Human Rights Watch Report 2011: Iraq

By Humans Rights Watch

Violence against Minorities

Armed groups continued to persecute ethnic and religious minorities with impunity. In the three weeks leading up to the March 7 national elections, assailants killed 10 Christians in the city of Mosul in attacks that appeared politically motivated. The violence prompted 4,300 Christians to flee to the Nineveh Plains, a disputed area in northern Iraq that is culturally, ethnically, and religiously diverse. Iraqi and Kurdish government officials condemned the attacks and the government of Iraq established an investigative committee, but as of October no perpetrators had been identified or arrested.
On October 31, gunmen identifying themselves as members of the Islamic State of Iraq attacked a church in Baghdad, taking more than a hundred hostages. Two priests and 44 worshippers were killed when Iraqi forces stormed the building.
Minorities remained in a precarious position as the Arab-dominated central government and the Kurdistan regional government struggled over control of disputed territories running across northern Iraq from the Iranian to the Syrian borders. Leaders of minority communities complained that Kurdish security forces engaged in arbitrary detentions, intimidation, and in some cases low-level violence, against those who challenged Kurdish control of the disputed territories. In other parts of Iraq, minorities have not received sufficient government protection from targeted violence, threats, and intimidation. Perpetrators are rarely identified, investigated, or punished.

Read the full report about Iraq by clicking here

Iraq: Good Friday, long journey - Iraqi Christians defy security risks

By Aid to the Church in Need, 27/04/2011
by John Pontifex

A curfew failed to deter Christians in Mosul who walked for up to an hour to attend a packed Good Friday service in one of Iraq’s most dangerous cities.
Archbishop Amil Nona of Mosul presided at the liturgy at St Paul’s Chaldean Church which people reached on foot after a curfew on cars and other traffic was imposed amid continuing security alerts.
But a full curfew the day before meant that the Maundy Thursday Mass was cancelled and in common with previous years the Easter Vigil service had to be scrapped because of safety fears after dark.
Reporting on these developments in Mosul, Archbishop Bashar Warda from the neighbouring Erbil diocese told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that Christians in the city were determined to go ahead with Holy Week and Easter celebrations as much as possible.
Archbishop Warda said: “People in Mosul really encouraged Archbishop Amil by their willingness to particiapte in the service on Good Friday in Mosul. The service is always very uplifting and special in the life of the community.”
Mosul, which is in north-west Iraq, has witnessed some of the country’s worst persecution against Christians, with random kidnappings, murders and repeated efforts by militants to scare the faithful into a mass exodus from the city.
Archbishop Warda’s comments come amid reports of violence close to churches in Baghdad over Easter.
On Easter Sunday (24th April), parishioners reportedly had a near miss when they were evacuated from the capital’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church just before an explosive went off.
Nearby, faithful huddled inside the nearby Mary the Virgin Catholic Church, while outside four police officers were injured in a firefight with gunmen.
But in another sign of the faithful’s defiance, Church leaders at Baghdad’s Our Lady of Salvation Syrian Catholic Cathedral reported that so many people came for Easter Day Mass, servies were upped from one to three.
The cathedral was the scene of a siege during Sunday Mass on 31st October when 58 people were killed – including two priests – and more than 70 were injured.
Archbishop Warda said that in his Easter Message he had appealed to rival political factions to seek “reconciliation” with the help of the Church.
In his interview with ACN, which as a charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians is prioritising help for the Church in the Middle East, Archbishop Warda said: “The people are still suffering very much because of the instability.
“We offer a prayer and willingness to help with the process towards reconciliation and cooperation.
“The Church was born through God’s willingness to seek reconcilation with man through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and so you could say we are experts in the field of reconciliation and we may be able to help.”
The archbishop stressed the continuing political uncertainty and spoke of how politicians were acting “in accordance with political interest rather than for the common good”.
The continuing violence against Christians and political uncertainty is being blamed for the widespread emigration of faithful from Iraq.
Christians have plummeted from nearly a million to less than 200,000 within a decade.

Iraq: Wojtyla fu il primo papa ad entrare in una moschea

By AGI News

"Nobile, forte, coraggioso, scevro da qualsiasi intolleranza o pregiudizio, un Pontefice che la Storia non aveva mai avuto prima": e' il ricordo di Papa Wojtyla tratteggiato dall'ambasciatore iracheno presso la Santa Sede, Habeeb Mohammed Hadi Al-Sadr.
In una lettera-poesia indirizzata idealmente al Papa polacco, il diplomatico ha voluto sottolineare come Giovanni Paolo II sia stato il primo pontefice a visitare una moschea e a "baciare il Libro Sacro", ovvero il Corano.
L'Iraq festeggera' la beatificazione con speciali messe che verranno officiate in tutte le chiese, compresa la cattedrale siro-cattolica di Baghdad, colpita il 31 ottobre da un sanguinoso attentato in cui sono morti 46 cristiani. Inoltre, il Cardinale Emmanuel Delly III, Patriarca dei Caldei cattolici, sara' a Roma per partecipare alla cerimonia di piazza San Pietro.
"Sei anni sono trascorsi da quando hai lasciato i tuoi fedeli che ti amavano tanto, ed ancora il tuo ricordo e' nelle nostre anime e sulle nostre labbra e i tuoi saggi insegnamenti non hanno mai abbandonato la nostra memoria e ci hanno nutrito fino ad oggi", ha scritto Habeeb al-Sadr nella lettera trasmessa all'Agi. "Chi riusci' a perdonare, come facesti tu, colui che aveva tentato di ucciderlo? E chi, come te, chiese scusa agli ebrei per l'ingiustizia che avevano subito nel Medio Evo e per le atrocita' commesse per mano dei nazisti? Ha forse la Storia dato testimonianza di un altro Santo Padre che ha girato il mondo intero per far visita ai suoi fedeli in piu' di 104 diocesi , tanto da guadagnarsi il nome di Papa viaggiatore? O ha forse mai dato notizia di un Papa che, dopo 450 anni, e' entrato in una chiesa anglicana o per primo ha visitato una moschea, baciando il Libro Sacro? Sono solo alcuni degli esempi che ci fanno capire la peculiarita' di un Papa che mai la Storia aveva avuto prima. In verita' - ha proseguito Al-Sadr - mai la Storia aveva visto una ricchezza simile concentrata in un'unica persona: nobile, lontano da qualsiasi intolleranza e da qualsiasi pregiudizio, forte e coraggioso nel prendere decisioni e fare la volonta' divina. Sei stato sempre il primo nel tuo tempo a sorridere, a essere tranquillo e fiducioso, e ti sei fatto carico della sofferenza altrui", si legge nella lettera. "E la volonta' di Dio, che ti ha scelto per il suo regno, ha voluto che il tuo successore fosse un Padre Santo che cammina allo stesso tuo modo, donando a tutti lo stesso amore che hai donato tu e rappresenta la nostra speranza".
La beatificazione di papa Wojtyla sara' anche un'occasione per rinsaldare la comunita' cristiana irachena, che nei mesi passati e' finita nel mirino di Al Qaeda. Dopo lo choc dell'attentato alla cattedrale di Nostra Signora della Salvezza a Baghdad, "la vita sta ritornando lentamente alla normalita'", ha riferito all'Agi padre Aisar Saeed. "I fedeli stanno riacquistando fiducia e finalmente, dopo quattro mesi, abbiamo potuto riprendere le nostre attivita', compreso il catechismo per i bambini". Il sacerdote ha confermato che "nulla verra' toccato all'interno della chiesa", che reca ancora le impronte delle mani insanguinate ed ha le mura crivellate dei colpi esplosi dal commando di terroristi. "Ormai la cattedrale e' diventata una sorta di santuario dove le persone entrano per rendere omaggio alle vittime del 31 ottobre. Ma stiamo lavorando sodo per dare un volto nuovo alla facciata", ha concluso.

Bomba davanti a una Chiesa a Baghdad. Mons. Warduni: Cristo risorto vinca odio e divisioni

By Radiovaticana

In Iraq la violenza non si ferma: ieri in due diversi agguati sono stati uccisi due soldati statunitensi e un alto funzionario del Ministero degli Esteri iracheno. E oggi una bomba è esplosa davanti alla Chiesa del Sacro Cuore a Baghdad, durante le celebrazioni pasquali, ferendo 4 persone. Ma la comunità cristiana continua a sperare in una pacificazione che riporti la sicurezza e fermi l’esodo di tanti fedeli.
Sulla situazione Amedeo Lomonaco ha sentito il vicario patriarcale caldeo di Baghdad, mons. Shlemon Warduni:
"Da una parte le cose stanno un po’ peggiorando per il numero dei cristiani che diminuisce sempre di più. Dall’altra parte ci sono ancora molti cristiani nel Paese e abbiamo pregato per avere speranza, per essere con Gesù, per vivere la gioia di poter offrire tutto a Lui per partecipare alla sua sofferenza per la salvezza di tutta l’umanità e così per arrivare, rinnovati attraverso la penitenza, alla Risurrezione del Signore. Quindi la nostra speranza è fortificata perché mettiamo tutto nelle mani del Signore."
Anche perché questo affidarsi al Signore potrà veramente portare ad un’autentica rinascita dell’Iraq …
"Questo vogliamo, questo aspettiamo, per questo noi preghiamo. Preghiamo per avere un governo stabile, preghiamo perché il Signore allontani da noi le violenze e perché allontani l’odio da tutto il Medio Oriente che brucia nelle divisioni fra la gente. Preghiamo che il Signore sulla Croce unisca tutti quanti, che il Signore risorto ci dia la sua grazia per poter vivere la gioia della Pasqua e la felicità, la grazia della Risurrezione. Abbiamo la speranza che il Signore sia sempre con noi per poter vivere la sua Pasqua, per poter dire alla gente: guardate che Dio ama tutti ed è sempre con noi. "(bf)

At least four hurt in Easter blast near Baghdad church

By Reuters
by Hadeer Abbas

A roadside bomb exploded near the rear entrance of a Catholic church in Baghdad after Easter services on Sunday, wounding at least two police officers and two civilians.
The bomb blew up outside Sacred Heart church in Baghdad's central Karrada district, shattering windows in nearby buildings and severely damaging a police pick-up truck at the church gate.
The explosion occurred after the church had been cleared of parishioners following services on Easter Sunday, which marks the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion.
Two security sources said two policemen and two civilians were hurt in the bombing but a Reuters TV cameraman saw three wounded police and four injured civilians at a local hospital.
"We had just reached the scene to distribute food to the policemen there and when we arrived the bomb blew up," police officer Hassan Dalli said at the hospital where he was taken for treatment. A colleague was stretched out on a gurney nearby.
Iraqi police and soldiers were out in force on the streets on Sunday, in part because of a recent spate of assassinations of government and security officials.
The country's Christian community has been on high alert since a militant assault on a Syrian Catholic cathedral in central Baghdad last October in which 52 people died.
Iraqi forces have provided extra security to Christian churches since the assault on Our Lady of Salvation cathedral, the bloodiest against Iraq's Christian minority since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Iraq's Christians once numbered about 1.5 million but are now believed to have fallen to less than 850,000 out of a population of 30 million.
Hundreds of Christian families have fled to Iraq's northern Kurdish region or to nearby countries since the October cathedral attack, the United Nations has reported.
Violence has fallen sharply in recent years but Iraq is still plagued by insurgents who carry out hundreds of bombings and other attacks each month.
An Interior Ministry source said six officers from the Interior and Defense ministries, and nine civilian government officials, have been killed in the last week by gunmen using silenced weapons.
Seven security and 12 civilian officials were wounded in the attacks.
(Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; Writing by Jim Loney; Editing by Sophie Hares)

Buona Pasqua agli iracheni cristiani!

By Baghdadhope*

Una bomba è esplosa nei pressi della chiesa del Sacro Cuore a Baghdad questa mattina.
Secondo le prime notizie di agenzia che riportano le parole di una fonte del ministero degli interni 4 persone sono state ferite dall'esplosione, due civili e due guardie.
La notizia, non ancora riportata dai siti cristiani iracheni, è stata confermata a Baghdadhope da una fonte della chiesa a Baghdad che ha spiegato come l'ordigno fosse stato collocato all'esterno del muro di cemento della chiesa che si trova nei pressi di Piazza Hurrya nel quartiere centrale di Karrada.

Happy Easter to Iraqi Christians!

By Baghdadhope*

A bomb detonated near the Sacred Hearth church in Baghdad this morning. According to the first agencies that reported the words of an Interior Ministry source 4 people were wounded by the explosion, two civilians and two guards.
The piece of news, not yet reported by the Christian web sites in Iraq, has been confirmed to Baghdadhope by a church source in Baghdad who explained how the bomb had been placed outside the concrete wall of the church in Hurrya Square, in the central area of Karrada.

Irak. Le destin brisé d’une jeunesse chrétienne

By Paris Match, 23/04/2011

Depuis 12 jours, ce reportage à la rencontre des chrétiens d’Irak a mis sur mon chemin de nombreux jeunes, tous plus ou moins victimes de la persécution qui sévit aujourd’hui dan ce pays à l’encontre de la communauté chrétienne. Lettres ou SMS de menaces, coups et insultes, assassinats et attentats, ont poussé bon nombre d’entres eux à tout quitter pour s’installer au Kurdistan ou à l’étranger, abandonnant études et amis.

Une menacepermanente qui force à fuir
Parmi la jeunesse chrétienne d’Irak, la plus touchée est sans doute celle de Qaraqosh. Le 21 Juin 2010, comme tous les jours, 18 bus quittent Qaraqosh pour Mossoul, à 25 kilomètres. C’est dans cette grande ville, l’une des plus dangereuses d’Irak, que se trouve l’université de ces étudiants chrétiens. Et, sur le chemin, une bombe va exploser, faisant 188 blessés et deux morts. En plus du choc physique et émotionnel qu'ont subi ces étudiants, cet attentat a instantanément brisé les ambitions de nombreux d’entres eux: «Maintenant, je n’ose plus aller à l’université», me disait il y a une semaine Salaam, gravement blessé au visage lors de l’attentat ,«je reste chez moi, sur mon ordinateur, je me lève à midi. Tous mes rêves ont été brisés en une seconde.»
D’autres, en dernière année d’études, ont fait le choix de se rendre tous les jours à Mossoul, au péril de leur vie. «Dans le bus, tous les jours, je prie, et j’ai peur», me confiait Behnam, jeune séminariste. Son nez cassé et ses cicatrices au ventre rappellent la violence de l’attentat.
A une centaine de kilomètres au nord, dans le petit village de Araden (une soixantaine de maisons), des jeunes tournent en rond sur la place du village. «Nous sommes venus de Bagdad il y a 3 ans avec ma famille, mais je ne me suis toujours pas habituée à la vie de village» se plaint Alina, 17 ans. Sa sœur Victoria, de trois ans son aînée, appuie ses propos : «Bagdad, c’était une grande ville, nous pouvions faire du shopping, aller à l’université, voir des amis. Maintenant, ce n’est plus possible. Je reste à la maison toute la journée, je n’ai pas de travail et je ne suis pas mariée». Ces jeunes sont victimes d’un fanatisme religieux qui vise à chasser la communauté chrétienne hors d’Irak. En brisant les espoirs et les rêves de ces jeunes et en imposant le régime de la terreur, les terroristes sont en passe de réussir leur «mission».

Al-Qosh, deux orphelinatspour des enfants chrétiens
Les tous petits sont également victimes de cette véritable épuration religieuse. Assis sagement sur des chaises en plastique devant le poste de télévision les enfants de l’orphelinat de Al-Qosh attendent l’heure du déjeuner. Abrité par le monastère de la Vierge Marie, l’orphelinat existe depuis 1948 et accueille 24 enfants de 5 à 17 ans, tous chrétiens. C’est le seul orphelinat pour garçons chrétiens dans tout l’Irak.
Le plus petit, Joseph, a 5 ans. Timide, il n’ose pas me regarder. Le père John, l’un des responsables de l’orphelinat, m’explique que le père de Joseph est alcoolique et que sa mère est schizophrène: «Certains, dans l’orphelinat, ont encore des parents mais une situation familiale catastrophique. C’est un soulagement pour les familles de savoir que leurs enfants sont ici.» Tous, cependant,n’ont pas la chance d’avoir encore des parents. Deux frères de 8 et 11 ans ont récemment intégré l’orphelinat. Leur père a été assassiné à Mossoul car il était chrétien. Leur mère en est morte un mois plus tard. Quand ces enfants ne sont pas devant la télé, ils sont en cours ou s’amusent sur le terrain de foot situé à quelques mètres du monastère. Des groupes de passages (pèlerins, touristes irakiens) viennent de temps en temps égayer leurs journées, mais rien ne vaut le jour de Noël lorsque les filles de l’orphelinat Sainte-Anne les rejoignent le temps d’une après-midi. Situé à quelques centaines de mètres, cet orphelinat accueille 24 jeunes filles dont les histoires familiales sont similaires à celles de ces jeunes garçons.

La vie ordinaire d’un jeune chrétien irakien
Eder, un jeune Irakien de 28 ans parlant parfaitement anglais, a souhaité m’accompagner durant mes deux jours passés à Al-Qosh. Il a rejoint cette petite ville en 2005: «Nous habitions à Mossoul avec toute ma famille (9 enfants) jusqu’au jour où mon père a été pris en otage. Les ravisseurs ont demandé une rançon de 20 000 dollars. Grâce à nos proches, nous avons pu réunir cette somme en 24h. Nous avons quitté la ville le lendemain.» Aujourd’hui, il habite encore chez ses parents.
Sa petite chambre qui surplombe la ville, la télé allumée diffuse un film d’horreur. Je lui demande s’il aime ce genre de film «oui, mais seulement les films d’exorcisme, le sang et la violence ne me font pas peur» m’explique-t-il avant d’ajouter «quand j’étais à Mossoul, un de mes bons amis a été kidnappé. Quelques jours plus tard, sur le marché, j’ai vu un homme vendant des DVD, il criait : “The killing of Remon, The killing of Remon !” La vidéo durait 40 minutes et, à la fin, mon ami était égorgé.» Quelques temps plus tard, son meilleur ami mourrait devant lui, d’une balle dans la tête. Aujourd’hui, Eder a terminé ses études. Il a un très bon niveau en informatique mais le petit village d’Al-Qosh ne lui offre aucune opportunité d’emploi: «Je pourrais travailler dans une grande entreprise avec mon diplôme mais, ici, je ne peux qu’effectuer des réparations chez des amis et des voisins. Pas de quoi gagner ma vie…»
Le soir venu, il me propose de sortir. Il n’y a pas de bars à Al-Qosh mais Eder a ses habitudes. Il prend sa kalachnikov, des cartouches et des bières puis rejoint ses amis dans la montagne. Ensemble, ils tireront quelques balles et referont le monde. Rien d’extraordinaire. Seulement la simple vie de jeunes que le fanatisme religieux a bouleversée. Seule pointe de réconfort pour Eder et sa famille, demain, ils fêteront Pâques, une fête qui dans ces temps difficiles, revêt toute son importance.

L’accueil intéressé du gouvernement kurde

By Paris Match, 21/04/2011

«Au Kurdistan, nous pouvons vivre en paix». Cette phrase, je l’entends depuis le début de mon reportage. Non seulement le Kurdistan offre aux chrétiens la sécurité qui manque cruellement dans le reste de l’Irak, mais en plus, il met en place une politique d’accueil très généreuse. Une générosité étonnante, tant les relations entre Kurdes et chrétiens ont été tumultueuses par le passé. Quels sont donc les intérêts politiques et stratégiques de cet accueil généreux ?
Kurdes et Chrétiens, des relations tumultueuses…
«Nous avons toujours vécu dans la région du Kurdistan» affirme le père Comani. Il est vrai que les chrétiens du Kurdistan font partie des plus anciens habitants de la région. Pendant la conquête musulmane, ils ne se sont pas convertis, c’est pourquoi, encore aujourd’hui, les chrétiens du Kurdistan parlent l’araméen, la langue de Jésus. Depuis 2000 ans, chrétiens et Kurdes entretiennent de plus ou moins bonnes relations; mais c’est en 1960, pendant la guerre opposant Bagdad aux Kurdes que la première vague d’exode commence. «Beaucoup de chrétiens ont quitté le Kurdistan, car ils ne voulaient pas s’allier aux Kurdes. Quand nos familles ne voulaient pas combattre avec eux, elles étaient tuées» continue le père Comani.
Beaucoup rejoignent donc les grandes villes comme Bagdad ou Mossoul. Les bombardements successifs de l’armée de Saddam Hussein en 1975 et en 1988 (Anfal) ont accentué cet exode. Enfin, dans les années 1990, la guerre civile au Kurdistan pousse une fois de plus les chrétiens à quitter la région. Ces différents événements ont peu à peu vidé le Kurdistan irakien de ses chrétiens. Mais la chute de Saddam Hussein et l’arrivée des islamistes intégristes en Irak ont brutalement inversé le sens de l’exode. Au nombre de 30 000 en 2003 au Kurdistan, les chrétiens dépasseraient aujourd’hui les 100 000.

«Cet accueil, c’est de la communication!»
Depuis 2003 et le début de la persécution des chrétiens d’Irak, le gouvernement de la région autonome du Kurdistan ouvre largement ses portes aux chrétiens. Non seulement, il les accueille, mais les accompagne généreusement dès leur arrivée: aide financière, construction de maisons, donations de terrains… Une générosité quisemble parfois excessive comparée à leurs relations passées tumultueuses «Tout ça, ce n’est que de la politique, de la communication!» s’exclame Loay, très investi dans le Conseil populaire des Chaldéens, Syriaques et Assyriens, un conseil qui s’est donnée la difficile mission de faire parler ces différents courants chrétiens d’une seule et même voix. «En accueillant les chrétiens, ils veulent montrer à l’Occident que leur région va bien et qu’elle est sécurisée» continue-t-il. Le président de ce même conseil, M. Azziz rappelle par ailleurs que «L’Irak est un état fédéral, et que, par conséquent, chaque Irakien est libre de se déplacer où il le souhaite. Pourquoi dire que “le Kurdistan les accueille”, alors que de toutes façons, il ne pourrait pas les refuser?»
D’autres pensent que le Kurdistan souhaite accueillir les chrétiens pour compter plus d’habitants et avoir plus de poids au parlement de Bagdad. Les rumeurs les plus folles accusent même les Kurdes de financer les attentats de Bagdad ou Mossoul contre les chrétiens pour les pousser à rejoindre le Kurdistan. Enfin, les chrétiens sont pour le Kurdistan les réfugiés idéaux: ils ne représentent pas de menace politique réelle pour le gouvernement actuel, ils sont eux aussi hostiles à la propagande islamiste et ils sont bien souvent qualifiés: beaucoup d’entre eux sont médecins, ingénieurs, techniciens ou commerçants.

L’avenir incertain deschrétiens au Kurdistan
Les chrétiens sont donc dans l’ensemble bien accueillis mais la pérennité de ces bonnes relations semble toutefois incertaine. En effet, de nombreuses communautés ne bénéficient pas aussi largement des aides du gouvernement et certains prêtres redoutent que ces avantages rendent jaloux d’autres Kurdes. De plus, les Américains qui ont fortement soutenu l’indépendance du Kurdistan et continuent à les protéger sont sensés quitter définitivement le territoire irakien en juillet prochain.
L’autonomie et la stabilité du Kurdistan sera alors réellement mise à l’épreuve, et rien n’exclut un nouveau conflit dans la région après le retrait des troupes. LesTurcs représentent également une menace pour le Kurdistan. Ils sont en effet toujours en conflit avec le PKK, un parti kurde révolutionnaire caché dans les montagnes. La présence de bases militaires turques sur le sol kurde, le canon pointé vers les montagnes rappelle en permanence cette menace. Enfin, si l’on écoute certains chrétiens réfugiés au Kurdistan, l’extrémisme islamiste dont est pour l’instant épargné le Kurdistan ne tardera pas à s’y développer. Et de nouveau, les chrétiens deviendront la première cible.
Les intérêts du gouvernement kurde mêlés aux incertitudes à venir poussent certains chrétiens à prendre eux même leur avenir en main. C’est le cas de certains partis politiques chrétiens ou conseils populaires aux propositions et projets plus ou moins ambitieux. Parmi eux, celui de créer une région autonome au sein de l’Irak, une région réservée aux chrétiens. Une idée qui ne fait pas l’unanimité.

Christians remain besieged and fearful in Iraq at Easter

By The Bellingham Herald
by Jane Arraf

Iraqi Christians marked a restrained Easter weekend as fear of attacks kept many from openly celebrating their most sacred day of the year and church officials urged them not to give up on the country.
At Our Lady of Salvation, where gunmen and suicide bombers killed 52 worshippers and guards last October, the church was tightly locked, guarded by Iraqi police who said the doors would be opened only moments before the Saturday evening mass.
"It's more like a museum than a church," said one of the police officers. He said they tried to keep out those who were simply curious or, he implied, there to gather intelligence.
Only the arch and cross on the church roof were visible behind 10-foot high concrete walls like others that have turned most churches in Baghdad into miniature fortresses.
"Our churches have become like prisons," says Monsignor Pious Casha, who arrived at Our Lady of Salvation during the siege moments after Iraqi special forces stormed the church. "The barbed wire and concrete are new. Yes they protect the churches, but they make the worshippers spiritually constrained."
Monsignor Casha, at St Joseph's Catholic Church in the relatively affluent neighborhood of Mansour, said the church had been packed on Palm Sunday a week ago with families doing a procession through the streets around the church.
He said, however, that of the 1,300 families that had been in his parish in 2003, only 500 remained — with a few more leaving every week — most of them to Turkey.
"It is a disease of emigration," he said.
With traditional escape routes closing as more countries in the Middle East are engulfed by unrest, Turkey has become the default route for Christians fleeing Iraq. Of more than a million Christians in Iraq before 2003, there are believed to be only about 650,000 left. The exodus has raised fears about the future of Christianity in the region where it first took root.
Casha said his Easter Sunday sermon would urge parishioners to remain in Iraq.
"Let's stay here and try to build our country - everything old is finished," he said.
He said there had been no recent attacks specifically targeting Christians after a wave of them claimed by al-Qaeda early this year. But there continue to be threats, he said, pulling out of his desk drawer bullets wrapped in black tape that had been placed on the doorstep of a Christian family recently as a warning.
"I think they wanted the house," he said.
In Baghdad and in the northern city of Mosul, the site of biblical Ninevah and the burial place of the Prophet Jonah, many Christians were watching mass on television rather than risking public celebrations.
Iraq's state-run television broadcast evening mass live from the half-filled Virgin Mary church in Karrada.
"I ask you to be patient because the coming days will not be easy," Cardinal Emmanuel Delly, the Patriarch of Babylon, told the small congregation.
Like other minorities, Christians, because of their small numbers, have been disproportionately hit by violence in Iraq. Many blame the United States for the chaos that replaced the relative security they enjoyed under Saddam Hussein's repressive regime.
Some who remain are a testament to resiliency.
At St Joseph's Church in Mansour, among the faithful trickling in was Vivienne Matti, whose husband and three children were killed four months after Saddam was toppled when American soldiers, thinking they were a threat, fired on their vehicle.
Matti's youngest child, six years old, had been seated in her lap.
"I've seen death myself. I'm not afraid anymore," she said.

(Arraf is a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor in Baghdad. McClatchy and the Monitor operate a joint bureau in the Iraqi capital.)

Iraq. Il vescovo di Mosul: “Sospese le celebrazioni pasquali per il coprifuoco. Le tensioni non riguardano i cristiani”

By Radiovaticana

Sarà una Pasqua segnata dalle misure speciali contro il rischio attentati quella che si appresta a celebrare la comunità cristiana di Mosul, nel nord dell’Iraq. Tutti i riti pasquali sono stati sospesi, infatti, a causa dell'entrata in vigore del coprifuoco nella città, imposto dalle autorità. L’annuncio è stato dato dal vescovo caldeo di Mosul, mons. Emil Shamoun Noona: “Lo sciopero e la manifestazione che si è tenuta ieri in città contro il governo - spiega il prelato - ha indotto le autorità militari che controllano la sicurezza a imporre il coprifuoco a Mosul. Questo ha bloccato di fatto il programma di iniziative e celebrazioni organizzate in occasione delle festività pasquali”.
Mons. Noona ha auspicato che la situazione in possa cambiare presto, perché "ad esempio, la Messa che si e' tenuta ieri nelle chiesa cittadina e' stata celebrata di fretta, per il timore che sopraggiungesse l'orario del coprifuoco, e vi hanno partecipato solo i fedeli che abitano vicino al luogo di culto, che possono ritornare a casa a piedi". Il presule, comunque, ha voluto precisare che i cristiani non sono stati coinvolti negli scontri avvenuti ieri in città e la comunità non ha ricevuto di recente minacce particolari: “Le tensioni che si registrano in città sono per questioni amministrative che non riguardano i cristiani”.

Pope's answers: On Italian TV, "Help the reconstruction process in Iraq"

By SIR

“I pray everyday for Christians in Iraq”. Speaking on the Italian television programme “A Sua immagine” (“In His image”), Benedict XVI gave this answer to the young people from Baghdad who asked him how to convince persecuted Christians not to emigrate.
According to the Pope, it is important that “we do all we can to ensure that they remain, that they resist the temptation to migrate”, also by showing that “we are close to you, dear brothers in Iraq, that we want to help you”. And “institutions, all those who can really do something for you in Iraq, should do that”. The Holy See “is in constant contact with the different communities, not only Catholic communities and other Christian communities, but also with the Muslim brothers, both Sunni and Shiite. And we wish to carry out a work of reconciliation, of understanding, even with the government, to help it in the difficult task of rebuilding a torn society. Because the problem is that society is deeply divided”.
There is a need to rebuild the “awareness” that “there is a common history” in diversity. “And in dialogue with the different groups, we want to help the reconstruction process and encourage you, dear Christian brothers in Iraq, to have faith, to be patient, to trust in God, to collaborate in this difficult process”, he concluded.

Click here for the exact text of the question and Benedict XVI's answer

Risposte papa: A Sua Immagine, "In Iraq aiutare il processo di ricostruzione"

By SIR

“Prego ogni giorno per i cristiani in Iraq”. Lo ha detto Benedetto XVI, rispondendo alla domanda rivolta da giovani di Baghdad, che chiedono come convincere i cristiani perseguitati a non emigrare.
Per il Papa, occorre fare “il possibile perché possano rimanere, perché possano resistere alla tentazione di migrare”, anche manifestando che “noi siamo vicini a voi, cari fratelli in Iraq, che noi vogliamo aiutarvi”. E “le istituzioni, tutti coloro che hanno realmente una possibilità di fare qualcosa in Iraq per voi, devono farlo”. La Santa Sede “è in permanente contatto con le diverse comunità, non solo con le comunità cattoliche, con le altre comunità cristiane, ma anche con i fratelli musulmani, sia sciiti, sia sunniti. E vogliamo fare un lavoro di riconciliazione, di comprensione, anche con il governo, aiutarlo in questo cammino difficile di ricomporre una società lacerata. Perché questo è il problema, che la società è profondamente divisa”.
Si deve ricostruire la “consapevolezza” che, nella diversità, c’è “una storia in comune” “E noi vogliamo, in dialogo, proprio con i diversi gruppi, aiutare il processo di ricostruzione e incoraggiare voi, cari fratelli cristiani in Iraq, di avere fiducia, di avere pazienza, di avere fiducia in Dio, di collaborare in questo processo difficile”, ha concluso.

Clicca qui per il testo integrale della domanda e della risposta di Benedetto XVI

عيد فصح سعيد
Joyeuses Pâques
Happy Easter
¡Felices Pascuas!
Feliz Páscoa
Glad Påsk
Frohe Ostern

By Baghdadhope*

Why Jordan and Syria Are Different

By National Catholic Register, 04/19/2011
by Michele Chabin

Amman, Jordan — Christians in Jordan and Syria, the latest Middle East countries to experience violent unrest, are in a quandary.
While they, like their fellow citizens, yearn for greater freedom and democracy, they fear — perhaps more than others — that any major power shift could lead to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and threats to their communities.
Compared to most other Arab countries in the Middle East, Jordan and Syria are relatively secular, and Christians generally feel safe there, as long as they toe the government line.
In a booklet on Middle East Christians, Habib Malik, a professor at Lebanese American University, says they have “lost all sense of what it meant to experience a life of true liberty.”
Summarizing the booklet in a recent Inside Catholic column, George Weigel says vulnerable Christian communities have developed a variety of survival strategies that, having been thoroughly internalized, now seem natural: kowtowing to authority and accepting benefactions from dictators like Saddam Hussein in Iraq or the Assad dynasty in Syria.
That’s especially true in Syria, Malik said, where President Bashar Al-Assad, like his father before him, rules with an iron fist. Though educated in Britain, he has refused to lift 50 years of emergency law that bans freedom of the press and allows the detention of anyone the regime considers to be a threat.
Syrian troops have reportedly killed more than 100 protesters during widespread grassroots protests around the country.
In Jordan, which has enjoyed political stability for many years and boasts a relatively open and modern society, protesters are demanding legal reforms rather than an overthrow of the popular royal family. Jordanians were shocked when, a few weeks ago, security forces opened fire on some protesters.

Patriarch Twal
The sudden upheaval in these countries has presented Christians with a dilemma, according to Father Samir Khalil Samir, an Islamic scholar who is a Jesuit.
Writing in a recent edition of AsiaNews.it, Father Samir said Christians want both democracy and secularism, but realize that, due to the nature of the Middle East, they can’t have both — at least not in the short term.
Father Samir asserted that the Christian leadership in Syria does not want anything to change because the Assad regime ensures safety and secularism. Assad, who is a member of the ruling Alawites (an offshoot of Shiite Islam), has essentially outlawed radical Islam.
Secularism can only be imposed by force, Father Samir said, citing Assad, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and the recently deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as examples.
Despite Assad’s oppression, Christians prefer to have an authoritarian regime, but one that guarantees them at least a minimum of religious freedom, Father Samir said.
Publicly at least, Christians living in the Middle East tend to highlight the positive aspects of their lives rather than the negative. Their outward optimism comes not only from the belief that it is unwise to criticize their rulers, but from their deep religious faith.
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal said that Christians in Syria, who comprise about 2% of the population of 19 million, enjoy all freedoms.
But even Patriarch Twal, who was raised in Jordan, acknowledged that everything is changing in the Middle East. "We are not sure that what comes afterward will be in our favor," he said.
The patriarch said the Catholic Church in Jordan held a demonstration “to encourage King Abdullah and his regime to go on working, serving society.”
While officials at the Jerusalem Patriarchate, whose jurisdiction extends to Jordan, are hopeful, even confident that incremental reform in Jordan will be good for that country’s Christians, Syria is more volatile, they say.
“It’s clear that if [Assad’s] Ba’ath party goes, the best organized are the Muslim Brotherhood, and they could fill the void,” said Bishop William Shomaly, auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarchate. “What happened in Gaza could happen in Syria, because Hamas, which has imposed Islamic law in Gaza, and the Muslim Brotherhood have the same ideology.”
If the Muslim Brotherhood gains a strong foothold in Syria, Christians may suffer, Shomaly said.
‘We Do What We Can’
Speaking by phone from Amman, Raed Bahou, director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association’s office in Jordan, said Christians there are waiting to see what kinds of reforms the popular uprising will reap.
“We need to know what kind of political support we’re talking about. There are concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood, which is gaining a foothold in Egypt, may try to gain control in Jordan, but we don’t yet have a clear picture,” he said. Bahou said Jordanian Christians feel safe and very protected under the king, “who protects our projects and programs. If this sense of security is threatened, the way it has been undermined in Iraq, it could lead to the emigration of Christians from Jordan,” the administrator warned. Instability and last year’s deadly bombing of a church have forced Iraq’s Christians to turn their backs on their homes.
Every month, Bahou said, many of the 25 Iraqi families that flee that country move to nearby Jordan.
“We give them direction as to where to live, where to find educational and other services, and, of course, food distribution,” he said. “We do what we can.”

I giovani iracheni cristiani si rivolgono al Papa

Da: Oggi

Il 22 aprile, Venerdì Santo, il papa farà il suo debutto televisivo nel programma A sua immagine – domande su Gesù condotto da Rosario Carello, un passato da redattore vaticanista del Tg1, rispondendo a sei domande dei fedeli. Saranno gli stessi autori delle domande a rivolgerle al pontefice attraverso un filmato registrato.

Ecco le domande alle quali Papa Ratzinger risponderà in tv.

1) La domanda è rivolta da una bambina giapponese che ha vissuto il dramma del terremoto. E chiede al Papa: perché esiste ancora oggi la sofferenza degli innocenti, proprio come era accaduto a Gesù 2000 anni fa?

2) A formulare la domanda è una mamma italiana con un figlio quarantenne in stato vegetativo: come si può superare il dolore?

3) La domanda arriva da Bagdad, a rivolgerla al papa sono alcuni giovani cristiani che vivono in Iraq, terra di martirio in cui i seguaci di cristo subiscono continui attentati e atti intimidatori. I giovani vedono i loro amici fuggire via da quel paese e chiedono quale sia il giusto comportamento da seguire: se andar via anche loro oppure rimanere e rischiare la vita ogni giorno.

4) Una donna musulmana della Costa D’Avorio domanda: è giusto che ci siano divisioni così nette e pericolose tra le religioni?

5) Cosa accade a Gesù nel periodo della resurrezione?

6) Come è cambiato il corpo di Gesù da risorto?

Due altre domande ritenute importanti dalla redazione di A sua immagine ma non rientrate nella lista delle sei rivolte al papa, saranno dibattute in studio dai tre ospiti di Carello: Chiara Almirante, Fondatrice della comunità Nuovi Orizzonti, padre Ugo Sartorio, direttore del Messaggero di Sant’Antonio di Padova, e il poeta Davide Rondoni. La prima riguarda il tema dell’abbandono e prende spunto da una delle ultime frasi che Gesù ha pronunciato sulla croce prima di morire: «Dio mio, perché mi hai abbandonato?». La seconda è su Giuda: perché Gesù lo ha scelto?

Les réfugiés chrétiens dans l'impasse

By Paris Match, 19/04/2011

Akram est avachi devant son poste de télévision. Il regarde des clips musicaux, tous plus kitschs les uns que les autres en fumant sans cesse ses cigarettes. Je suis en face de lui mais il ne semble pas s’en soucier. De temps à autre, je pose des questions qu’il balaie de réponses expéditives. Sa femme vient de servir le thé puis est retournée dans la cuisine. Le couple et leurs deux enfants sont arrivés il y a deux ans de Bagdad après avoir été l’objet de menaces. Aujourd’hui, bien qu’il soit en sécurité, sa situation ne fait pas rêver Akram.

Les difficultés du retour

Comme beaucoup d’Irakiens, Laheeb non plus n’a pas eu le choix. «J’ai quitté Basrah après l’assassinat de mon beau frère et des menaces de mort sur ma famille», m’expliquait-il y a une semaine, Laheeb. Certains chrétiens sont partis à l’étranger en Syrie ou en Jordanie, d’autres ont rejoint le nord de l’Irak, la région du Kurdistan qu’ils avaient fui il y a 30 ans pendant le conflit kurde. Mais après l’immédiat réconfort de la sécurité retrouvée, ils doivent faire face à de nombreuses difficultés. La première est sans doute celle de la langue. A Bagdad, Mossoul ou Basrah, les chrétiens parlaient l’arabe ou l’araméen (la langue de Jésus), tandis qu’au Kurdistan, la langue parlée par tous est le kurde. Ce fait représente un obstacle considérable à leur intégration.
«Bagdad était une grande capitale, économique et culturelle avant la chute du régime. Maintenant, nous nous retrouvons dans un tout petit village, et ce n’est pas facile» m’explique Benhar. Effectivement, Araden n’est pas un grand village. Il est composé d’une soixantaine de maisons, dont certaines sont vides depuis le départ de familles vers la Turquie voisine. Beaucoup de familles ont du mal à passer d’une grande ville à un petit village des montagnes, particulièrement les jeunes «Dès que la situation sera meilleure à Bagdad, j’y retournerai sans hésiter» préviens Alina, 17 ans.
Enfin, le dernier problème majeur de ce retour est évidemment l’absence d’emplois. «La situation économique est catastrophique. Il n’y a pas de travail ici ! Les seuls emplois que nous trouvons sont dans l’agriculture, mais nous ne savons pas cultiver…nous venons de la ville!» se lamente Cédric.

Faciliter l’intégrationet le lancement de projets

Face à ces difficultés, certaines actions sont mises en place, particulièrement par des ONG et par l’Eglise «Les chrétiens réfugiés ne voient aucun d’avenir au Kurdistan, ils veulent tous aller en Europe, nous devons leur proposer des alternatives ici, en Irak» explique monseigneur Rabban. C’est ce qu’essaye de faire l’IECD (Institut européen de coopération et de développement) à travers son projet «Ard al Amal» (la Terre de l’espérance), présente au Kurdistan depuis 2008.
«Nous accompagnons les habitants, chrétiens et musulmans, de trois villages kurdes dans la création ou le renforcement d’entreprises agricoles» explique Jean Maurel, responsable du projet «en mettant à leur disposition des outils, ils apprennent la production agricole [oignons, melons, aubergines, fraises, entres autre fruits et légumes...] et la vente de leurs produits».
«Ce n’est pas tous les jours facile, ils faut qu’ils se lèvent tôt, qu’ils travaillent dur pour générer des revenus qui restent toutefois bas. L’important, c’est qu’ils aient une activité, et qu’ils voient, au jour le jour, les résultats de leur travail».
Autre projet intéressant, celui du Lycée International de Dohuk, à l’initiative de monseigneur Rabban. Cette école accueille gratuitement tous ceux qui le souhaitent: chrétiens, musulmans, Turkmènes, Kurdes, filles, garçons et ne dispense pas d’enseignement religieux «tous les cours sont donnés en anglais, et nous apprenons aux élèves l’araméen, le français, le kurde» détaille fièrement monseigneur Rabban. Une réponse, entres autres, aux problème de la langue et au manque de communication entre Kurdes et chrétiens dans les villages du nord.
Le gouvernement Kurde accueille lui aussi généreusement les nouveaux venus chrétiens. Ils veulent leur rendre les terrains quittés il y a quelques dizaines d’années et occupés depuis par les Kurdes. Ces familles kurdes se voient offrir 10 000 dollars pour laisser leur terrains aux chrétiens, qui eux, reçoivent entre 17000 et 20000 dollars pour construire une maison de 3 pièces.

«Ne pas tomberdans l’assistanat»
Toutes ces aides sont indispensables pour accompagner les chrétiens dans la période difficile qu’ils sont en train de vivre, mais elles posent aussi certaines interrogations. Pour l’immense majorité des chrétiens, la fuite de Bagdad, Mossoul, Kirkouk ou Basrah vers le Kurdistan représente un repli stratégique. Aucun d’entre eux ne pense s’y installer sur le long terme, hésitant à retourner dans leurs villes d’origine une fois celles-ci sécurisées ou à émigrer en Occident. «Nous n’allons pas rester longtemps au Kurdistan, à quoi bon apprendre la langue, se lancer dans un projet ou trouver un emploi?» lancent découragés, de jeunes chrétiens assis sur un muret, à l’ombre. Autre facteur ne facilitant pas leur intégration, l’absence de besoins financiers urgents: la plupart viennent de vendre leur maison à Bagdad, et beaucoup reçoivent de l’argent de leurs proches aux Etats-Unis ou aux Canada.
Dans sa voiture, en route pour Dohuk, monseigneur Rabban s’insurge contre le comportement de certains d’entre eux «ils attendent que tout viennent sans faire un effort! Ils ont des vignes, des champs, ils n’en font rien!» s’exclame-t-il, révolté avant de continuer «Les chrétiens se sentent comme des réfugiés dans leur propre pays, ils ne veulent pas se protéger avec des milices, ils ne s’impliquent pas politiquement. Il faut arrêter de se plaindre, se battre, se mélanger aux autres, être fort ! La mentalité de peur et de repli est dangereuse pour une communauté!» termine l’évêque réputé pro-kurde. En plus de toutes ces difficultés, comme s’il n’y en avait pas assez, les avantages d’aujourd’hui risquent, un jour, de se retourner contre les chrétiens. Les aides généreuses du gouvernement envers ces derniers donnent naturellement naissance à quelques jalousies. Et quel intérêt trouve d’ailleurs le gouvernement kurde à aider ces chrétiens ? Des questions auxquelles je répondrai dans le prochain article.

La foi des chrétiens d’Irak confortée par leurs souffrances

By Paris Match, 18/04/2011

Entre la consécration de deux évêques chaldéens catholiques à Qaraqosh, samedi matin, et la célébration du dimanche des Rameaux hier, ce premier week-end passé en Irak a été pour moi l’occasion de prendre conscience de la foi chevillée au corps des chrétiens d’Irak. Retour sur ces deux moments forts du week-end et les questions qui me hantent: comment une telle foi est-elle possible et quelles sont les menaces qui planent sur elles ?
«Ce n’est pas en France que tu verrais ça!» Samedi matin, à Qaraqosh, le ciel bleu contraste avec le gris orangé des épais nuages de poussières qui ont balayé le nord de l’Irak la semaine dernière. Il n’est pas encore 8h, mais déjà, le traditionnel silence du séminaire est perturbé par l’effervescence de ses étudiants «aujourd’hui, ce n’est pas un jour comme les autres, c’est une grande fête!» s’exclame Amer, les bras chargés de cierges. Deux prêtres chaldéens vont être nommés évêques de Bagdad et Qaraqosh, deux villes irakiennes qui ont subi de nombreuses violences ces dernières années. Peu avant 10h, les fidèles affluent par centaines dans l’église de l’Immaculée Conception, l’une des plus grandes églises d’Irak. Ils ne semblent pas faire attention aux mesures de sécurité imposantes déployées autour de l’édifice: routes bloqués, camions militaires et dizaines d’hommes armés. Les chants, les applaudissements, et les youyous traditionnelles des femmes arabes rendent cette messe vivante et joyeuse.
La chorale, composée d’hommes et de femmes élève de puissants «Alleluia». Seuls les portraits des deux prêtres tués à Bagdad en octobre dernier rappellent que nous sommes en Irak, et qu’ici, croire est un choix de vie difficile. Trois heures plus tard, prêtres et évêques sortent de l’église suivis de l’assistance. Tous les prennent en photo et viennent leur serrer la main. Chacun se dirige alors vers une grande salle qui accueillera tous les fidèles pour le déjeuner.
«Alors Louis, comment tu l’as trouvée cette messe? Je suis sûre que c’est autre chose qu’en France!» m’interpelle en français, sœur Elisabeth. De petite taille, sa voix aigue, ses grandes lunettes et son dynamise me rappellent sœur Emmanuelle. «Allez, viens, on va déjeuner continue-t-elle en me prenant la main, yalla, yalla!». La ressemblance est décidément troublante.

Dans les villages, messes matinales et processions

Dimanche matin, à 6h45, l’ambiance est toute autre. Nous revoilà au Kurdistan, à l’extrême nord de l’Irak. Seuls une vingtaine de kilomètres nous séparent de la Turquie. Il fait jour depuis peu de temps, et monseigneur Rabban a déjà fait sonner les cloches. L'évêque connaît parfaitement sa région. Il y est né, est devenu prêtre en 1973 et évêque en 2002. Il a tout connu, des bombardements à l’exode des chrétiens. A peine réveillé, je suis surpris de voir la chapelle si remplie. Aux premiers rangs, les hommes portent le traditionnel turban kurde, au fond de l’église, les femmes sont voilées. Tous ont un rameau dans la main. La chorale hésitante fait rire les enfants.
Monseigneur Rabban prend le temps de stopper sa lecture en araméen, la langue de Jésus, pour m’expliquer en Français la signification de cette messe: la foule brandissant des rameaux pour acclamer Jésus au portes de Jérusalem. La messe à peine terminée, Monseigneur Rabban monte dans son 4x4 et fonce vers Araden, où il anime la messe de 9h. Les habitants de ce petit village d’une soixante de maisons, coincés entre les montagnes Mateen et Gara et les anciens palais de Saddam Hussein ont préparé une grande procession. Comme tous les dimanches des rameaux et jours de Noël, ils passent, en chantant, de maisons en maisons et récoltent noix, bonbons, fruits pour les enfants. Grands et petits sont présents. De 12h à 18h, ils marcheront et chanteront, sans cesse.

Comment une telle foiest-elle possible?

Ces ambiances n’ont rien d’exceptionnel, ici, en Irak. Tous les dimanches, cette ferveur se répète. Quand je demande à Benham, serviteur de l’église qui a quitté Bagdad en 2003 pour s’installer dans ce petit village, d’où vient cette forte croyance, il répond sans hésiter «quand un peuple est persécuté, vit des temps difficiles, il est normal qu’il se tourner vers son Dieu. Parfois, nous n’avions plus que lui vers qui nous tourner.»
L’avis de monseigneur Rabban diverge «je pense que c’est un problème de gouvernance. En France, ceux qui prennent des décisions, les politiques, ne croient plus en Dieu. Le divorce, les mariages gays, les petites copines ou petits copains sont devenus des choses normales. Je suis sûr, maintenant, que chez vous, les gens ont honte de faire un signe de croix dans le train. La religion n’est plus qu’un reste en France, ce n’est pas le cas en Irak» puis ajoute «la plupart des gens que vous voyez à la messe, ici, ne savent ni lire, ni écrire. Ils lisent dans les cœurs. Ils ne sont pas docteurs ou ingénieurs. Ils savent juste que Jésus les aime, et qu’ils aiment Jésus. Ils chantent, et ils n’ont pas besoin de savoir plus.»
Pendant la procession, Akram, employé de l’église du village me propose de m’emmener, en voiture, voir les églises aux alentours. J’accepte, heureux d’échapper quelques minutes à l’interminable procession. Il me montre Nashmoni et Makadotkht, deux vieilles églises du IVe siècle dont l’une a été endommagée par un bombardement en 1961. Fatigué lui aussi, il se pose à la terrasse d’un petit restaurant, au bord de la route. La chaleur, le calme et les montagnes donnent à la situation un air provençal. Loin des prêtres et des habitants du village, il semble enfin se livrer «vous savez, ici, il n’y a aucun futur» soupire-t-il en remuant son thé.
«Pas de futur», ces mots reviennent régulièrement dans les bouches de ces chrétiens du nord de l’Irak. Car après la fuite des dangers de Bagdad et Mossoul et leur réconfort immédiat, un grand nombre de difficultés font face aux nouveaux arrivants. Ces difficultés, je les découvrirai demain, lors de la visite de ces villages. Chômage, tentation du départ vers l’Europe, adaptation à la vie rurale, elles sont nombreuses. Tout est mis en place par l’Eglise, les ONG et le gouvernement pour qu’ils restent en Irak.
Mais ces mesures sont elles suffisantes et adaptées? Ne risquent-elles pas de ghettoïser encore plus la fragile communauté? Réponses dans le prochain article.

Qaraqosh forteresse chrétienne au cœur du chaos

By Paris Match, 16/04/2011

Qaraqosh est une ville de 50 000 habitants située dans l’un des berceaux de la chrétienté d’Irak, la plaine de Ninive. Peuplée de chrétiens dans l'immense majorité, elle a pour particularité d’avoir créé sa propre armée : «Le gouvernement ne fait rien pour nous aider, alors nous n’avons d’autre choix que de nous protéger nous même». À Qaraqosh, nous ne sommes plus au Kurdistan, la vie des chrétiens est menacée au quotidien. Cette relative protection pousse les chrétiens irakiens du sud de l'Irak à émigrer vers cette enclave.
Seules 200 familles musulmanes vivent à Qaraqosh. Elles étaient déjà présentes sous Saddam, et font partie intégrante de la ville. Les chrétiens ont confiance en ces familles, mais pour rien au monde ils ne laisseraient s’installer d’autres musulmans dans la ville. C’est interdit. Un livre noir a même été créé pour dénoncer les chrétiens qui vendraient une terre aux musulmans. Un dominicain aime d’ailleurs employer cette phrase pour décrire la relation entre chrétiens et musulmans à Qaraqosh : «Ils se haïssent cordialement…».

Qaraqosh protégée d’une menace réelle

Le danger, à Qaraqosh, ne vient pas de l’intérieur, mais de l’extérieur. Salam, mon traducteur a 25 ans. Étudiant, il se trouvait dans l’un des bus attaqués l’année dernière «C’était le 2 juin 2010. Comme tous les matins, 18 bus partaient de Qaraqosh pour nous emmener à Mossoul dans notre université. Ce jour là, une bombe a explosé. J’ai été gravement blessé au visage, j’ai du être transporté en Turquie pour être soigné». 188 étudiants ont été blessés dans cet attentat. 2 sont morts. De nombreuses voitures piégées ont explosé, et «depuis 2003, 54 personnes à Qaraqosh ont été tuées» constate tristement le père Louis, l’un des prêtres de la ville.
Mossoul, l’une des villes les plus dangereuse d’Irak est à seulement 30 kilomètres, et tout autour de Qaraqosh, des villages sunnites sont présents, infestés de terroristes liés à Al Qaeda. Ce danger permanent explique l’omniprésence d’hommes armés à Qaraqosh. A chaque coin de rue, en face de chaque bâtiment public, des gardes sont postés, arme au point. Ces hommes ne sont ni des militaires, ni des policiers, mais une milice chrétienne «aujourd’hui, 1200 hommes contrôlent Qaraqosh, notamment aux nombreux check points placés aux entrées de la ville. Nous inspectons les voitures de ceux qui n’habitent pas dans la ici» explique Sabah Quslah, l’un des commandants de cette armée.
Cette milice, financée par le professeur Sarkis Aghajan, ancien ministre des Finances du Kurdistan, est épaulée par des policiers irakiens, chrétiens ou musulmans.

Une vie enclavée et difficile

Même si, à Qaraqosh, les chrétiens peuvent exercer leur culte en sécurité (ce qui n’est pas le cas dans le reste de l’Irak), la vie est loin d’être facile pour la communauté. Les premiers touchés sont sans doute les jeunes «Après l’attaque du bus, beaucoup d’étudiants ont eu trop peur d’aller étudier» explique Salam, mon traducteur «Je n’avais plus qu’une année pour terminer ma formation d’ingénieur électrique. Je n’ose plus aller à Mossoul, donc je reste chez moi. Je me lève tard, je suis sur l’ordinateur. Tous mes rêves ont été brisés après cette attaque». Amer, jeune séminariste veut absolument terminer sa dernière année «tous les jours, je prie dans le bus qui m’amène à Mossoul. J’ai peur».
Le niveau de vie est également très bas. Les gardes de la ville ne touchent que 200 dollars par mois, et doivent bien souvent exercer une deuxième activité «mon père est jardinier, en plus d’être garde. C’est le gouvernement qui l’emploie, mais seulement pour 6 mois. Il n’y a pas d’emplois à durée indéterminée ici» explique Salam. En plus des aides financières du Kurdistan et d’hommes tels que Sarkis Aghajan, certaines ONG aident les habitants à construire un véritable petit Etat : «C’est dangereux pour nous de sortir, alors il nous faut tout à l’intérieur : un hôpital, un poste de police, une banque, des écoles» explique un habitant «regardez l’état de ces routes, tout est à construire ici !» ajoute-t-il, révolté.
Plus tard, dans la soirée, je dîne au séminaire avec des futurs prêtres qui semblent confiants. Samedi, veille du dimanche des Rameaux, ils assisteront à la consécration de deux nouveaux évêques, ceux de Kirkouk et Mossoul. «Tu verras, l’église sera pleine à craquer !» s’exclame l’un deux. C’est peut-être ce qui fait la force de cette ville, une croyance démesurée en Dieu, et l’espérance de jours meilleurs. «Avec la chorale, les gens oublient les armes et les attaques». Beaucoup donc, attendent avec impatience la cérémonie.

Deux semaines avec les chrétiens d'Irak réfugiés au Kurdistan

“Welcome to Iraq’s Kurdistan Region” (“Bienvenue au Kurdistan d'Irak”)

Deux mille ans de présence en Irak

The Silent Extermination of Iraq’s ‘Christian Dogs’

By Front Page Magazine

Last week an Iraqi Muslim scholar issued a fatwa that, among other barbarities, asserts that “it is permissible to spill the blood of Iraqi Christians.” Inciting as the fatwa is, it is also redundant. While last October’s Baghdad church attack which killed some sixty Christians is widely known—actually receiving some MSM coverage—the fact is, Christian life in Iraq has been a living hell ever since U.S. forces ousted the late Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Among other atrocities, beheading and crucifying Christians are not irregular occurrences; messages saying “you Christian dogs, leave or die,” are typical. Islamists see the church as an “obscene nest of pagans” and threaten to “exterminate Iraqi Christians.” John Eibner, CEO of Christian Solidarity International, summarized the situation well in a recent letter to President Obama:

The threat of extermination is not empty. Since the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, more than half the country’s Christian population has been forced by targeted violence to seek refuge abroad or to live away from their homes as internally displaced people. According to the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, over 700 Christians, including bishops and priests, have been killed and 61 churches have been bombed. Seven years after the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Catholic Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk reports: “He who is not a Muslim in Iraq is a second-class citizen. Often it is necessary to convert or emigrate, otherwise one risks being killed.” This anti-Christian violence is sustained by a widespread culture of Muslim supremacism that extends far beyond those who pull the triggers and detonate the bombs.

The grand irony, of course, is that Christian persecution has increased exponentially under U.S. occupation. As one top Vatican official put it, Christians, “paradoxically, were more protected under the dictatorship” of Saddam Hussein.
What does one make of this—that under Saddam, who was notorious for human rights abuses, Christians were better off than they are under a democratic government sponsored by humanitarian, some would say “Christian,” America?
Like a Baghdad caliph, Saddam appears to have made use of the better educated Christians, who posed no risk to his rule, such as his close confidant Tariq Aziz. Moreover, by keeping a tight lid on the Islamists of his nation—who hated him as a secular apostate no less than the Christians—the latter benefited indirectly.
Conversely, by empowering “the people,” the U.S. has unwittingly undone Iraq’s Christian minority. Naively projecting Western values on Muslims, U.S. leadership continues to think that “people-power” will naturally culminate into a liberal, egalitarian society—despite all the evidence otherwise. The fact is, in the Arab/Muslim world, “majority rule” traditionally means domination by the largest tribe or sect; increasingly, it means Islamist domination.
Either which way, the minorities—notably the indigenous Christians—are the first to suffer once the genie of “people-power” is uncorked. Indeed, evidence indicates that the U.S. backed “democratic” government of Iraq enables and incites the persecution of its Christians. (All of this raises the pivotal question: do heavy-handed tyrants—Saddam, Mubarak, Qaddafi, et al—create brutal societies, or do naturally brutal societies create the need for heavy-handed tyrants to keep order.)
Another indicator that empowering Muslim masses equates Christian suffering is the fact that, though Iraqi Christians amount to a mere five percent of the population, they make up nearly 40 percent of the refugees fleeing Iraq. It is the same in Egypt: “A growing number of Egypt’s 8-10 million Coptic Christians are looking for a way to get out as Islamists increasingly take advantage of the nationalist revolution that toppled long-standing dictator Hosni Mubarak in February.”
Of course, whereas Egypt’s revolution was homegrown, the persecution of Iraq’s Christians is a direct byproduct of U.S. intervention. More ironic has been Obama’s approach. Justifying his decision to intervene in Libya in humanitarian terms, the president recently said that, while “it is true that America cannot use our military wherever repression occurs… that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what’s right.”
True, indeed. Yet, even as Obama “acts on behalf of what’s right,” by providing military protection to the al-Qaeda connected Libyan opposition, Iraq’s indigenous Christians continue to be exterminated—right under the U.S. military’s nose in Iraq. You see, in its ongoing bid to win the much coveted but forever elusive “Muslim-hearts-and-minds™”—which Obama has even tasked NASA with—U.S. leadership ignores the inhumane treatment of Islam’s “Christian dogs,” the mere mention of which tends to upset Muslims.

Iraq’s Christians, Lebanon’s shame

By The Daily Star (Lebanon), April 11, 2011
by Peter Durkovic,

Iraq’s Christians are a dwindling minority, one that may soon disappear from the Middle East. But you would not realize the seriousness of their plight from the way Lebanon has dealt with them.
Whether it is the state, churches or their Lebanese coreligionists, all have done little to help the community confront its myriad problems.
Today, the number of Iraqi Christian refugees in Lebanon is estimated to be around 5,000. However, since 2003, when the United States and its allies invaded Iraq, more than 20,000 have come through Lebanon. Most have resettled in the European Union, the United States or Australia, while a mere 1 percent has returned to Iraq. Those in Lebanon have remained because their request to resettle in third countries has been denied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
A majority of the Iraqi Christians, some 65 percent, are from the Chaldean Catholic Church. The rest include Assyrians, Syriac Orthodox, and Syriac Catholics. Yet no matter to which church they belong, the Iraqis all face similar problems: the absence of official refugee status; difficulties in obtaining adequate accommodations, education and medical assistance; and abusive labor practices.
Because Iraqi refugees are not officially recognized as such by the Lebanese state, many arrived in Lebanon on a tourist visa. Once their visas expire, their presence in the country becomes illegal. Unofficially, the Lebanese authorities have allowed them to stay, but because Lebanon did not sign the 1951 Geneva convention relating to the status of refugees, the legal foundation for their presence is vague. In effect, most Iraqi Christians do not officially exist in Lebanon.
The Lebanese position is ambiguous. Iraqi Christians can be detained by the security forces once their visas expire, but the security forces have not been specifically ordered to find them and expel them from Lebanon.
This ambiguity only adds to the precariousness of their daily existence and living conditions. There are those who have been taken into custody and sent back to Iraq, though a resolution of their legal status would have allowed them to remain in Lebanon until the situation in Iraq improves and they can go home, or elsewhere.
If the Iraqis expected their own churches in Lebanon to be of greater assistance, they will have been equally disappointed. Very few of the Lebanese Chaldean and Syriac churches are assisting in easing the refugees’ difficulties, by offering them spiritual support, an education, understanding, or social assistance. Education is of particular importance to the Iraqis, because that will provide their children with the knowledge and skills to enhance their future job opportunities.
Alas, Lebanon’s Christian communities have not shown any greater solidarity with their Iraqi coreligionists. And yet it was them whom the Iraqi Christians expected to count on when they chose to leave their homeland. There have been exceptions of course, but the most recurring feature that the refugees have found is that their brethren have tended to abuse them as cheap labor, often paying them no more than 30 percent of what would be considered a normal salary.
Nor is it rare for employers to pay nothing at all for work done. They know that the Iraqis, because of their illegal status, will not dare report them to the authorities. This makes it more urgent for Lebanon to resolve their legal status by officially recognizing them as refugees.
Adequate medical treatment is another problem that the Iraqis are confronting. Most are poor and have only very rudimentary medical coverage. Those with serious illnesses are almost guaranteed of being denied appropriate medical care.
The issue can only be effectively resolved with the collaboration of international institutions, including the United Nations, and Lebanese non-governmental organizations. Some political parties, in their turn, have intervened on behalf of the refugees. They include the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Kataeb (Phalange), and Hezbollah. But they usually do so to advance a political agenda and only at specific periods, such as Christmas.
There have been sporadic endeavors to address the Iraqis’ predicament. However, the impact has been very limited. Recently, for example, Notre Dame University hosted a conference on the Iraqi Christians that was attended by Lebanese and Iraqi officials, as well as by Chaldean, Assyrian, Syriac Orthodox, Syrian Catholic and Muslim representatives. The participants formulated a number of resolutions, but until now none have been implemented.
To allow the situation to fester will means creating another angry refugee community in Lebanon, with all the difficulties ensuing from this: a sense of hopelessness, psychological problems, illiteracy among the young and so on.
And yet Lebanese churches and the government have great latitude to highlight the issue domestically and internationally, and mobilize support on behalf of the Iraqis. They can, and must, provide the refugees with official documentation until they return to Iraq or move elsewhere. A suffering community surely merits better than the Iraqis have received in Lebanon.

Peter Durkovic, a Slovak journalist recently in Lebanon, writes for a number of media outlets in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.

Kurds alter cultural and linguistic fabric of non-Kurdish areas around Iraq’s Mosul

By Azzaman, April 19, 2011
by Samer Saeed

There are grave concerns in Mosul, the provincial capital of Nineveh, that Kurds are on their way to add the provincial districts and villages they control to their dominions.
A statement, issued by the Unified National Trend, a political faction in the city, said the Kurds, relying on their heavily armed militias, were treating the provincial areas under their control as part of Kurdish territory.
The statement, signed by the group’s leader, Nourideen al-Hayali, said the Kurds were even trying to alter the linguistic and cultural character of the provincial districts they occupied shortly after the 2003-U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Most of the small towns and villages to the north and north west of Mosul, which administratively are an integral part of Nineveh Province, are now under Kurdish militia occupation.
The administration of education, health and local government in these areas is a prerogative of Nineveh Province and the provincial council in Mosul.
But the Kurds are reported to be seizing the opportunity of the absence of Iraqi troops and security forces to spread their cultural domination of the areas under their control.
Hayali claimed in his statement that the Kurds were forcing their language as the medium of instruction in schools in districts and villages where Arabs, Turkmen or Syriac-speaking Iraqi Christians are the majority.
He said more than 200 school which used to offer courses and programs in Arabic have been seized, and their teaching staff replaced by Kurdish-speaking instructors.
He cited Baashiqa, a predominantly Syriac-speaking Christians, and its environs, where he said more than a 1000 schools have been forced to switch to Kurdish.

Arab spring possible only if all citizens have equal rights, says Mgr Sako

By Asia News

In the Middle East, the ideals of freedom and democracy that have ostensibly inspired the Arab spring, could be stifled by religious and ethnic sectarianism, putting minorities, especially Christians, at risk. Mgr Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk (Iraq), told AsiaNews that democracy is impossible “unless they [governments] grant all their citizens the same citizenship”.

Today, in no Arab nation is there a plan to create a system that respects the rights and specificities of every group. There is a danger that many countries might become like Iraq, under the thumb of Muslim extremism and ethnic and religious sectarianism. Recent attacks against civilians are evidence of this. The latest one was perpetrated this morning in Baghdad, when a bomb exploded at a Green Zone’ checkpoint, killing nine people.
For Mgr Sako, things can change if an open and pluralistic culture spread to families and the school. Governments, for their part, must assume their responsibilities and defend citizens’ rights. Muslim religious leaders must also adapt their religion to the challenges of modernity.
Christians can help in implementing these changes, the prelate said, because they are an example of openness and bear witness to the ideals of freedom and equality. Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, thousands of Christians crowded Baghdad churches to pray for Iraq and His resurrection.

Arab nations will not be stable or democratic unless they grant all their citizens the same citizenship. Arab nations are a mixture of various ethnic groups, cultures, languages, languages and doctrines. They include Arabs, Kurds, Assyro-Chaldeans, Turkmen, Shebeks, Copts, Armenians, Shias, Sunnis, and Christians of various denominations, Yazidis, Druses and more. Their traditional mindset is patriarchal, tribal and sectarian. Education and teaching programmes are usually imposed from above and are viewed as infallible. Thus, they do not stimulate thinking and analyses or kindle the quest for new knowledge or possibilities.
Arab nations have no plans to integrate people into a single citizenship that respects each group’s particular features. Pluralism and diversity do not mean division and chaos but can lead instead to progress, cooperation and creativity.
Since the early 20th century until the 1970s, the concept of ‘ummah’ or nation developed among Arab peoples to fight Western colonial powers that had occupied the region and created separate countries with no consideration for its ethnic makeup.
For years, the ‘Arab nation’ struggled against imperialism with the help of poets and writers who played a key role in creating a national consciousness among the people. For years, nationalism united various ethnic groups and Muslim denominations but created a double sense of “belonging” among minorities.
In the second half of the 20th century, highly centralised authoritarian regimes emerged in these countries, with power exerted by single families or tribes. The latter used the education system and mass media to control the population. They enforced coexistence. People were treated as a flock and anyone who dared leave the stable had better be beware.
In the 21st century, especially after the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, groups of young people begin to organise to change the Arab world, but they lack both a concrete vision as well as a “clear leadership”. These young people are not fully aware that the road towards democracy and freedom will be long and hard.
Political Islam is hiding behind some of these movements and its aim is to set up confessional and sectarian regimes, Sunni or Shia depending on the country, as an alternative to the nation-state.
Confessional movements and sects are often organised according to military principles and possess their own armed militias. Since the 2003 invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Iraq has been a privileged place to see sectarian differences at work, but it is not alone. The same problem is developing in Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria.
We Iraqi Christians have paid a heavy price for this. Intolerance based on ethnic or religious grounds does not help co-existence and can lead to hostility rather than friendship.
Here are a few suggestions for positive change:
1- Seek the right means to correct these errors. Acknowledge those who are different from yourself and accept them as equals and not second-class citizens. Build true coexistence. Apply the principle of justice equally. This is necessary for any positive and peaceful change.
2 - Within the family, educate children in an open and pluralistic manner so that they can be oriented towards dialogue with those who are different from them and be against any form of ethnic or religious superiority.
3 - Ensure that education is based on reason and not emotion. View diversity and pluralism as enriching rather than a loss.
4 - Governments must accept responsibility for what is happening. Political leaders who lead nations must build a state based on civil institutions. The only criterion standard is that of citizenship, which should not depend on ethnic, religious or sectarian bases. Everyone must have the same rights and duties and be equal before the law.
5 - Muslim religious leaders must choose a just and moderate form of Islam (Wasatia) that is in line with today’s circumstances and contexts.
6 - These countries should not view other regional powers and international institutions as welfare agencies to be used for one’s own self-interest or to influence governments.
Eastern Christians, who are being forced to emigrate at this point in time, can help the Middle East to change through openness and the ideals of freedom. They can offer an alternative to existing regimes and contribute to the building of more civil and secular states, thus reducing extremism.
Christians need their own political and religious leadership, not only to defend their rights, but also those of all citizens so as to contribute to reconciliation and to a culture based on dialogue and peace.
In this Holy Week of Easter, let us must pray and hope that such changes can be achieved peacefully.

Mons. Sako: Primavera del modo arabo possibile solo se tutti i cittadini hanno uguali diritti

By Asia News

In Medio oriente gli ideali di libertà e democrazia, che hanno caratterizzato la primavera del mondo arabo rischiano di essere soffocati da settarismi religiosi ed etnici, con un grave rischio per le minoranze, soprattutto cristiane. Mons. Louis Sako, arcivescovo di Kiruk (Iraq), spiega ad AsiaNews che “non ci può essere democrazia senza l’integrazione di tutta la popolazione in un’unica cittadinanza”. Il prelato sottolinea che a tutt’oggi in nessun Paese arabo vi è un vero progetto per creare un sistema che rispetti i diritti e le particolarità di ciascun gruppo. Il rischio è che molti Paesi diventino come l’Iraq, dove dominano estremismo islamico e settarismi etnici e religiosi, come dimostrano i continui attentati contro la popolazione. L’ultimo è avvenuto questa mattina a Baghdad, dove una bomba è esplosa in mezzo alla folla in coda ai check-point di accesso alla zona verde, uccidendo nove persone. Mons. Sako, spiega che per cambiare la situazione occorre diffondere una cultura aperta e pluralista all’interno di famiglie e scuola. Da parte loro i governi devono prendersi le proprie responsabilità e difendere i diritti di tutti cittadini, mentre i leader religiosi musulmani devono adeguare la religione alle sfide della modernità. Secondo il prelato chi può aiutare a mettere in atto questi cambiamenti sono i cristiani, che sono un esempio di apertura e testimoni degli ideali di libertà e uguaglianza. Lo scorso 17 aprile in occasione della Domenica delle Palme, migliaia di fedeli hanno affollato le chiese di Baghdad, per pregare per l’Iraq e la sua resurrezione.


Non ci sarà nei Paesi arabi stabilità e democrazia senza l'integrazione di tutta la popolazione in un’unica cittadinanza. I Paesi arabi sono formati da un miscuglio di etnie, culture, lingue, religioni e dottrine. Arabi, curdi, assiro-caldei, turcomanni, schebeks, copti, armeni, sciiti, sunniti, cristiani di diverse denominazioni, yaziti, drusi e molte altre. Il modo di pensare e di vivere è in genere patriarcale, tribale e settario. I programmi d'educazione e d'insegnamento vengono in genere stabiliti dall'alto e quindi sono giudicati infallibili, non permettono di pensare e analizzare le cose. Non ammettono altre conoscenze e possibilità.
A tutt’oggi nei Paesi arabi non vi è un progetto per integrare la popolazione in un’unica cittadinanza, che tenga però conto e rispetti le particolarità di ciascun gruppo. Pluralismo e diversità non significano divisioni e caos, ma portano con sé la capacità di progredire e di cooperare nella creatività.
Dai primi del ‘900 fino agli anni’70 si sviluppa fra i popoli arabi il concetto di nazione "Umma" per combattere il colonialismo occidentale, che avevano occupato e creato Paesi, tracciandone i confini senza considerare la mappa etnica. La lotta contro l’imperialismo è stata per anni la causa della "nazione araba", sostenuta dall’opera di poeti e scrittori che hanno esercitato un impatto importante nel sollecitare il nazionalismo fra la popolazione. Per anni il nazionalismo ha unito tutti i popoli delle varie denominazioni dell’islam ed etnie, ma ha creato una duplice "appartenenza " fra le minoranze.
Nella seconda metà del XX secolo nei Paesi si assiste all’ascesa di regimi caratterizzati da un potere unilaterale e autoritario, esercitati da un’unica famiglia o tribù. Per mantenere il potere essi hanno utilizzato il controllo sull’educazione e sui media. Tali regimi hanno adottato la convivenza forzata. Il popolo è il gregge, e guai a chi esce dalla stalla.
Nel XXI secolo, soprattutto dopo le invasioni di Iraq e Afghanistan, iniziano a formarsi movimenti di giovani che desiderano un cambiamento nel mondo arabo, ma essi non hanno una visione concreta e sono senza una "leadership chiara". Questi giovani non sono coscienti che la strada per la democrazia e libertà è una strada lunga e difficile.
Dietro alcuni movimenti si nasconde l'islam politico che cerca di realizzare un regime confessionale e settario, sunnita o sciita a seconda del Paese, come alternativa alla nazione. Movimenti confessionali e sette sono spesso organizzati secondo una logica militare e dispongono di milizie armate. Dopo l’invasione del 2003 e la caduta di Saddam Hussein, l’Iraq è stato il principale esempio di queste differenze settarie, ma ora anche in altri Paesi (Egitto, Yemen, Libia, Siria) stanno crescendo. Noi cristiani iracheni abbiamo sofferto molto e pagato un prezzo pesante. Questo fenomeno dell'intolleranza basato sull'identità etnica e religiosa non aiuta la co-esistenza e diventa nella maggior parte dei casi, più ostile che amichevole .

Alcuni suggerimenti per un cambiamento positivo:

1- Cercare i mezzi efficaci per correggere questi errori. Riconoscere l'altro diverso da me e accettarlo come una persona eguale a tutti e non di seconda classe. Creare una vera convivenza. Applicare in modo eguale il principio di giustizia. Questo progetto è necessario per qualsiasi cambiamento positivo e pacifico.
2 – Adottare all’interno della famiglia una formazione aperta e pluralista per orientare i bambini verso il rispetto del dialogo e di chi che è diverso, senza puntare sulla superiorità etnica o religiosa.
3 – Inserire nella scuola un metodo d'istruzione basato sulla ragione e non sull'emozione. Considerare la diversità, il pluralismo come una ricchezza, piuttosto che lamentarsi sulla loro esclusione .
4 – Il governo deve ritenersi responsabile di quanto sta accadendo. Essendo alla guida dei Paesi, gli esponenti devono saper creare uno Stato con istituzioni civili. L'unico criterio possibile è la cittadinanza, che non deve dipendere dall'origine etnica, religiosa o settaria . Tutti devono avere gli stessi diritti e doveri ed essere uguali di fronte alla legge.
5 – I capi religiosi musulmani devono scegliere una forma di Islam giusto (Wassatia) e moderato e aggiornato secondo le circostanze attuali e il contesto contemporaneo.
6 - Questi Paesi dovrebbero rendersi conto che gli altri Stati della regione e la politica internazionale non sono enti di beneficenza, ma ognuno cerca il proprio tornaconto economico e influenza con la sua politica i governi.

I cristiani orientali, che oggi sono costretti a emigrare, possono aiutare il Medio oriente a cambiare attraverso la loro apertura e gli ideali di libertà. Essi sarebbero in grado di proporre una valida alternativa a un regime, contribuendo alla costruzione di Stati più civili e laici, diminuendo gli elementi estremisti. I cristiani hanno bisogno di una leadership politica e religiosa, che difenda non solo i loro diritti, ma quelli di tutti i cittadini e che aiuti alla riconciliazione e alla cultura del dialogo e della pace.
In questi giorni di Settimana Santa e di Pasqua, dobbiamo pregare e sperare che questo cambiamento civile e pacifico si realizzi.