Najaf takes in Christians displaced by Islamic State

August 19, 2014 By administrator

History repeat itself 1915 Turks like islamic state (ISIS) use Islam as tool slater and drove Armenians to the desert, the Arab open their doors to the Armenian refugees. today the real Arab doing so again for the christians of Mosul.

By Ali Mamouri for al Monitor

NAJAF, Iraq — After Christians were forced to leave Mosul and other areas that fell under the control of the Islamic State (IS), Kurdish and Shiite dominated cities opened their

doors to receive them. Religious authorities adopted stances supporting Christians, as they called on residents to host and help their brothers in the country.

The Imam Al-Khoei Foundation, one of the prominent religious institutions in Najaf, issued on July 30 a statement in support of Christians and minorities in Iraq. An excerpt of the statement reads, “We announce our readiness to receive the displaced Iraqi families, be they Christians or Muslims. We call on all Iraqis to offer aid for the displaced families and protect them from the aggressors, in accordance with the principles of humanitarian and national fraternity.”

Under the slogan, “We cooperate, work, unite, think, plan, and achieve to succeed,” the foundation announced its complete readiness to cooperate with all international, humanitarian and societal organizations, saying, “They [Christians] will come to find our hearts open before our arms.”

Jawad al-Khoei, the foundation’s director in Najaf, told Al-Monitor over the phone, “Christians are our homeland brothers, and our duty is to do all we can to protect them from extremists and terrorists. All of our cities and homes are open to receive them. There would be no religious limits or clampdown, had they wished to settle down in Najaf temporarily or permanently.”

Prominent religious guide Sayyed Hussein al-Sadr issued a statement dedicated to the displacement of Christians from Mosul, affirming their “national belonging to Iraq.”

“They are our brothers in the country and in humanity, and have equal rights with all Iraqis,” Sadr noted in the statement.

Karbala preacher and Sayyed Ali Sistani’s spokesman, Ahmed al-Safi, denounced in his last sermon the “recent attacks on Iraqi minorities,” saying, “Tens of thousands of Turkmens, Shabak, Christians and other minorities are now living under harsh circumstances due to displacement from their areas, after terrorists took over their cities in Ninevah and other regions. The efforts exerted to look after them and alleviate their suffering are still subpar.”

On Aug. 3, the Najaf provincial council announced “its complete readiness to receive displaced Christian families who have left their villages and homes in Mosul.” The council affirmed that “appropriate housing will be provided. Also, the Imam Ali Holy Shrine in Najaf and Imam Hussein Holy Shrine in Karbala are ready to host Christian families, and indeed competent committees are being formed in the two holy cities.”

Al-Monitor learned from an official of the Red Crescent that the province “has until now received more than 17,000 displaced, the majority of whom are sheltered in Hussainiyat [congregation halls for Shiite commemoration ceremonies], mosques, and other religious buildings. They are receiving support from humanitarian institutions affiliated [with] the Shiite authority, the Imam Ali Shrine and the people of Najaf.” Al-Monitor met with two displaced Christian families who affirmed that they were receiving services and aid, as other displaced are.

It is important to note that the two holy cities of Najaf and Karbala were dominant Christian centers for centuries, where the ruins of old churches are located, some of which date back to the second century. In fact, until mid-20th century, some Christian and Jewish families were still living in the two cities, without being subjected to any kind of persecution or discrimination.

The flow of Christians into the two cities, if it continues, and their potential settling there, will revive Iraqi plurality, which has been decaying in the last years.

Ali Mamouri is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Iraq Pulse. He is a researcher and writer who specializes in religion. He is a former teacher in Iranian universities and seminaries in Iran and Iraq. He has published several articles related to religious affairs in the two countries and societal transformations and sectarianism in the Middle East.

Lebanon a safe haven but Middle Eastern Christians still at risk

August 15, 2014 By administrator

Jean Aziz is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s

The expulsion of Christians from cities in northwestern Iraq at the hands of Islamic State (IS) militants is still resonating and felt throughout Lebanon for different reasons. The first is that Lebanon comprises the largest number of Christians compared to other countries in the Levant. Second, Christians assume leadership positions in Lebanon, allowing them to raise issues, take a stance and make demands, a luxury that Christians in neighboring countries do not enjoy.

In addition, the churches concerned with the tragedy of Christians in Mosul and the Ninevah Plains — such as the Chaldean, Assyrian and Syriac churches — are currently all located in Lebanon in terms of religious headquarters, followers and religious officials. The presence in their homeland has become very limited and mostly silent. For these reasons, a meeting was held on Aug. 7 at the summer headquarters of the Maronite Patriarchate in Diman, a village in the north of Lebanon, which was attended by all the Levantine patriarchs.

The meeting raised three issues: the developments in Gaza; the battles in Lebanon’s Arsal between the Lebanese army and the armed Sunni fundamentalists; and the tragedy of Christian displacement from Mosul and the Ninevah Plains. Sources who participated in the meeting told Al-Monitor that the first two issues took no more than a few minutes. The articles related to them were already prepared for the draft statement that was issued after the meeting.

The discussions were, however, focused on the Iraqi incidents. The same sources said, “The interjections of religious officials stressed to identify the parties responsible for the tragedy that has befallen the Christians of Iraq since 2003.”

The participants were clear in blaming it on the repercussions of the US occupation, and the current violent and extreme inclinations characterizing political Islam. The finger was also pointed at Iraq’s neighboring countries, some of which are involved while others are accused of ignoring the situation. Some countries are also trying to achieve political gains at the expense of the tragedy taking place.

The sources said the participants expressed “strong dissatisfaction toward the Western silence and the inability of the international community to stop the crimes against humanity that are committed freely and with impunity.”

Subsequently, religious officials accused some Western countries of plotting against the Christians of the Levant, while drawing on old but well-known theories. These theories link to many factors such as the influence Israel has over some Western countries, and the potential Israeli interest in establishing pure sectarian entities. This comes in addition to Western interests to court oil-rich Islamic states, despite the latter’s discrimination against Christians living in their countries, which creates a model for extremist movements to follow. Although religious officials had different opinions about this theory, they all agreed on refusing the French stance that seemed to lure Mosul’s Christians into leaving their homeland. The officials considered the French position as a blow to the Levantine Christian stance.

For his part, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Lebanon, Bishop Michel Kassarji, informed Al-Monitor about the steps that can be adopted to help with the tragedy in Mosul and Ninevah. He said, “During the meeting, the heads of the churches have discussed all the possible methods to help. … A preliminary idea was adopted, stipulating that patriarchs visit Baghdad as soon as possible, within a week maybe, to discuss with the Iraqi government the situation of Christians in Iraq. The high-ranking delegation may also visit Erbil for the same purpose.”

He added, “The patriarchs know that the fate of Christians in Iraq, or those who remained out of the 1.5 million Christians, relies on the stance of different countries around the world. This is why they are thinking of visiting all these countries, from Tehran, Riyadh and Ankara, to Western countries.” Some proposed staging protests in front of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris against the demolition of Iraqi archaeological sites that are on the World Heritage List, to incite the international public opinion to try and save buildings in case it would be impossible for human lives to be spared. Moreover, the cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lebanon will continue in regard to its announced plan to follow up on the issue.

On the humanitarian level, the deputy patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church, Bishop Youhana Jihad Battah, told Al-Monitor, “The humanitarian tragedy of the displaced exacerbates by the day, especially after IS militants reached the heart of the Ninevah Plains and occupied the Christian villages there, including Qaraqosh.”

He said, “The displaced did not have identity cards or passports, as IS forced them to leave empty-handed, or else they would have left Iraq. This, however, compelled them to stay and move to the Christian villages of the Ninevah Plains, the mountains of Dahuk and the Christian-dominated suburb of Ankawa, adjacent to Erbil.”

In the same context, Kassarji said, “Approximately a hundred Christian families from Mosul that were able to reach Beirut recounted the tragic situation. Their situation is dire and the only place they could resort to was the headquarters of the Chaldean Patriarchate near Beirut.”

Religious officials are incessantly talking about the latest developments in the plight of Christians in Islamic countries. They are torn between the silent knowledge that this will not be the last chapter and that Islamic fundamentalism will root Christians out of the Levant, and the deep faith that the Holy Spirit, who protected Christians for 2,000 years amid heinous horrors, will keep them in the region for longer. Which of these will prove to be right? The answer might come sooner than expected.

Jean Aziz

Columnist

Jean Aziz is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Lebanon Pulse. He is a columnist at the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar and the host of a weekly political talk show on OTV, a Lebanese TV station. He also teaches communications at the American University of Technology and the Université Saint-Esprit De Kaslik in Lebanon.

Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan): 8,000 visa applications for refugee France (Bishop)

August 15, 2014 By administrator

The Consulate General of France in Erbil, where tens of thousands of Christians have fled the jihadists in Iraq, has already recorded 8,000 visa applications, said Thursday the Bishop of Saint-Etienne, back from a five-day movement Area.

“Some of these Iraqi refugees will be welcomed into Christian communities” in France, said Archbishop Dominique Lebrun during a press conference. He said the staff of the consulate are being strengthened with the influx of visa applications.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve had raised “hundreds of applications”, adding that there was “no limit” set by the government for hosting these refugees. “Our consulate in Erbil is doing so to make this possible reception when it becomes inevitable,” he added, stressing that the will of France is first to allow minorities to continue live in Iraq.

Bishop Lebrun called again Thursday, as the spokesperson of the Conference of Bishops of France Bishop Bernard Podvin Wednesday and the Vatican Monday to use force against the jihadists.

“We saw there a despair and poignant stories of refugees. (…) It is legitimate to use force to stop the killers and rapists of a so-called state based on terror (…). The so-called army of so-called Islamic state, these are only a few thousand criminals who engage in barbarism, to the systematic slaughter, “insisted Bishop. He referred videos and testimonies “by which whole groups of over a hundred people were arrested, killed and thrown into the Tigris.”

Friday, August 15, 2014,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Lebanese Churches Struggle with Flood of Iraqi Christians

August 8, 2014 By administrator

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese churches are struggling to handle the influx of hundreds of Christian families who fled Mosul after Islamic extremists seized Iraq’s second-largest city, threatening Christians and other minorities.

About 600 Iraqi families have fled to the Lebanese capital of Beirut in recent weeks.

“When you hear what has happened to them, you want to help,” said a Lebanese woman who donated food to a Chaldean center in the Hazmiye neighborhood of Beirut.

Donations from Lebanese are pouring in after a plea for aid went viral. Basic foods like rice, beans, oil, tea and sugar has been delivered the Chaldean center in the past few days.

Beirut already was a place of refuge for Assyrian and Chaldean Christians from Iraq; some 1400 families have been registered since 2003. But in the past 10 days another 600 families are said to have arrived, mainly fleeing after threats of the radicals of the Islamic State (IS/formerly ISIS).

Stories about Christians in Mosul being forced to convert to Islam or die have shocked their fellow believers in Lebanon. Christians in IS controlled areas of Syria have faced a similar fate and sought refuge in Lebanon.

The Chaldean Bishop secretariat is overwhelmed by phone calls offering help and is turning away clothing donations. Food and money to pay for housing and medical care are the top priorities.

The Lebanese Chaldean Church has tried to find housing for refugees from Syria and Iraq, and helps with the rent if the refugees cannot pay for themselves. Because IS seized the refugees’ belongings when they fled Mosul, the needs are high.

Yet some have difficulty asking for support, said Father George of the Saint Georges Assyrian Church in Beirut. “They had shops, money, and a good life. It is very hard for them to ask for help.”

He helped one homeless Christian family of four find housing — $1,200 for a one-bedroom apartment. The landlord, he said with disappointment, is also Christian.

While he is searching for a better, cheaper place for this family, the priest said the community is overwhelmed by the needs of refugees. Lebanon is hosting 1.1 million Syrian refugees, the most of any country.

“Even for Christian organizations it is not easy. Most Christians now are helped by the local community. The Lebanese government offers no help; our demolished country is not able to,” he said.

Lebanon’s churches were already having a hard time meeting the needs of Syrian Christians, and the new flood of refugees from Iraq is creating an even bigger challenge, said Paula Acceri of Gestures From The Heart, a small, local NGO has tried to help Christians from Mosul.

Even though donations are pouring in many do not reach those refugees that need it most, according to the NGO, which tries to connect the needy with churches.

“We help the worst cases (and) give them some money for rent. We will talk to the Ministry of Education to find an empty school building we can use to house refugees,” Acceri said.

After a recent Sunday service, Iraqi Christians gathered outside the Chaldean Church of Saint Joseph.

One woman who asked not to be identified recounted how she fled and her family fled their village of Batnaya, near Mosul, in the middle of the night for the Kurdistan Region capital, Erbil. Her husband couldn’t find his passport so stayed behind while she continued on with the children to Beirut, where her sisters live.

“We were caught in the fight between IS and the Peshmerga,” she said. “Now the village is empty.”

“We feel squeezed in the middle,” said Mowfak Keriakos, 54, who fled Baghdad a month ago after being harassed by police for celebrating Christian holidays and because his daughter was forced to veil.

He did not flee to Iraqi Kurdistan because he feels the Kurds are not welcoming Christians and he doesn’t believe he’ll find work there.

“They did not protect Nineveh; otherwise the Christians would not have fled,” he said.

Instead, Keriakos wants to join his brothers and his son in the United States. Many Iraqi Christians want to emigrate to the west and France offered refuge to Christians from Mosul last week.

Father George of the Assyrian Church is saddened by the prospect of so many Christians leaving the Middle East. He wants to set up a $1 million campaign to buy land for Christians in the region, and called on the west to stop taking refugees.

“The United Nations and Europe are too quiet,” he said. “They must help Christians in Iraq and Syria so they don’t have to leave.”

ISIL militants seize Iraq largest Christian town, And Pope Francis called on world governments to protect Christians in Iraq.

August 7, 2014 By administrator

Takfiri ISIL militants have taken control of Iraq’s largest Christian town and its surrounding areas, forcing thousands of civilians to leave the region.

On Thursday, the ISIL terrorists seized Bakhdida town, also known as Qaraqosh, in Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh following the retreat of Kurdish troops from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, who had been protecting the area for the past two months.

The terrorists also took control of Tal Keef, Bartella and Karamlesh, all located near the militant-held city of Mosul.

Christian patriarchs say the ISIL militants removed church crosses and burned manuscripts there.

An estimated 100,000 Christians have been forced to flee from Nineveh Province into the Kurdistan region.

“Most of the displaced are now living in the open and face the threat of death because of scorching heat and lack of water and food,” said Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, adding, “It is a humanitarian disaster.”

Pope Francis has called on world governments to take measures to protect Christians in Iraq.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting, requested by France, later in the day to discuss the situation in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the ISIL militants seized the country’s largest dam near the city of Mosul after a week of fighting against Kurdish forces. The militants are now in control of huge power and water resources and have access to the river that runs through the capital, Baghdad.

The militant group posted a statement online, confirming the seizure of the dam and promising to continue “the march in all directions.” The ISIL cult also claimed that it would not “give up the great Caliphate project.”

UN also said that some 40,000 Iraqis from the Kurdish minority Yazidi have reportedly taken refuge in nine different locations on Mount Sinjar in northwest Iraq.

Violence erupted in Iraq when ISIL Takfiri militants took control of Mosul on June 10, which was followed by the takeover of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad.

Iraq Christians flee as Islamic State takes Qaraqosh

August 7, 2014 By administrator

Up to a quarter of Iraq’s Christians are reported to be fleeing after Islamic militants seized the minority’s biggest town in the country, the BBC reported.

The Islamic State (IS) group captured Qaraqosh in Nineveh province overnight after the withdrawal of Kurdish forces.

Meanwhile, the UN says some of the 50,000 members of the Yazidi religious minority trapped by IS on Mount Sinjar have been rescued.

IS controls parts of Iraq and Syria and says it has created an Islamic state.

Nineveh, located 400km (250 miles) north-west of Baghdad, is home to a large number of religious minorities.

Tens of thousands have been forced to flee since IS, a Sunni Muslim group formerly known as Isis, launched their onslaught in the north in June.

Paris Hundreds of protesters against the persecution of Christians in Iraq

July 28, 2014 By administrator

Sunday, July 27, at the Committee’s call to support Iraqi Christians (CSCI), despite the arrival of the Tour de France has stopped some of the streets of the capital, hundreds of people gathered in front of Notre Dame to show their support for Eastern Christians.

Many politicians, especially on the right, made the trip to denounce persecution against Christians in Iraq. Among them, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Claude Goasguen, Roger Karouchi, Rachida Dati, François Pupponi and Philippe Kaltenbach.

The rally was followed by a Mass concelebrated by Father Sabri Anar, the Chaldean parish priest of St. Thomas in Sarcelles.

Letter of the Arabic alphabet “noun”, which corresponds to N in the Latin alphabet, N for Nasrani (Nazarene). Jihadists of EEIL marked the homes of Iraqi Christians, descendants of the Assyrian-Chaldean before, or execute them to convert to Islam or flee.

There would be no more Christians in Mosul.

France says ready to welcome Christians from northern Iraq

July 28, 2014 By administrator

Reuters

France said on Monday, July 28, it is ready to welcome Christians from northern Iraq who have been told by the al Qaeda offshoot group now ruling the region to either convert to Islam, pay a religious levy or face death, Reuters reported.

Islamic State insurgents seized large swathes of northern Iraq last month, prompting hundreds of Christian families in Mosul to flee a city which has hosted the faith since its earliest years.

“We are providing aid to displaced people fleeing from the threats of Islamic Sate and who have sought refuge in Kurdistan. We are ready, if they wish, to facilitate their asylum on our soil,” France’s Foreign and Interior Ministers said in a joint statement.

“We are in constant contact with local and national authorities to ensure everything is done to protect them.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki earlier this month condemned the treatment of the Christians and instructed a government committee to help those made homeless. However, he has not said when the army might try to win back control of Mosul.

Islamic State has warned all women in Mosul to wear full-face veils or risk severe punishment. The Sunni insurgents, who have declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, also view Iraq’s majority Shi’ites as infidels who deserve to be killed.

The hunt for Christians is a strategy on the part of the Islamic State (ISIS)

July 27, 2014 By administrator

Professor Bernard Coulie, president of the Institute of Arts and Letters civilizations at UCL, and also specialist Armenia, decrypts Levif.be to the current situation of Eastern Christians expelled from Iraq. Interview by Reda Bennani (St.)

What is the strategy for the Christian community of the Islamic State in Iraq?

The Islamic state has grown dangerously for two years to force conquered territories. The hunt for Christians is a real strategy, deliberate on their part.

Christians forced to leave Mosul fled to Kurdistan, are better protected there?

In any case better than in the rest of Iraq is safe. You should know that the Kurdish region enjoys a certain autonomy, since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. It has developed its administration and army, which can be considered more powerful than the Iraqi State . In addition, the Kurds, even devout Muslims, are more tolerant than elsewhere.

How to explain the lack of concrete reaction from the international community?

The international community does not mobilize on the fate of Christians in the East for two reasons: this mosaic of confessions is very complicated to understand even for our leaders. One can not analyze these communities within our gates Western reading. Then Europe is not a major and profitable to go protect the Christians of the East interest. Then, the United States and the Catholic countries of Latin America do not feel concerned. I think it is a big mistake.

Eastern Christians trying to flee their country, became hostile. Where can they go into exile?

Eastern Christians are a mosaic of many faiths such as Orthodox Greeks, Assyrians, Copts, Maronites … They join these churches around the world. With their refugee status (once obtained), this community traditionally diaspora, goes to a host country where it already has a relative who lives there.

What might be the consequences of the departure of Eastern Christians?

In the medium term, given the events, there will be more Christians in the Middle East and Asia Minor. These countries, as a nation-state, will become monocultural. This is a great loss!

http://www.levif.be/info/actualite/international/la-chasse-aux-chretiens-est-une-strategie-de-la-part-de-l-etat-islamique/article-4000700675898.htm

No End to Christian Suffering as Iraq Staggers in Turmoil

July 22, 2014 By administrator

By RUDAW 21/7/2014

Amid threats by the Islamic State in Mosul, many Christians have fled to the shelter of the Kurdistan Region. Photo: Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – For around 100 Christian refugees forced into making an Assyrian church in Tel Kaif their home, there was no question of staying behind in Mosul after an ultimatum by the city’s new Islamic State (IS) rulers.

“They stormed into our home in the middle of the night and ordered us to leave with only our clothes,” said one homeless Christian at the Mashriq Assyrian Church in Tel Kaif, where many from the faith have fled since the fall of Mosul last month.

“They said, ‘if you convert to Islam you can stay in your home, otherwise get out of here,’” recounted an elderly Christian man, one of the 105 people being cared for by church priests who said they are expecting more refugees to arrive.

“They took everything: the television, computer, money, gold. I had a chicken I wanted to take for food, but even that they did not let me take,” the elder told Rudaw in a weak, trembling voice.

All of the Christians — who include Chaldeans and Assyrians or Kurds and Arabs – told similar tales of first being ordered to either convert to Islam or pay a special tax, and then being warned to convert or die.

“No one was allowed to bring money or gold,” said a refugee. “They took it all.”

On Saturday, there were reports of the IS torching centuries-old Churches. There were unconfirmed reports the extremists had been marking Christian homes in Mosul with red paint, adding greater terror among the Christians and swelling their fleeing numbers.

Thousands of Christian families have fled to the Kurdistan Region, adding to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Syrian refugees who have found sanctuary in the autonomous enclave, the only portion of Iraq where peace still prevails.

According to information obtained from sources by Rudaw, only 200 of Mosul’s 5,000 Christians still remain in the city.

“There is a systematic campaign to expel an entire people of this country from their ancestral land,” raged Salim Toma, a Christian and former MP in the Kurdistan Region

He said that providing food and water alone cannot resolve the problem, and that a diplomatic and political solution was urgently needed.

“First the massacre of the Christians must be stopped, and then like other people we should have a place to live,” said Toma, complaining that Iraq’s dithering government and the international community were not taking the issue seriously.

“Unfortunately, there has not been a serious position (toward the Christians). Only the Kurdistan Regional Government has opened the door and embraced them,” Toma said, explaining that the KRG had provided food, water and electricity for Mosul to alleviate suffering.

Amid political indecision in Baghdad, Toma complained there was no government in Iraq, and that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had not bothered to seriously address what was happening to the Christians.

By contrast, he said, Kurdish officials had tried to help in every way, and had tried to raise international concern. “Checkpoints are open for them; schools have become shelters for the Christians; many local NGOs are assisting, too,” Toma said.

Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has appealed to his people and the world to help. “After the terrorists armed groups seized control of Mosul, the Christians in the city face mass murder,” Barzani said in a statement.

There have been reports of looting and theft: IS militants raided a church in eastern Mosul and looted what was inside; they stormed several poultry farms owned by Christians, kidnapping seven people.

The former MP said that Christian communities are contacting the UN, the United States and international NGOs for assistance, because refugee numbers exceed the KRG’s capacity to deal with them.

Omid Sabah, spokesperson of the Kurdish presidency, said that “acts have caused a number of deaths among Christians,” and that many had fled to the Kurdistan Region for shelter.

Meanwhile, the KRG’s religious affairs minister, Kamal Muslim, visited refugees in Tel Kaif: “KRG is prepared to do whatever it can, and the Kurdistan Region is a shelter for affected people from anywhere,” he told the homeless Christians.

Christians in Iraq have been leaving their ancestral lands since the upheaval unleashed by the 2003 US-led invasion. They have been especially targeted by the sectarian violence that has buffeted Iraq since then.

According to unofficial figures nearly two million Christians lived in Iraq before the invasion. Now, the number has dwindled to an estimated 600,000.

Over the past decade, 61 attacks have been launched against Churches across Iraq’s Arab-populated lands, and thousands of Christians have been killed or vanished.

Toma said that the majority of Christian refugees would choose to live in Kurdistan and the Nineveh plains that have been their ancestral home, should Kurdistan declare independence.