By Hawaii Catholic Herald
Fadi Youkhana
In June 2014, Daesh (Islamic State) fighters swiftly defeated the fleeing Iraqi Army to capture Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the capital of Nineveh province. Mass exodus and genocide against the non-Sunni population ensued. The once largest city in the world, for the first time in 2,000 years, lost its Christians.
Fadi Youkhana
In June 2014, Daesh (Islamic State) fighters swiftly defeated the fleeing Iraqi Army to capture Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the capital of Nineveh province. Mass exodus and genocide against the non-Sunni population ensued. The once largest city in the world, for the first time in 2,000 years, lost its Christians.
My family and I are from Mosul. Some of my fondest memories from
childhood were of passing the ancient Assyrian ruins on car rides to my
parish church of St. Paul, and listening to the homilies of Archbishop
Paulos Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul. I remember the
beautiful St. Paul mosaic that stood tall above the altar and the
fascinating stained-glass windows and paintings that filled the church.
Iraq recaptured Mozul last July and on December 24, a Christmas Mass
was celebrated in St. Paul Church for the first time since Daesh’s
brutal occupation. The mosaic, much like most of the church, was
destroyed. In other places around the city, monasteries, churches and
other Christian institutions were demolished, bulldozed or converted to
mosques. The historic Chaldean Catholic St. Georges Monastery was blown
up. Daesh went as far as to destroy graves behind the monastery. What
threat did the bones of the dead pose?
When Daesh took over the city, they painted the Arabic letter “n” on
Christian homes to indicate “Nasrani,” a slur used to label a follower
of Jesus of Nazareth. This mark, the modern day yellow Star of David,
indicated the three options that were given to Christians: convert to
Islam, remain and pay a tax, or face the sword. While the tax option was
propagandized by the extremists as a fair alternate, all Christians
knew it was synonymous to slavery. Thus, thousands of families chose to
flee rather than to convert. Individuals were stripped of their
belongings and were forced to flee on foot and abandon their possessions
as well as livelihoods.
Nineveh has been home to millions of devout Christians throughout the
years. Our native language, Aramaic, is the language that Jesus spoke.
It was on our land that Jonah defied God twice and where the people of
Nineveh repented and accepted God’s forgiveness. The province is home to
monasteries that date back to the fourth century. In the late 1980s to
2003, there were 1.4-2 million Christians in Iraq according to a census.
Estimates in 2016 reported fewer than 250,000 Christians remain.
Even though Daesh has been defeated in Iraq, the threat against
Christians and Christianity is far from over. Just last month, a
Christian doctor, his wife and mother were stabbed to death in Baghdad.
In Syria, Christians are targeted by extremist groups. In Egypt,
widespread attacks on Coptic churches and bombings of Masses are common.
Daesh is but one vehicle of the ideology trying to exterminate our
faith. Christians remain prosecuted and are unlikely to return to their
homes.
Christians of the Middle East are known for their resilience and
unwavering faith. No stronger evidence comes to mind than that of
Archbishop Rahho. After finishing a Stations of the Cross service in
Mosul 10 years ago, the archbishop was kidnapped. He reportedly was able
to call church officials while being held in the trunk of a car and
asked them not to pay his ransom because he believed the money would be
used for evil. His body was later recovered and his murder
internationally condemned.
We are often inspired by the stories of our saints and martyrs in the
early years of our faith. But let us not forget our brothers and
sisters who today are being prosecuted, murdered, raped and exiled from
their native land. Let us remember the lives that have been destroyed.
Let us draw strength from those who refused to denounce Christ in the
face of adversity. Let us do so not only by prayer, but by taking
advantage of our freedom. Let us remember Nineveh and its Christians.
Fadi Youkhana is a doctoral student in the field of epidemiology at
the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He was born in Mosul, Iraq, and has
been attending the Newman Center at the UH since fleeing the country in
2004.