Christian church destroyed by Isis rebuilt by Muslim residents

By Metro.uk
Charles White

A church in a district once terrorised by so-called Islamic State has been restored with the help of Muslim neighbours.
Local residents were horrified after reports claimed Christians were still facing abuse.

Volunteers wanted to help rebuild the church to show that Iraq welcomes both Christians and Muslims.

They said they wanted to show that ‘Mosul is yours as it’s ours’ and ‘our differences are our strength’.

Iraq has one of the smallest, but oldest, Christian communities in the world but Isis oversaw the destruction of Iraqi churches, books and Christian spaces during their occupation of the city.

Mosul is set to be liberated completely by the end of next month, after two years of Islamist domination.
One of the areas occupied was al-Arabi in Mosul, where the Mar Georges monastery is located.

During the Isis occupation the Chaldean church, which is an Iraqi church in full communion with the Pope in Rome, was shot at by terrorists.

It was left in a ruined state after Kurdish and allied forces pushed Isis out of the district.

But the rebuilding effort this week was sparked when Muslims in the community were accused of harassing a Christian family, something which the volunteers said was a false rumour.

They decided to take matters into their own hands to improve community relations.

Photos shared on This Is Christian Iraq show how Muslim neighbours rushed to the church to clean the space and repair the holy rooms.

The group of inter-faith volunteers wanted to send a message to show they were united.

Photo by Mohammed Al-Zakaria

Photo by Mohammed Al-Zakaria