Friday, November 19, 2010

Iraqi Govt to Protect Christian Minority

Post 14

A few days ago, I read an encouraging news item about the Iraqi government promising to repatriate Iraqi Christians who have fled their country because of persecution and discrimination. The report was something similar to that in the previous post about Pakistan. Statistics tell us that Iraqi is emptying of Christians, who have lived there as minorities since the beginning of Christian history. I read the following report from the UK-based Barnabas Aid for November 14, 2010:--

Praise God for encouraging news from an Iraqi ambassador to a European state, who said that his government is committed to assisting Iraqi Christians who have fled their homeland because of the anti-Christian violence. He said that the government will assist Christians who return to Iraq with jobs, money and land to build houses. He also affirmed the possibility of creating a semi-autonomous region for Christians, similar to what Kurds in Iraq have, should the Christians with it. Pray that the Iraqi government will have the will and the ability to carry out these pledges and protect Christians from Islamic militants.

That is indeed an encouraging report. However, since Barnabas does not reveal the identity of the man nor the country to which he is assigned, it seems they must have felt it necessary to hide the identity of this ambassador, which makes me wonder whether he truly spoke the mind of his political masters. It was at least an official acknowledgement that Christians are fleeing his country and that his country is producing Christian refugees. But was he sincere? Did he represent official policy?

I ask such questions because I also read a story today that totally contradicts the above promise. A short report in today’s Province, a Vancouver daily (Nov. 11/2010), tells of continuing attacks on Christians:--

Baghad—A string of anti-Christian bombings has cost six more lives in the wake of a Baghdad church bloodbath, sowing panic in Iraq’s 2000-year-old minority on Wednesday, many of whom now want to flee. “Since Tuesday evening, there have been 13 bombs and two mortar attacks on homes and shops of Christians,” a Defense Ministry official said. The attacks come less than two weeks after 44 Christian worshippers, two priests and seven security personnel died in the seizure of the Baghdad church by Islamist gunmen and the ensuring shootout.

Some readers may argue that you need to give the government time to implement its new policy. You need to realize that Barnabas reports always come some months after the matter reported. There’s been time to implement the ambassador’s promise.

As in the case of Pakistan, we keep hoping….

1 comment:

  1. John,

    You are doing a good job. Dialogue is the best way to resolve issues.

    Is it possible to see the upsurge of Muslim intolerance as a direct consequence of the West's growing intolerance of Muslims especially since 9/11, though actually it goes back to colonialism and its policies in Muslim nations? For example, is it possible to contemplate the persecution of Christians in Iraq without looking at it's direct cause, the West's innovation of Iraq?

    Aliyu U. Tilde

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