By Premier
Alex Williams
Alex Williams
An Iraqi
priest has told Premier that efforts by Islamic State (IS) to
indoctrinate children means erasing the group's ideology from the Middle
East could take ten years.
Fr Daniel arrived in London
to deliver a petition on Wednesday which urges the British Government
not to ignore the plight of persecuted believers and other minorities in
the region, many of whom have fled extremism and conflict.
In
taking over areas in Iraq, including the sprawling city of Mosul in the
Nineveh Plains, IS forced primary and secondary school-age children to
undergo a radical school curriculum.
Fr Daniel, who now supports traumatised children, said: "They planted
something very deep in their [the children's] minds and it will take a
very, very long time to remove all of these ideas."
The
27-year-old from Erbil joined the anti-persecution charity Open Doors UK
in encouraging ministers to commit to helping refugees and internally
displaced people return home, as IS is gradually forced out.
Asserting that the Iraqi church is ready to engage in the rebuilding
and reconciliation efforts, Fr Daniel also said: "During the time of
displacement when they were staying in the [refugee] centres, those
people [believers] were taught and were healed from their trauma.
"Now, they have more resilience so they can deal better with these cases."
His
petition, signed by 750,000 in 143 countries, urges that the rights of
Christians and other minorities as citizens of Middle Eastern countries
be recognised, and that they have access to "dignified" living
conditions.
The document, which forms part of Open Doors' Hope for
the Middle East campaign, will be presented to peers and MPs in the
House of Parliament.
Click on the title of the post to listen to Premier's Alex Williams speaking with Fr Daniel.