Tag: Jordan

Iraqi bishops seek $262m for post-IS ‘Marshall Plan’

May 20, 2017 Iraq Bashar Warda, Erbil, Iraq, Islamic State, Jordan, Lebanon, Nineveh Plains, Tel Skuf, Turkey

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 . . . Read More

Celebration for thousands of displaced Iraqis ahead of bittersweet homecoming

November 24, 2016 Iraq Erbil, IDPs, Islamic State, Jordan, Mosul, Peshmerga, Refugees, Trauma

The event opened with around 100 young people forming the shape of a cross.Babylon Ministries Thousands of displaced Iraqi Christians celebrated a “Return Festival” as the military advance against Islamic State (IS) in and around the city of Mosul raised their hopes of returning home after two years in . . . Read More

Iraqi Christians ask: Where were our Kurdish protectors when IS came?

November 22, 2016 Iraq Assyrians, Baghdad, Erbil, IDPs, Islamic State, Jordan, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Peshmerga, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Tel Kaif

A young girl in a camp in Levo, northern Iraq, holds up a picture of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. One question that still angers many of the Christians who fled northern Iraq as jihadists from Islamic State (IS) advanced on their towns and villages is, “Where were the Kurdish . . . Read More

Under the shadow of IS: Iraqi Christians tell of crucifixions, torture, sex slavery

November 21, 2016 Iraq Baghdad, Batnaya, Islamic State, Jordan, Kurds, Mosul, Qaraqosh, Refugees

Islamic State jihadists hung Karlus, 29, from the ceiling of the jail he was held in, by a rope attached to his left foot. As blood poured from his foot, they beat and kicked him, rubbing salt into his wounds.ADF International Islamic State (IS) jihadists hung Karlus, a 29-year-old . . . Read More

Iraqi Christians look homeward toward Mosul, uncertainly

October 21, 2016 Iraq Bashiqa, Islamic State, Jordan, Kurds, Lebanon, Mosul, Peshmerga, Refugees, Saddam Hussein

Displaced Iraqi Christians take part in celebrations on 18 October in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, to mark the liberation of Qaraqosh, which was Iraq’s largest Christian town before it was overun by Islamic State militants in August 2014. Tens of thousands of . . . Read More

Jordan curriculum change ‘acknowledges’ Christians

October 14, 2016 Jordan Islamic extremism, Jordan, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood

Jordan has introduced to curb the influence of Islamic extremists on society and improve its education system. However, the Ministry of Education has faced a backlash from conservatives such as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic Action Front, which described the reforms as “an affront to our heritage and values [which is] . . . Read More

Jordanian writer killed after Facebook ‘blasphemy’

September 26, 2016 Jordan Amman, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Jordan

A Jordanian writer charged with offending Islam after sharing a satirical cartoon on his Facebook page has been killed. Nahid Hattar was hit by three bullets outside the court in the capital, Amman, where he was standing trial, the BBC reported. The cartoon shows Allah catering for the whims of . . . Read More

‘We have no voice’: Christians in Jordan 2 years after fleeing N. Iraq

August 5, 2016 Iraq Genocide, Islamic State, Jordan, Lebanon, Mosul, Qaraqosh, Refugees, Tel Kaif, Women

Bahar (left), 81, with her daughters, Samira and Bahija. IS beat Bahija and ransacked their home in Tel Kayf, outside Mosul. Bahar’s family shares a one-bedroomed house in Amman with another family of three, who sleep in the lounge.World Watch Monitor Bahija, 65, a housekeeper, told me she cries . . . Read More

Report: Christianity contracting in MidEast, Africa

October 16, 2015 Global News -- No Particular Country Africa, Belarus, Boko Haram, China, David Cameron, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, London, Middle East, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pope Francis, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine, Vietnam

Christianity is fast disappearing from entire regions, most notably a huge chunk of the Middle East, and could vanish from Iraq within five years, according to a new report by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Released in the UK’s House of Lords on Tuesday, the report, “Persecuted and . . . Read More

‘We won’t let diversity of ME disappear’

September 9, 2015 Global News -- No Particular Country Europe, France, Iraq, Islamic State, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, Paris, Syria, Turkey, UN, Yazidis

A UN conference has announced a plan to protect minorities persecuted by the so-called Islamic State in the Middle East. Speaking at the conference in Paris of 60 countries on Tuesday, 8 Sep., French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said several countries would announce financial pledges in the coming months for . . . Read More

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