Once home to one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East, Iraq today is in danger of losing Christianity completely. The Islamic State group forced thousands of Christians to flee after it stormed through the Nineveh Plains in 2014. Some have now returned, following IS’s military defeat. But even with IS gone, in many areas of Iraq daily life is governed by Sharia (Islamic law) and Muslims are forbidden to leave Islam.
Iraqi Christians reject second mayor installed by pro-Kurd council
Christians in a recently repopulated Iraqi town have protested against a second Kurdish-appointed mayor amid fears of a Kurdish drive to usurp control of northern Christian-majority towns. Lara Yousif, a Chaldean Catholic and a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was appointed mayor of Alqosh by the pro-Kurdish Nineveh […]
Iraqi Christians fear Kurdish agenda behind removal of mayor
Iraqi Christians are increasingly fearful that the recent ousting of a Christian mayor by a pro-Kurdish council is evidence of a Kurdish agenda to usurp control of northern Christian-majority towns. Fayez Abed Jawahreh, the mayor of Alqosh, a Chaldean-majority town, was dismissed from office on 16 July by Bashar Al […]
Kurdish government opens church for refugees who fled IS
Iraqis displaced by IS and Catholics in Kurdistan have welcomed the opening of a 1,300-seater church by the regional government there, although a US report has voiced concern at “religious abuses” and discrimination against non-Kurds there. The 30 June opening ceremony was attended by Chaldean Catholics from the Kurdish region, […]
Iraq: Karamles residents face fears as they begin rebuilding
As Iraqi government forces drive Islamic State militants from their last stronghold in the city of Mosul, the residents of Karamles, a town 30km to the east which was liberated six months ago, are returning to rebuild their homes. The government has ordered the local school to be reopened after […]
Iraqi senior cleric shown calling for Christians to ‘convert, pay tax or be killed’
A video showing a call for jihad from a senior Iraqi Shi’ite cleric has caused anger among Iraqi Christians. The undated footage shows Sheikh Alaa Al-Mousawi, head of the Shia Endowment, a government body that looks after Iraq’s Shia holy sites, describing Christians as “infidels”, saying “either they should convert […]
Iraq Christians returning home face many hurdles
Three years since the northern Iraqi city of Mosul was taken by Islamic State militants, Iraqi government forces have been able to reclaim a large part of the city, allowing Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Baghdad Louis Raphael Sako to visit several churches and monasteries. While there is still fierce fighting […]
Abducted Christina reunited with her parents after 3 years
After almost three years in captivity, an Iraqi Christian girl abducted by the Islamic State in August 2014 has finally been reunited with her parents. Christina Abada, who is about to celebrate her sixth birthday, was welcomed home at around 10am this morning, local time. Locals say she was released […]
In Kurdistan, signs of diminished freedoms for Christians
As bad as the past two years have been for the Christians and other religious minorities of northern Iraq, their torment by the so-called Islamic State could have been much worse if they had not been able to obtain refuge in next-door Kurdistan, Iraq’s semi-autonomous region in the north. “Even […]
Muslims clean up Mosul monastery desecrated by IS
A church in an Iraqi district once terrorised by the Islamic State group has been restored with the help of local Muslims. Residents were horrified after reports claimed Christians were facing abuse even after IS had been chased out of their part of the city. Volunteers said they wanted to […]
Iraqi bishops seek $262m for post-IS ‘Marshall Plan’
Church leaders in northern Iraq are launching an ambitious US$262 million “Marshall Plan” for the reconstruction of Christian-majority villages devastated by the occupation of Islamic State (IS) jihadists – but knowing they could be subjected to attacks while they implement it. The ecumenical Bishops’ Emergency Committee (BEC) hopes to raise the […]