As the last of Baghdad and Mosul’s Christian population packs up their cars and flee for their lives — a five-year-long trend, as NRO has noted — the New York Times today has finally taken note. As the piece reports, the Sunni terrorists who claimed responsibility for the horrific bombing of a Baghdad Syriac Catholic church packed with Sunday worshippers earlier this year are vowing to kill Christians “wherever they can reach them.” Moreover, the Shiite government of Iraq is doing next to nothing to protect or support the militia-less Christians
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal agency on which I serve, has pointed to the general indifference of Iraq’s government, which “creates a climate of impunity” for these Christians’ attackers. The Iraqi government also discriminates against and marginalizes these victims in the provision of essential government services: Diana Gorgiz, a Christian now finding refuge within the walls of one of Iraq’s ancient monasteries, told the Times that the Iraqi army told her family after an attack on her home in late November, “We cannot protect you.”
The Times reports that more than half of Iraq’s 1.4 million Christians have fled the country since 2003, but this is an estimate the U.N. has cited for years. The actual percentage of Christian refugees is likely far greater. In a reference to the fate of Iraq’s Jewish population, which stands at eight souls, down from a third of Baghdad’s population in the 1940s, the Times reports:
“It’s exactly what happened to the Jews,” said Nassir Sharhoom, 47, who fled last month to the Kurdish capital, Erbil, with his family from Dora, a once mixed neighborhood in Baghdad. “They want us all to go.”
The obliteration from Iraq of its ancient Christian presence — and with it the reality of religious freedom and pluralism — is an unintended consequence of the U.S. invasion but has never been factored in as a U.S. strategic concern. There is no Obama policy, not even a safe-haven or refugee policy, designed specifically to help Iraq’s Christians as they confront religious cleansing.
— Nina Shea is director of the Hudson Institute’s Center on Religious Freedom.
Excuse me, Ms. Shea, but has there been any US policy regarding religious freedom and pluralism in Iraq, now or since 1990? Or, how about since 1947 and 1948, after which a majority of the Jewish population was expelled? The knee jerk blaming of Obama is unseemly.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTrue, this is an "unintended consequence" of an invasion that was inevitably seen by the Islamic world as a Christian Crusade (thanks again, W, for using the C word). That it was an *unforeseen* consequence is inexcusable. The war planners clearly gave no thought to how they were making the middle east unlivable for its many millions of Christian and Jewish inhabitants - and all in the aid of what, exactly?
Yes, the Obama Admin is at fault for having no policy for addressing this problem, Nina - but don't hold your breath waiting for the left to ever see Christians as a group desrving of protection. But Obama didn't create this problem. This is one instance where he can truly say he inherited the mess from his neocon predecessor and his enablers.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI guess it's time for another resolution from one of the international church groups condemning Israel's treatment of Palestinians. . . .
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSurely the blame must lay in part with US diplomats and advisors, especially Islamophiles like Noah Feldman, who insisted, over Christian objections, on Section 1, Article 2, "Islam is the state religion and a basic foundation for the country's laws, and no law may contradict the established provisions of Islam."
Good work guys!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo wonderful Americans have fought and died for this;a proud moment. The one thing Obama could've done worthy of our support was pulling the plug on these insane wars to nation-build for crazy people.The entirety of the Middle East spare Israel isn't worth a drop of GI's sweat.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse> Diana Gorgiz, a Christian now finding refuge within the walls of one of Iraq’s ancient monasteries, told the Times that the Iraqi army told her family after an attack on her home in late November, “We cannot protect you.”
I had no idea that the Iraqi army is now a subsidiary of our own FBI. So the two countries are at last very much alike. Their government won't protect their citizens of no political power (I'm trying to be civil here so please forgive any awkward constructions) and neither does ours!
Other than the "neocon" slur, I am in basic agreement with those who say this is Bush's mess -- though to be fair it was the Obama Administration through its sock-puppet Joe Biden who declared "victory." Some victory.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI would like to ask a question: Did Obama's harsh condemnations of Israel about the settlements/etc. plus Obama's overt kowtowing/bowing to high-ranking Muslims and his extolling of Islam's non-existent contributions to Western civilization, and other such trope embolden the Muslims and escalate the attacks upon Christians in Iraq?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThank you Miss Nina,
I think it is more important instead of blaming your government, to group and act to save the Christians in Iraq by pushing the American government to create a save region or territory for them. The Chaldean Syriac Asyrian people who represent 98% of Iraqi Christians are suffering nowadays, those people and their ancestors civilisation in ancient Babylon and Nineveh presented to the history of the humanity the first written language, the first mean of transportation “the wheel”, the first musical instrument “the Sumerian Harp”, the first epic poetry “Galgamish”, and the first written law in the world “the Code of Hammurabi”. In the exception of the safe Kurdistan region in Iraq, the Christians are disappearing every day, and they are abandoning their historical homeland in which they lived since 5000 BC.
It is a historic responsibility lies on you as an American nation to push your government in order to find a solution to those poor people, otherwise you will witness in the next few years the demise one of the most important historical ethnic groups in the world, and you will witness their disappearance from the land of their ancestors.
Ano Abdoka
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Ankawa- Erbil- Kurdistan Region- Iraq/ ano_ktv@yahoo.com
I was originally for the Iraq war, but then I was reminded of why I don't want government doing things. It's not just the local Jews and Christians who were not thought of; there were no considerations (that I know of) to anything past removing Saddam: security, law enforcement, the constitution, etc. They got the conquest part down, but did not consider how they were going to run a country filled with some 30 million people. The Bush administration dropped the ball big time.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTo "bwarsch", what has the struggle between Israel and palestinians have to do with this?
You have trouble reading the content?
The issue at hand is islamic persecution of Christians in Iraq and in fact everywhere, only in Iraq it is an official policy, everywhere else it is "bunch of isolated incidents" and islamic denial is not helping to stop this.
As an ex-Iraqi citizen who was subjected to this personally, I can tell anyone who thinks this is not true and that the US administrations under Bush and Obama are not at fault, it is time to wake up.
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