Assyrians in Iraq

[Warren Bensinger]

A friend sent this message to me and ask my opinion. I am not sure so would like any help for a comment that you can give me.
Thanks for the help.
warren

Article sent to me ... I don't much believe anything I read these days, so does any of this ring true?
b.
---
"On a recent night the church had to spend more time on filling out baptismal forms needed for leaving the country than they did on the [worship] service," says Amir, a deacon at a local church who does not want his full name published. "We have been flooded with parishioners desperate to leave the country, and as they cannot get an exit permit without a baptismal certificate from the church we have been swamped with requests. ... In recent days nearly 400 families as far as we can tell have filled out baptismal forms to leave the country. Our community is being decimated."

Most of the Christians in Iraq are Assyrians – people who claim to be the original inhabitants of Iraq. The Assyrians were the people of Nineveh – present-day Mosul – the city to which God sent the biblical Jonah.

Because they are Christians and seen as allies of the West, the Assyrians have long been subject to persecution. The Assyrian Church, known officially as the Assyrian Church of the East, is the oldest continually existing church in the world. Assyrians are the only people in the world who still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ.

During the Assyrian genocide, in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, it is estimated that nearly two-thirds of the Assyrian people were slaughtered.

According to figures from the previous regime, there were 2.5 million Assyrian Christians in the country with an estimated 3.5 million outside the country for a worldwide total of as many as 6 million, many of whom would return to Iraq if they had a future.

"We thought the Americans were going to bring us freedom and democracy," said 31-year-old Robert. "Instead, they are promoting Islam. We do not understand it. ... We love the Americans! We are so grateful for them removing Saddam and giving us back our freedom. We do not want their effort to be a failure if the dictatorship of Saddam is replaced by the dictatorship of Islam."

Robert continued: "The American-funded TV station, Al Iraqia, broadcasts Muslim programs four times every day and for two hours each Friday but nothing for the other religions. The recent inauguration of the new government was opened by a Muslim mullah reciting a long passage and a prayer from the Quran, but none of our priests were invited. Why do they do this? Why do the Americans promote Muslims? They need to promote equality and democracy and freedom, not Muslim dictatorship."

He lamented: "What happened to the American promise to help [Iraq] become a democracy that would be a place for all to live? This is our homeland! We are the original people of Iraq! We should not have to leave."

The community is working on two projects – one to establish a 24-hour nationwide hotline to provide security for daily acts of intimidation that is much of the cause for the panic among the Iraqi Christians. The other is a nationwide network of "safe houses" to take care of the community, when – as they believe – following the handover of sovereignty to Iraq, the country will descend into chaos and civil war.

"We are having to take care of daily cases of harassment of Assyrians by Muslims," says one priest. "I just got back form helping one of our parishioners who was falsely accused by a neighbor and was about to be arrested. I had to go and sort it all out. ... Our women are accosted on the street and intimidated to start dressing according to Islamic tradition. Our businesses are being burned, and the constant harassment is because of the attitude of appeasement toward Muslims."

In addition, a proposal for an Assyrian Regional Government based on Article 54 of the Transitional Administrative Law is being circulated in Iraq and in Washington in a last-ditch effort to persuade the community to stay.

"We want to stay. This is our homeland," the priest said. "But if we do not have a place where we can go, if we will be persecuted daily by Muslims again we cannot stay. We are appealing to the world to help us – to guarantee us an area where we can be protected, where we can live in peace and where we can worship in freedom."



Ken Joseph Jr. is an Assyrian and directs Assyrianchristians.com. He is writing a book on his experience in Iraq entitled "I Was Wrong."

[Lillian Grunzweig]

I havn't heard this story before but I've heard others very similar from the head of USAID who happens to attend my Church.

I believe this sort of thing happens because a democracy can be set up a number of different ways. It doesn't have to be fair. The first link in the new constitution of the democracy in Afganistan insures no law will be passed contrary to Islam. Since most of the people in Iraq are muslim and since most American non Orthodox Christians are not even aware that the Orthodox Church exists, they don't know there are Christians there being persecuted.

The Orthodox Church has a PR problem in the US. It's not necessarily bad PR there just isn't any PR. Nobody knows who we are.

When an Orthodox Church can be found it's often very ethnic and doesn't handle outsiders well. They are often ignored or shunned as outsiders because of the ethnicity of the parish. Where I live that isn't the case but it's reported to be elsewhere.

The Orthodox Church is not on the radar of the National Media. Because of that we really don't have a way to use the politics of this country to help other Orthodox Christians politicaly other than to bring them here and grant asylum.

All of these things would be helped greatly if the US had one United Orthodox jurisdiction. My understanding of that issue is that it will probably happen someday but most likely not in my generation.

A Serbian priest came to DC and was pleading his case to a lot of people, some of them powerful. I don't think he got very far.

It's sad but in this country if ignoring you won't hurt re-election the politicians are not that concerned about you in the policy land.

I know all this sounds cynical and it is... but it's also true. No one can really garantee their safty. We can't even protect the pipeline or the copper wiring for phone infrastructure from being attacked and that is a stated priority. We can't even protect the American civil workers there.

My advice would be to get out now.... or stay and be a bold marter in the attempt to lead as many muslims to Christ as you can before and in death.

I think that is what the choice comes down too. That sad thing is, no one will ever hear about it outside Orthodox circles.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

The Assyrian Christians (often called Chaldean Christians) were originally Nestorians. They gradually entered into communion with Rome from the 16th century onwards & use a liturgy and liturgical language that dates back to the time they were Nestorians. Thus these Christians are not Orthodox but rather Catholics using an ancient rite once used by Persian Christians.
In Christ- Fr Raphael