Chaldeans Targeted, Thousands have fled Iraq

        The Chaldean church has lived in fear since Iraq’s destabilization caused by Saddam Hussein’s removal from power.  The Chaldean church is a Christian sect, formerly known as Nestorians. They originated from Babylon, or modern day Iraq, and were recently united with the Catholic Church.  Reports show that over 1,000 Christian families have fled Baghdad, and more than 35,000 Christians have fled the country, with many fleeing to Syria. The Christians have been under attack since August 2004, when many Iraqi Christian churches were bombed.
        Christian missionaries have been the most targeted. The BBC reported a website about a Korean Christian worker who was executed because he was an “infidel pig.”  His crime was that he “studied Christian theology and was hoping to become a missionary in the Arab World.” Although the foreign missionaries may have been most targeted, the Iraqi Christian Church has also been attacked.
On June 3, 2007, Gunmen entered the Chaldean Church and demanded those inside to immediately convert to Islam. Father Ragheed Ganni and three of his deacons were killed in his church, because they refused to obey the gunmen.  On June 6, 2007, Father Hani and five of his male students were kidnapped. The six men were walking to a minor seminary in northern Baghdad. The next day four out of five of the boys were released by the kidnappers. The perpetrators seem to be common criminals. They sent a ransom note to Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly demanding money for setting free the captured priest and the remaining student.
        This is not the first occurrence of a priest being kidnapped. In October, the Pope remarked that some of teachings of Islam were “evil” and “inhuman” and that the religion spread by the sword. In response to the pope’s remarks about Islam being a violent religion, a Christian priest was kidnapped and ransomed for $350,000. He was later beheaded.
        The Chaldean church has been targeted and have suffered at the hands of their aggressors. Many have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety. The few who have remained live in fear of attack.

Al-Jazeera. Iraq priest ‘killed over speech’. 13 August 2006.
AsiaNewsit.com. Four Christians abducted yesterday are released. 7 June 2007.
AsiaNewsit.com. Chaldean Priest captured in Baghdad. 6 June 2007.
BBC News. Analysis:Iraq’s Christians under attack. 2 August 2004.
BosLifeNetwork. Iraq Priest remains kidnapped, as thousands flee. 15 June 2007.
New Advent. Chaldean Christians.

Author: Impunity Watch Archive