Tag: Iraq

Returning Christian families urged to put down roots in northern Iraq

May 18, 2017 Iraq Bartella, Iraq, Islamic State, Karamles, Nineveh Plains, Qaraqosh, Tel Skuf

Three building sites have been consecrated in Iraqi territory liberated from Islamic State as part of an ambitious plan to facilitate the return of Christians eager to rebuild their homes. The first group of Christian families who were driven from their homes in the Nineveh Plains by Islamic State (IS) . . . Read More

Relatives of Coptic ‘martyrs’ join summit on persecuted Christians in US capital

May 11, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, Converts, Copts, Donald Trump, Egypt, India, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Libya, Mexico, Mike Pence, Pakistan, Refugees, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, USA

A “World Summit in Defence of Persecuted Christians” has started in Washington DC, and is expected to be addressed by the US Vice-President Mike Pence today (Thursday, 11 May). It has been organised by American evangelist Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. 600 participants have come from 136 countries: including Egypt, . . . Read More

How do Christians respond to persecution?

April 26, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Iraq, Islamic State, Pakistan, Syria, USA

Christians choose to respond to religious persecution by adopting “survival strategies” that require a lot of “creativity, determination and courage".

A report looking into the ways Christians respond to persecution has found that their “survival strategies” require a lot of “creativity, determination and courage”, while violence is seldom used. “Christians are the most widely targeted religious community, suffering terrible persecution globally,” according to the University of Notre Dame’s report, In . . . Read More

Persecution of Christians ‘still not taken seriously’

April 12, 2017 Global News -- No Particular Country Batnaya, Boko Haram, Egypt, Hindu nationalism, Iraq, Islamic State, Middle East, Nigeria, North Africa, Syria

Christians are the “most harassed religious minority in the world” but their oppression is largely under-reported in the West.

Following the Palm Sunday bomb attacks on two Egyptian churches, Ewelina Ochab, writing for Forbes, suggests that it’s time to be more proactive in response to the persecution of Christians – “the most persecuted religious group in the world”. “The situation [for Christians] has not improved [in] recent years,” she writes. . . . Read More

Hungary gives 3.2 million euros to help Middle East Christians

April 3, 2017 Hungary, Iraq, Lebanon, Middle East

The Hungarian government will donate 1.2 billion forints (3.2 million euros) to help Middle East Christians, reports the news site, About Hungary. Almost half the money (580 million forints) will be used to rebuild homes in Iraq. The rest will go towards supporting humanitarian work carried out by Catholic and . . . Read More

New Erbil university offers fresh hope for young lives disrupted by IS

March 30, 2017 Iraq Bashar Warda, Catholics, Education, IDPs, Iraq, Kurds, Minorities

The new Catholic University of Erbil offers displaced young people an opportunity to continue their education.

Displaced young Iraqis whose education was halted by Islamic State’s violent seizure of territory are receiving a vital opportunity to catch up and train for professional life, thanks to the local Catholic archdiocese and charitable donations. The Catholic University of Erbil (CUE) opened in October 2016 and has around 250 . . . Read More

Opposition to Iraqi enclave for non-Muslims voiced by Erbil diocese

March 30, 2017 Iraq Erbil, IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Kurds, Mosul, Peshmerga, Saddam Hussein

The Catholic Church in northern Iraq has voiced its opposition to suggestions that an enclave should be created to safeguard non-Muslims fearful of returning to live among their Muslim neighbours. However Stephen Rasche, aid co-ordinator for the Catholic diocese of Erbil in northern Iraq, also said that the likelihood of . . . Read More

‘Six weeks’ medicine and two months’ food for displaced Iraqi Christians’

March 24, 2017 Iraq Bashar Warda, Erbil, Iraq, Saddam Hussein

The supplies sustaining displaced Christians in northern Iraq will run out “within weeks” but UN agencies, accused of ignoring them, have pledged to do better since the advent of US President Donald Trump, the aid co-ordinator for the Catholic archdiocese of Erbil said. Without significant financial aid and sufficient care, . . . Read More

Marbles in the midst of ashes: Iraqi boy returns home ‘post ISIS’

March 23, 2017 Iraq Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Refugees

In the midst of ashes Noeh finds his marbles.

While the Iraqi military forces are pushing fighters of self-proclaimed Islamic State out of Mosul, their last stronghold, Foreign Ministers from 68 countries met yesterday in Washington to discuss next steps in defeating the militant group. They also discussed ‘post ISIS’ scenarios such as how to rebuild Mosul, as refugees start . . . Read More

Accounts surface of persecution of Christians in Dunkirk migrants’ camp

March 15, 2017 Afghanistan, Calais, Converts, Dunkirk, France, Grande-Synthe, Iran, Iraq, La Linière, Migrants, Refugees, Shiraz, Syria, Vietnam

Outside the windswept port of Dunkirk, in northern France, sits a migrants’ camp called La Linière. Home to around 1,400 people, it lies 25 miles from Calais and the now-demolished camp that became known as the “Jungle”. La Linière opened a year ago, with the collaboration of Médicins sans Frontières . . . Read More

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