Lexington Herald Leader, KY
Dec 13 2004
Church mulls taking up arms to defend itself
Today’s topic: Christianity in Iraq
By David George
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Leaders of the ever-dwindling Christian population in
Iraq say bombings of their churches and attacks against their
communities may force them to take up guns.
Two more churches were bombed in Mosul last week, the latest attacks,
and some Christians say extremist Muslims are terrorizing them with
the intent of ousting them and seizing their houses and belongings.
Iraq is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world,
made up largely of ethnic Assyrians, an ancient people who speak a
modern form of Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. But as the turmoil
increases, hundreds of Christian families are leaving each week for
exile in Syria and Turkey.
Some Christians have called for the establishment of a “safe haven”
in Iraq’s north, where they would be protected by special Iraqi army
units. Others are threatening to add a Christian militia to Iraq’s
already militarized society.
“Assyrians need security, so we need a legal army within the Iraqi
army to protect ourselves,” said Michael Benjamin, a leader of the
Assyrian Democratic Movement.
Said another Assyrian leader, Yonadem Kanna, “We do not want to
transform our movement into a militia, but if we need to we can arm
more than 10,000 people.”
Christians are only a sliver of Iraq’s population, but their leaders
argue that driving them from Iraq would make it unlikely Iraq could
ever develop into a nation that values religious pluralism and
tolerance. Estimates of how many Christians have left Iraq in recent
months range from 10,000 to 40,000 people.
Christians have lived in the region nearly since the dawn of
Christianity. They are believed to number about 800,000, or about
three percent of Iraq’s population.
Many Christians have collaborated with U.S. forces, hoping that Iraq
will become a democratic and free secular state. Their links to
Americans, often as translators, have put them under threat. Some
anti-U.S. Sunni Muslims said that anyone aiding the Americans should
be killed, or even beheaded.
“The Christians have no future here,” said Athnaiel Isaac, a
23-year-old deacon in Baghdad. “We may be under the same pressures
that made the Jews leave Iraq (following World War II).”
Isaac said he will leave soon for Syria and that his al-Wehda
district of Baghdad is emptying of Christians.
“I know about 100 families that have left the al-Wehda neighborhood
in the last three months,” Isaac said.
Other Christians said the nation’s turmoil leaves them vulnerable.
“The extremist Muslims are attacking us because the coalition forces
are not controlling the country,” said Hayraw Bedros, an Armenian
Christian.
Many of Iraq’s churches have thrown up protective walls or placed
perimeter barrels filled with cement to protect against car bombs.
Some services have been cancelled after coordinated church bombings
in Baghdad and Mosul Aug. 1, in which 11 people died, and subsequent
bombings Oct. 16, Nov. 8 and again last Tuesday.
In last week’s attacks, insurgents bombed an Armenian-Catholic church
and the Chaldean bishop’s palace in Mosul.
Christians say they have had to find new places for worship.
“I used to go before to Saint George Church but now it’s destroyed,”
said Lilia Hermez, a 70-year-old Baghdad resident.