived the deadly storming of a Baghdad church attended a special Christmas mass on Sunday in France, where they were evacuated following the attack. "This mass is held especially for the survivors of the attack of October 31," said Elish Yako, leader of a French association supporting Iraq's Christians, at the mass in t…
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Video: Muted Christmas in Iraq
Despite threats of violence against their community, Iraqi Christians have gathered at a church where less than two months ago dozens of parishioners were killed by armed gunmen.Religious leaders have advised worshippers to celebrate Christmas only with prayer out of fear for their safety.Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Baghdad.
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Iraqis defy threats to pack church
Hundreds of Christians packed Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation church for Christmas on Saturday, defying threats of attacks less than two months after militants massacred worshippers and priests there. Security was extremely tight, with forces armed with pistols and assault rifles guarding the area and a 10-foot high (three-metre) concrete wall topped wi…
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