Persecution of Christians is being ignored, says Hungarian official

By Catholic Register
Beth Griffin

Christians are the most persecuted religious group worldwide, but hypocrisy, political correctness and ignorance prevent the international community from implementing a comprehensive response to pervasive violence against them, said speakers at a U.N. event Sept. 27.

The participants in a high-level panel discussion said 80% of people killed because of their religious beliefs are Christian and the number of Christians hurt or displaced is on the rise.

Teodoro Lopez Locsin Jr., Philippines secretary of foreign affairs, said 4,100 Christians were killed for their beliefs in 50 countries in 2018 and an average of 250 Christians have been killed each month of 2019. He said the deaths are "a votive offering of the West to the oil-rich East."

"The next Holocaust will be of Christians," Locsin said, even though many of the world's greatest powers profess to be Christian or have a Christian heritage.

"In global politics, the fact that Christians are being persecuted is being ignored," said Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade. He told CNS that his government is "fighting against the perception that Christianophobia would be the last acceptable form of discrimination."

Szijjarto said it is regrettable that while Muslim leaders speak enthusiastically about the plight of their mistreated people, Christians seem to be shy about calling attention to the violence against Christians. He attributed this to religion being seen as a local issue and not a global one.

"The international community is absolutely not sensitive" to Christian persecution, and prefers to address issues of "religious minorities," he said.

"There is no generic religion and we can’t talk about religious freedom in a generic way," said Ernesto Araujo, Brazil's minister of foreign affairs.

"Some defend religious freedom as long as there is no religion involved. ... The world accepts Christianity as long as it is a set of social values," he said.

Speakers said the response to violence against Christians must include both political resolve and concrete actions.

Szijjarto said Hungary has been a Christian country for more than 1,000 years and feels a responsibility for the Christian community around the world. Since 2017, it has provided $40 million to help persecuted Christians in the Middle East. He said direct aid has been given to Catholic bishops eager to help Christians stay in their homes and encourage others to return from exile elsewhere.

"The bishops ask us not to invite people to settle in Europe because that contributes to fulfilling the goal of terrorist organizations to eliminate the Christian community," he said.

Hungarian funds have been used to rebuild 1,000 homes on the Ninevah Plain in Iraq and reconstruct 33 Christian churches in Lebanon, he said. Four schools are now being built in Iraq and Syria, and Hungary is covering the medical expenses of the three largest Christian hospitals in Syria.

Szijjarto said more than 50,000 Christians have either returned home or been able to stay in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Ethiopia because of the Hungarian aid.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said the return of displaced Christians to the Ninevah Plain "is a sign that evil does not have the last word. It is also a powerful witness of the importance of the Christian presence in the Middle East, where Christianity has its deepest historical roots and has been a fundamental source of peace, stability and pluralism for centuries."

Ambassador Ghady El Khoury of Lebanon said Christians now comprise 5% of the population of the Middle East, down from almost 20% in the last century.

Cardinal Parolin said more must be done to ensure the return of Christians and ensure the long-term prospects for peace in their homes. "While security is a first and essential priority, for them to recover a dignified way of life requires more," he said.

He called on the international community to prevent persecution, provide a coherent continuum of development assistance and keep the freedoms of religion and belief at the heart of its efforts.

"Standing up for freedom of religion or belief requires collaborative action. It is not an option, it’s fundamental," said Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, who is minister of state of the United Kingdom.

Ahmad, a Muslim whose children attend Catholic schools, said: "Faith is not something to be hidden away, but celebrated. I passionately believe that the strongest test of my own faith is when I stand up for the beliefs of others."

The panel discussion, "Rebuilding Lives, Rebuilding Communities: Ensuring a Future for Persecuted Christians" was held in conjunction with the high-level week of the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly.

It was co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the U.N. and the Mission of Brazil to the U.N.

The moderator was Ambassador Katalin Annamaria Bogyay of Hungary. Other speakers included Robert Destro, U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, and Eamon Gilmore, the European Union's special representative for human rights.

Bassora: batteri e inquinamento avvelenano la ‘Venezia del Medio oriente’

By Asia News

Un tempo conosciuta come la Venezia del Medio oriente, per i suoi canali e gli specchi d’acqua, e famosa per essere il “serbatoio” del Paese, oggi Bassora “è una delle città più inquinate dell’Iraq”. Ad affermarlo è l’arcivescovo caldeo mons. Alnaufali Habib Jajou, il quale conferma il gravissimo stato di crisi ambientale che attraversa la metropoli del sud del Paese, oggi celebre per i pozzi petroliferi e gli impianti estrattivi. 

“Quest’anno - racconta il prelato ad AsiaNews - solo metà della popolazione ha accesso all’acqua potabile. Oltre tre milioni e mezzo di persone [il totale della popolazione] vivono in condizioni durissime a causa dei fumi provenienti dai pozzi di petrolio che bruciano gas”. Un dottore, prosegue, “ha detto che ogni cittadino è colpito dall’inquinamento come un uomo che fuma un pacchetto di 20 sigarette al giorno, anche se non fuma”. Per questo “gli ospedali sono sovraffollati” a fronte di una “penuria di medicine”; una situazione di emergenza che “ha spinto alle dimissioni il ministro della Sanità non più tardi di due settimane fa”. 

Quelli che un tempo erano canali navigabili, oggi sono rivoli sudici delimitati da accumuli di immondizia dall’odore pestilenziale. E lo Shaṭṭ al-ʿArab, formato dalla confluenza dei due grandi fiumi che attraversano il Paese, il Tigri e l’Eufrate, che sfocia nel Golfo Persico è considerato il figlio malato del Paese. Le sue acque, un tempo persino potabili, oggi contengono secondo gli scienziati più batteri e inquinanti che pesci. 

Bassora è solo uno dei molti disastri ambientali che si stanno consumando nella regione mediorientale, spesso nell’indifferenza e nel fatalismo dei leader delle petro-monarchie del Golfo e dei suoi abitanti. La scorsa settimana si è svolta la 74ma Assemblea generale delle Nazioni Unite, dedicata proprio al tema ambientale; e, in questo contesto, si è rivelato marginale il contributo fornito dai rappresentanti dell’area.

Chukri al-Hassan, esperto di questioni ambientali originario della metropoli del sud dell’Iraq, spiega che “il riscaldamento climatico e le dighe in Iran (il fiume separa i due Paesi) hanno prosciugato i nostri corsi d’acqua. Dal Golfo è penetrato un enorme quantitativo di sale, mai visto prima nel nostro fiume, uccidendo la maggior parte delle colture circostanti e intossicando gli abitanti, spesso anche solo con un semplice lavaggio quotidiano”. 

Nella città si sono registrati circa 120mila ricoveri ospedalieri per problemi legati all’ambiente. Il livello del sale nelle acque è di 20 volte superiore al normale” e al suo interno proliferano “decine di virus e parassiti e batteri […] compreso quello del colera”. Al degrado delle acque si unisce la devastazione del 90% dei terreni agricoli come emerge da un rapporto recente di Human Rights Watch (Hrw). Questo ambiente insalubre ha innescato una fuga massiccia degli abitanti. 

“Ogni giorno - confessa l’arcivescovo di Bassora - vediamo aprire nuove cliniche, che in realtà sono luoghi commerciali, non centri medici in un contesto nel quale nessuno conosce i principi della sanità. Ad esempio, è raro che le persone siano in grado di leggere la data di scadenza di uno qualsiasi dei prodotti venduti in questi centri commerciali” mentre i pensatori islamici “insegnano alle persone a credere nel destino” più che alla scienza.

“Assistiamo - racconta il prelato - alla morte di alberi, specialmente di palme, a causa della salinità dell’acqua, perciò assistiamo a una migrazione della popolazione rurale di Bassora. La pesca è in declino, colpita anche da agenti chimici emessi da raffinerie e fabbriche”. Oggi, afferma con rammarico, la città è famosa “per la diffusione di cancro, allergie, avvelenamenti, dissenteria e rigonfiamenti sulla pelle a causa dei timori”. 

“Ho come l’impressione - rivela mons. Habib Jajou - che alcuni leader non siano al passo con la modernità, e continuano a distruggere l’ambiente. Un esempio: mesi fa è stato nominato un nuovo rettore all’università che, appena insediato, ha iniziato a sradicare piante dai giardini per impedire agli studenti [ragazzi e ragazze] si sedersi sotto, perché è proibito dall’islam”. “Le persone - conclude - in pochissimi casi sono consapevoli della questione, perché si trovano ad affrontare problemi ritenuti maggiori come la violenza delle strade, il traffico, la droga, la disoccupazione e la crisi degli alloggi”.

Despite $380M in US aid for religious minorities persecuted by ISIS, 1 million from Nineveh Plains remain displaced

By Washington Examiner
Jeffrey Cimmino

Two years after Vice President Mike Pence promised help to Iraq’s displaced religious minorities, a U.S. official said American aid has yielded mixed results, with many displaced individuals still unable to return to their hometowns.

The United States has given $380 million to rebuild northern Iraqi communities belonging to Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities, according to Hallam Ferguson, Senior Deputy Administrator in the Middle East Bureau for the U.S. Agency for International Development. But almost a million people from the Nineveh Plains, the historic homeland of the predominantly Christian Assyrian people, remain displaced in the wake of a genocide perpetrated by ISIS.

“The objective of the United States government is for people to return there and in that way, reverse the effects of genocide by ISIS,” Ferguson told members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom at a hearing Thursday. Despite the hundreds of millions of dollars devoted to northern Iraq, Ferguson said, there has been "only modest success in our efforts."

The main problem is a lack of security. Mostly Shia Muslim militia units, known as Popular Mobilization Forces, which emerged to fight ISIS, “continue to operate with impunity” in parts of the Nineveh Plains, said Ferguson.

These militias are formally part of the Iraqi government, but in practice, tend to operate independently, and many express loyalty to Iran. The United States has sanctioned Rayan al-Kildani and Waad Qado, who lead two of these militia units and have impeded the return of displaced individuals in the northern Iraqi towns of Batnaya and Bartella, due to human rights violations.

To counter the influence of these militias, some Christian communities have worked toward securing themselves. Reine Hanna, director of the Assyrian Policy Institute, an Assyrian advocacy group, cited as an example the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, a mostly Christian military organization.

“In the NPU, the United States now has a security partner in the defense of religious freedom,” Hanna told the commissioners.

Hanna pointed out that the rate of displaced individuals returning is higher in areas controlled by the Nineveh Plain Protection Units than in other towns. In Qaraqosh, for example, about 70% of those displaced have returned. Fewer than 40% of Christians previously living in Bartella have returned there, while fewer than 1% have returned to Batnaya.

The situation also remains challenging for the Yazidis, another religious minority community. The predominantly Yazidi town of Sinjar “remains highly insecure with significant development problems,” said Ferguson. Most Yazidis remain in refugee camps, he added.

Pari Ibrahim, executive director of the Free Yezidi Foundation, a Yazidi advocacy group, said Yazidis are seeking educational and economic opportunity, political representation, and justice for the perpetrators of genocide. But she said Yazidis remain skeptical that help is imminent.

“We always say if there is a chance that we’re on the agenda, we are probably the last point on the agenda to be discussed,” Ibrahim told the commissioners.

She added that no one trusts either the Iraqi or Kurdish governments, and said the Yazidis “are all looking forward to going and resettling elsewhere.”

Hanna echoed Ibrahim’s comments about religious minorities distrusting the government.

“There’s a complete lack of confidence in the authorities at both the federal and regional levels,” said Hanna.

Un gregge… impaurito

By Christian Media Center. Custodia Terrae Sanctae.

E’ come se il tempo si fosse fermato a quella notte tra il 6 e il 7 agosto 2014 quando oltre 120mila cristiani della piana di Ninive, in Iraq, furono costretti ad abbandonare le proprie case. La furia devastante dell’ ISIS… scappare l’unica soluzione.
Cinque anni dopo, Abu Mariam, originario della zona di Mosul, ci accoglie tra le mura di quella che solo esteriormente appare come una casa ad Amman, in Giordania.
Tra le mani, un cellulare... E’ tutto quello che resta di una vita intera.

Rakan Boulos Nejman, "Abu Mariam"
Rifugiato iracheno in Giordania "Ho perso casa mia in Iraq, la casa, dove ho vissuto sin dalla mia infanzia. L’ho lasciata una notte… non mi aspettavo quello che ci è accaduto."
Un luccichio negli occhi a raccontare un dolore che non accenna ad attenuarsi.
"Quando hanno liberato l’area da cui provengo, il mio cuore ha sussultato per il mio paese. Ho detto a mia moglie che volevo vedere la nostra casa e se le cose fossero vanno bene, ci saremmo riuniti la. Sono tornato dopo tre giorni di attesa. Quando sono arrivato, ho trovato casa mia… bruciata. Il lavoro di una vita sparito in 5 minuti. Non avevo più un posto... dovevo cercarne uno nuovo, sicuro, per la mia famiglia."
Ricordi indelebili e l’attesa di un futuro ancora tutto da costruire! E’ questo il doppio volto dei rifugiati: speranza e disperazione, felicità mista a rabbia per le ferite provocate da anni di guerra . 

Nada Nejam. Rifugiata irachena in Giordania "Da quando siamo arrivati qui, non sono felice. Da sempre voglio tornare in Iraq, a casa mia, dalla mia famiglia, ma il futuro delle mie bambine è più importante. So bene che le condizioni nel paese non sono positive: non c’è acqua, elettricità e ci si trovano ancora miliziani qua e la. Non voglio che le mie figlie vivano quello che ho vissuto io: 8 anni di guerra con l’ Iran, La guerra con il Kuwait , l’embargo e la caduta. Secondo i dati dell’agenzia ONU per i diritti umani, sono circa 70.000 i rifugiati iracheni registrati in Giordania. Senza permesso di lavoro, di istruzione per i figli; l’unico sostegno alle famiglie cristiane giunge dalla chiesa… anni in attesa di quel piccolo miracolo: un visto per una vita nuova.
"Speriamo di avere un destino migliore. La cosa più importante è il futuro e la sicurezza per le mie figlie. Il dolore delle giovani Yazidi… è difficile se ci penso. Per questo voglio andare in un posto sicuro. Siamo scappati senza nulla, solo con i documenti – raccontano i due coniugi.
Quel poco che abbiamo lo doneremo a chi ne ha bisogno quando lasceremo la Giordania. Di materiale si vede hanno ben poco, ma nel cuore la forza nell’amore e nella fede."

Rakan Boulos Nejman, "Abu Mariam"
Rifugiato iracheno in Giordania "Non ho perso fede in Dio. Dio è sempre con noi. Ho una fede forte e non ho paura… la vita continua."

Only Anglican priest in Iraq says a secular government would improve life for Christians

By Premier
Cara Bentley

Iraq's first ordained Anglican vicar tells Premier he never doubts that God is good because evil is done "through what our hands do".

There are nearly 20,000 ordained ministers in the Church of England; in Iraq there is just one.

That one Anglican vicar is Rev Faez Jirjees, who, aged 53, is the parish priest at St George's Church in Baghdad where Canon Andrew White used to work.

Christians make up about one per cent of the population in Iraq but many of them fled when Islamic State (IS) were at their most brutal.

Despite being bombed several times, St George's Church in the capital has, for a long time, bucked the trend by being a hub for interfaith relations, providing healthcare to Christians, as well as Shia and Sunni Muslims through its clinic, dentist's, pharmacy and laboratories.

The church also hosts a nursery, primary school and a 'hope centre' that helps train young people with vocational skills for jobs.

Rev Jirjees' parents dedicated him to become a priest as a child and he served in the Anglican church close to his house as a boy.

He explained that part of his calling to ministry was meeting Rt Rev Michael Lewis, Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf several times, who he found extremely kind towards others.

However, being a church leader was something he forgot about for a few decades.

"I did the normal college and education and I started working and got married and I forgot about being a priest but I went back to this field when I was 40 years old."

On a trip to the UK, Rev Jirjees, the first Iraqi to be ordained by the Anglican church, told Premier what the hardest things about being a Christin in Iraq were.

"Lack of trust," he replied.

"First of all, a lack of trust because of what happened with ISIS and Christians cannot go back to their homeland because they are afraid that the same thing would happen again.

"Second, there's a lack of trust in the government because Christians are sure that the government is not doing anything and are not introducing any kind of services. These two reasons are good enough to mean Christians start leaving the country."

He explained through a translator that since 2003 no government has been able to hold together the different religions and cultures of the country peacefully.

"My hope is that religion and politics...that we make a separation between these two and the country becomes a secular country with a secular government - that will motivate Christians to live in that country."

"I believe a secular government could look at everyone equally and they will not be looking at everyone - whether he is from this religion or another religion."

When asked if he ever doubts that God is good, he replied: "Never, the opposite - that brings us closer to God.

"Because God is always good and all these evil things do not come through God - it always comes through what our hands do."

US provides over $6 million to displaced minorities in Iraq

By Kurdistan 24
Hiwa Shilani
September 23, 2019

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Saturday new financial support of $6.8 million for displaced minorities in Iraq who have been the victims of the Islamic State.

The announcement was made by Vice President Mike Pence on Friday, and it was confirmed by the director of USAID, Mark Green, on Saturday. 

According to Pence, the funding is "to support ethnic and religious minorities displaced by the genocide perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)," according to a statement from USAID.

USAID also explained that the award will be administered through Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and The Solidarity Fund Poland.

The new steps follow on Pence’s complaint last year that USAID was too slow and too bureaucratic in delivering assistance to those who needed it—a problem that would be alleviated by working with private charities, rather than UN agencies.

Pence’s recommendations are now being followed. The new aid aims to provide immediate household necessities to affected families and facilitate their return to their homes. It is to be implemented through CRS, which is in direct contact with the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil – Kurdistan Region.

An additional $528,500 is to be provided through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between USAID and the government of Poland to assist displaced people living inside the camps and within host communities in northern Iraq.

The assistance will include providing health-care to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) through "funding two stationary clinics and one mobile medical team."

The award comes within the framework of the Trump administration’s emphasis on promoting international religious freedom, which includes a policy of protecting religious minorities in Iraq.

USAID is an independent agency of the US government, and it is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 billion, it is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all US foreign assistance.

So far, the US has provided some $380 million to support persecuted minorities in northern Iraq.

Since December 2017, when Baghdad announced the military defeat of the so-called Islamic State, reconstruction efforts have stalled. A large percentage of those who fled the fighting, including many members of Iraq’s minority communities, remain displaced in the Kurdistan Region, elsewhere in Iraq, or abroad.

A lack of security remains the biggest obstacle to the return of displaced Iraqis, as Delovan Barwari, US representative of the Barzani Charity Foundation, explained to Kurdistan 24. The Yezidis’ area of Sinjar is not safe for them, and the Nineveh Plains is not safe for Christians, many of whom come from that area.

Sinjar is under the sway of “the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) and elements of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) fighters and Yezidi militias that are supported by them,” Barwari stated.

And “the Christian situation in the Nineveh Plains is not much better than Sinjar,” he said. “Two rogue militias are responsible for the insecurity in the Nineveh Plains:” the Liwa al-Shabak and the Katai’ib Babiliyun.

In addition to the Iranian-backed militias that have established a presence in northern Iraq, the re-emergence of the Islamic State, particularly in the disputed territories, represents another threat. Peshmerga commanders have warned that the security vacuum between Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in some places reaches up to 20 kilometers, with wooded areas and hills that provide cover for terrorist movements in the region.

Indeed, a recent report from the Pentagon’s Inspector General’s office described precisely that problem.

Speaking to Kurdistan 24, Amb. Sam Brownback, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, noted that the US, as well as the Polish and Hungarian governments, along with private sector groups, have contributed significant funds for reconstruction in northern Iraq.

However, Brownback identified the lack of security as a major problem, as he suggested that reconstruction efforts “won’t be sustainable in the long term or grow, until the security issue is dealt with.”

Iraq. Restaurato «Sidra», il manoscritto in aramaico sfuggito alla follia del Daesh

By Avvenire

Luca Geronico
20 settembre 2019

Un sopravvissuto al genocidio del Daesh che può finalmente tornare a Qaraqosh, nel cuore della Piana di Ninive, culla del cristianesimo iracheno.
“Sidra”, manoscritto della Chiesa siro-cattolica databile tra il XIV e il XV secolo, è stato presentato ieri al Salone del Restauro di Ferrara. L’antichissimo libro liturgico – una sorta di guida per i riti da Pasqua fino a settembre – era l’ospite d’onore al Salone del Restauro conclusosi ieri a Ferrara. Un testo dall’inestimabile valore storico-documentale, ma anche simbolo della rinascita culturale di una comunità. E il suo restauro è pure un modello di cooperazione internazionale dedicata ai beni culturali.

Quando, nell’agosto del 2014, l’arrivo dei miliziani del Daesh era imminente, alcuni sacerdoti nascosero in un sottoscala della canonica di al-Tahira, la cattedrale dell’Immacolata concezione di Qaraqosh, un centinaio di antichi volumi sacri. Nei giorni seguenti la chiesa sarebbe stata devastata, gli altari spogliati dal marmo e l’adiacente chiostro trasformato in un poligono di tiro per i cecchini. Poi 25 mesi di barbarie, cessati solo nell’ottobre del 2016 con la riconquista militare dell’antica cittadella cristiana.

Fu in una delle primissime ricognizioni nella città liberata, che si riaprì il sottoscala per portare al sicuro a Erbil l’antico manoscritto. Abbandonato assieme ad altri volumi e oggetti preziosi in una libreria di fortuna nella sede provvisoria di Erbil dell’arcivescovado siro-cattolico, fu notato nel gennaio del ’17 dalla giornalista Laura Aprati: «Era dimenticato nel caos, ma quando me lo mostrarono mi colpirono i colori intatti delle miniature e degli inchiostri», ricorda.

Pochi mesi dopo fu l’allora arcivescovo di Mosul, monsignor Yohanna Butros Mouché, a consegnarlo nelle mani dei volontari di Focsiv presenti a Erbil. Serviva un “corridoio culturale” che fu aperto grazie all’interessamento del ministro per i beni culturali Dario Franceschini (da poche settimane tornato allo stesso incarico) e di Verderame progetto cultura.

Il libro venne così consegnato all’Icrcpal, l’Istituto centrale per il restauro e la conservazione del patrimonio archivistico e librario di Roma. Poi due anni di restauro, eseguito gratuitamente, delle 116 pagine scritte in aramaico con caratteri siriaci e custodite da una copertina di legno e cuoio. La condizione dei pigmenti delle miniature e degli inchiostri ha reso necessario un intervento di restauro ad alta tecnologia diretto da Lucilla Nuccetelli.

La rinascita di Sidra è un esito imprevisto della campagna di Focsiv-Avvenire per il Kurdistan iracheno avviata nel 2014: «“Non lasciamoli soli” è anche cooperazione culturale e valorizzazione delle identità e delle fedi. Speriamo che presto tanti possano andare a Qaraqosh per conoscere direttamente patrimoni culturali fondamentali dell’umanità», afferma il presidente di Focsiv Gianfranco Cattai.

Baghdadhope sarà in pausa fino al 23 settembre 2019.
Arrivederci.  

Foto by Ryan McGuire

Iraq: Christian library destroyed by IS welcomes visitors again

By Indipendent Catholic News

The residents of Qaraqosh, Iraq, can borrow books again from the reopened Christian library which was burnt and partially destroyed during the occupation of the town by Islamic State/Daesh.
Islamic State's invasion of the region forcefully displaced tens of thousands of Christian families. IS militants intentionally destroyed the villages and homes of thousands of Christians, as well as burning their churches and libraries.

When people returned to their hometown after its liberation, they found most of the library books burnt or stolen. First, with the help of church youth volunteers, dust and ashes were cleaned off the surviving books. People were eager to bring life back to the library and create a cultural and educational hub there.

Under the supervision of Fr Duraid of the Syriac Catholic Church in Qaraqosh and with the financial support of Open Doors' local partner organisation, the reconstruction of the library was completed within two months and it opened its doors to visitors again. Fr Duraid said: "It rose from the black ruins and demolition debris to a cultural centre. We dream that it will be a space where intellectuals, students, authors, poets and other readers from our village can meet or do research."

The library is part of the Christian centre for social and cultural activities in Qaraqosh. Seminars and art exhibitions are held at the centre, as well as Christian education and other church-related activities. The library has been named in honour of Fr Louis Qasab, widely known as a highly educated and loved priest from Qaraqosh.

According to a member of the church committee, Labib al Katib, the restored library will help to educate the younger generation: "I believe the library is very important for motivating people to read and become better educated. Despite huge destruction that still exists around us, people have already started to enquire about this library for their scientific research or studies. We worked hard to renovate it, to turn it into a centre where educated youth, authors, readers and students will get together."

The modern, spacious design of the library has a big and comfortable reading hall. The books' categories include old manuscripts, religion, science, fiction, politics and children's literature, and there are Arabic, English, French and German sections - around 650 books in total.

"We still lack books on philosophy, psychology and religion, as well as modern literature, novels and popular books," Fr Duraid said. "We also need dictionaries and a bigger diversity of French and English books. Especially the latter, since we have a few families who came back from Europe to Qaraqosh after its liberation and their children got used to reading books written in English."

The next stage is to have access to the internet and digitalise the entire collection as well as to get online PDF books. The improved facilities will include computers and printers. The staff is planning to visit schools, promote the library and encourage teachers to hold reading competitions in order to motivate children and students to read more and make a full use of the library.

The town of Qaraqosh has the largest Christian population in the Nineveh Plains, Northern Iraq. According to local churches, over 5,100 Christian families have returned there since the restoration of the homes began.

Iraq is number 13 on the Open Doors' World Watch List, a ranking of 50 countries where it is most difficult to leave as a Christian.

Islamic extremism is still a problem in Iraq. Although the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) have lost territory in Iraq, their ideology remains. Many of the militants have simply blended back into the general population.

Many families who were forced to flee their homes by IS have been able to return to the Nineveh Plain and have begun to rebuild their lives and communities.

“Coprifuoco per l’Ashura” imposto da milizie sciite nella Piana di Ninive, dove rimane flebile il “ritorno” dei cristiani

By Fides - Ankawa.com

In occasione dell’Ashura. festività islamica celebrata soprattutto nell’islam sciita, i miliziani sciiti di Hashd al-Shaabi (Forze di mobilitazione popolare) hanno imposto il coprifuoco nella Piana di Ninive e nel distretto di Tal Afar. La disposizione – come riportato da ankawa.com - termina alla fine di oggi, martedì 10 settembre – giorno in cui quest’anno cade la festa dell’Ashura – ed è stata giustificata come misura preventiva per evitare attacchi e attentati contro le processioni con cui gli sciiti commemorano ogni anno il massacro dell'Imam al-Husayn ibn Ali (nipote di Mohammad) e di 72 suoi seguaci, perpetrato nella città dii Karbala ad opera delle truppe del califfo omayyade Yazid I.
Il coprifuoco imposto anche in ampie zone della Piana di Ninive dalle milizie sciite per la festa dell’Ashura conferma indirettamente il peso esercitato nell’area da quei gruppi paramilitari, prevalentemente sciiti, considerati vicini all’Iran, che rivendicano il ruolo non secondario avuto nella lotta contro lo Stato Islamico e nella liberazione di Mosul dal regime jihadista che lì aveva posto la sua base in Iraq dal 2014 al 2017.
Tra luglio e agosto, come riferito dall’Agenzia Fides (vedi Fides 7/8/2019), si era registrato un insidioso braccio di ferro tra l’esercito iracheno e i miliziani di Hashd al-Shaabi. Le tensioni erano emerse dopo che l’esercito iracheno aveva provato a prendere il controllo effettivo di tutti i check-point dell’area, ancora controllati in buona parte dai miliziani delle Forze di mobilitazione popolare.
La vicenda del “coprifuoco per l’Ashura” conferma che la Piana di Ninive continua a rappresentare un’area instabile, soprattutto dal punto di vista della gestione sicurezza. Anche questo fattore complica l’auspicato rientro nell’area delle decine di migliaia di cristiani che nella notte tra il 6 e il 7 agosto 2014 furono costretti a abbandonare i propri villaggi nella Piana di Ninive, davanti all’avanzare dei miliziani jihadisti di Daesh. Di recente, anche il politico cristiano Yunadam Kanna, esponente di spicco del Movimento democratico assiro Al-Rafidain (forza politica legata a settori cristiani assiri) ha ribadito che la percentuale di sfollati cristiani ritornati alle proprie case, in alcuni dei villaggi villaggi della Piana di Ninive, non supera la soglia dell'1 per cento. 

The Middle East’s Armenians in Retreat

By Syndication Bureau
Neil Hauer

The history of the Middle East has been one of ethnic and cultural diversity. As the birthplace of civilization in the Fertile Crescent, and then of the three Abrahamic religions, it has naturally seen the ebb and flow of a vast number of distinct peoples and communities. Yet these days, that legacy’s continued status appears more in jeopardy than ever. With decades of war, instability and religious extremism worsening conditions, another of the region’s ancient communities is increasingly flowing outwards: the Armenians.

Armenians have been long present in the Levant and elsewhere in the region. With a rich history of mercantilism, small-scale migrations from their mountainous homeland in eastern Anatolia established the first communities in the region long ago. Most contemporary Middle Eastern Armenians, however, arrived as a result of the 1915 Armenian genocide that saw Ottoman troops disperse them from their territories into the rest of the empire and beyond.

The communities established a century ago have since been whittled down by a process that has drastically accelerated in the past 10 years and even more so in the last 12 months. The long-term survival of Armenians as a distinct community across the region is more in question now than at any time before.

Of the three largest communities, the most severely reduced is the one in Syria. Home to perhaps 80,000 Armenians before the war, the Syrian Armenians had the distinct misfortune of being concentrated in Aleppo, which suffered massively as the center of a four-year struggle between government and opposition forces. Even more shocking was the 2014 sacking of Kesab, an exclusively Armenian village in the northwest of the country. Armenians across the world were transfixed in horror as anti-regime jihadists ransacked the town. Their homes destroyed, more than 20,000 Syrian Armenians repatriated to Armenia with the help of that country’s government, while more went elsewhere. Some accounts place the number of Armenians remaining in the country to be as low as 15,000.

Iran and Lebanon, the other two centers, have each shed many of their own Armenians in the past few years. Lebanon’s Armenian population, once perhaps a quarter of a million strong, saw its share of emigration during the 1975-1990 civil war there. More have left recently due to more mundane reasons: economic stagnation and unemployment. Those same factors have also played a key role in outflows from Iran, whose Armenian population dates back to a 17th century resettlement program by the then-shah.

While these two countries have seen severe economic difficulties, the homeland has become much more attractive. The “Velvet Revolution,” as commentators have dubbed the peaceful uprising that toppled the Republic of Armenia’s authoritarian government last spring, has delivered an air of hope to the country. While the diaspora once viewed it dourly, this perception has been turned on its head, with immigration numbers (most of them ethnic Armenians) reaching their highest point in over a decade. Exact statistics are hard to come by, but repatriation organizations active in the republic note that the largest increase has been from Lebanon and Iran. Should successful economic and political reforms follow, further Armenian migration from these two countries would almost certainly ensue.

Another region-wide trend has played a major role: Christian persecution. Across the Middle East, Christian communities have suffered killings and other attacks with increasing regularity. Perhaps the two most severely affected have been Iraq, where anti-Christian violence since 2003 peaked with the rise of ISIS, and Egypt, whose Coptic Christians have suffered immensely. Both countries are also host to Armenian communities, the vast majority of whom, however, have since fled. Even in Israel, home to a few thousand Armenians, notably in Jerusalem’s 2,000-year old Armenian quarter, discrimination against the community has occurred on a sustained, if much less violent, level.

Mass Grave from ISIS Massacres Uncovered in Assyrian Town of Bakhdida, Iraq

By Assyrian Policy Institute

A mass grave containing seven sets of adult remains has been discovered in Al-Qiyama cemetery located in the Assyrian town of Bakhdida (Qaraqosh) in the Nineveh Plain, Iraq. The dead are believed to have been Christian Assyrian victims of ISIS massacres in 2014.

The existence of the mass grave site was first reported on September 7, 2019 by Ezidi24, but its existence has been known to locals since at least March 2017. In an interview with the Assyrian Policy Institute by phone on September 8, 2019, journalist Jameel Al-Jameel, who initially documented the site on March 25, 2017, explained that the human remains were discovered when local returnees visited the cemetery post-liberation from ISIS and noticed the stench.

The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of "extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, not having died in combat or armed confrontations."

Located on the east side of the cemetery, the grave site was exhumed in March 2017 by local volunteers. The site includes both male and female remains who were later identified by family members by their clothing and jewelry, including cross necklaces. The bodies were wrapped in blankets. Some of the remains recovered bear bullet holes, suggesting that the people in the grave were executed. See additional photos of the exhumation here.

A local priest conducted burial services in a private ceremony and the remains were later reburied so as to preserve evidence for any future investigations.

Prior to the rise of ISIS, the estimated population of Bakhdida was 55,000. During the time of the ISIS advance, security in the Nineveh Plain was controlled by KRG Peshmerga forces, however, the Peshmerga preemptively withdrew from their posts without notifying local populations. While most inhabitants of the Nineveh Plain were able to escape, it is estimated that at least 250 Christian Assyrians were either captured or unable to flee, mostly the elderly or persons with physical disabilities. Some were later released or escaped from captivity, but others remained missing and were presumed dead.

The site in Bakhdida contains human remains consistent with its designation as a mass grave site and warrants investigation. Authorities should take all possible measures to prevent further disturbance to this site and make all efforts to confirm the identity of the dead with DNA testing and provide dignified reburials.

Supported by a special United Nations investigations team, Iraq began working to exhume remains from mass graves believed to contain Yazidi genocide victims in Sinjar earlier this year with the aim of collecting forensic evidence. Similar steps should be taken in Bakhdida.

Hate Speech Wins in Iraq

By International Christian Concern
Claire Evans
September 5, 2019

Iraq’s Christians have learned the importance of caring about words. In a country torn by decades of violence, a few brief words can quickly differentiate friend from foe. The words of religious authorities carry even more weight, guiding others along a path of peace or conflict. When Iraq’s Grand Mufti — the highest Sunni Islamic leader in the country — speaks, people listen.

Last year, Iraq’s government officially declared Christmas a public holiday. It was an attempt at promoting inclusiveness, as Christians had just suffered yet another genocide at the hands of Islamic extremists. The Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Sumaidaie, promptly issued a declaration prohibiting Muslims from joining in the so-called Christian holiday of New Years. He also warned Muslims not to offer congratulations to each other on Christian holidays.

This declaration was instantly condemned across Iraq by many government and religious leaders, regardless of party or religious affiliation. But then the head of the Shia Endowment, Ala’a Abd al- Saheb, made similar comments. He warned that because Christians allow men and women to mix in the same room, Muslims cannot attend any Christian events.

Alarmed, some Christian church leaders approached leading executive office government officials. They were concerned that these kinds of comments encouraged Muslims to disassociate with Christians, and that this practice reinforces the belief that Christians are second-class citizens.

The executive office filed a petition with the court. However, last month, the petition was rejected.

“The court has decided to dismiss the case which is related to Mahdi al-Sumaidaie because of a lack of evidence. (This) decision has been verified. Regarding Ala’a Abd al-Saheb, he came to court without any formal call and that is why he is being released,” said the official judicial decision.

On the one hand, Christians were amazed that the court even considered the case. Law is usually absent in Iraq, and those who express religious intolerance are tolerated. That the court would even consider this type of case was considered a positive outcome. Nevertheless, there was great disappointment in the court’s decision.

“I think the court believes that the head of Shia Endowments has the authority to say, ‘This is Halal (lawful)’ and this is ‘Haram (unlawful).’ He didn’t issue a document saying that celebration is prohibited; it is only on media. The mufti in Islam can say whatever he thinks, or whatever he wanted,” explained one local Christian observer.

Another believer expressed even stronger disappointment in the process, “[Most of] the Muslims were against the hate speech before Christians. My expectation is that both of them (the defendants) didn’t even attend the court!”

“The evidence is recorded on YouTube! But that the court should say that they don’t believe it is a reason for condemnation,” another Christian commented.

The process was a rare opportunity for Iraq’s judicial system to enforce constitutional provisions that protect Christians from this kind of hate speech. Instead, it was a missed opportunity. But Iraq’s Christians have become used to this kind of disappointment.

“These days, people are better than before,” said one Christian named Aaron. “I remember after 2003, when people had much more commitment to Imams. Whenever there was a fatwa, they didn’t even respond when we greet them.”

Still, as a father of three kids, he is concerned about this kind of speech. “I am living in a popular area where people are simple and follow Islamic leaders without even thinking of it. Regardless of whether the speech is right or wrong, definitely hate speech leads to problems and tension.”

YouTube, and other social media platforms, are filled with examples. “Most of the problems are happening on social media. Whenever there is hate speech, Facebook pages use that to gain likes, comments, and shares. That increases the page’s rank!” Aaron further explained.

Even so, there is hope. As Aaron stated, this is not 2003. Many Muslims are frustrated with how religious intolerance led to ISIS ruining their country. Even though the court ultimately sided with the clerics distributing hate speech, that does not mean the population is fully supportive.

“You can see on the comments that Muslims are divided into two groups. One is cursing Christians, while the other are mentioning the great memories they have with their Christian friends or neighbors,” concluded Aaron.

Mosul Archbishop Welcomes Hungary’s Aid to School Construction in Iraqi Kurdistan

By Hungary Today

Construction of a school has started in Iraqi Kurdistan, financed by the Hungarian state, Nikodemes Dawood Sharaf, Syrian orthodox archbishop of Mosul, told public broadcaster M1 on Thursday.

The archbishop welcomed the construction saying that “if you want to change society you need to start with schools”.

Religious leaders have an obligation to keep Christians in their homeland, the archbishop said. People need to be encouraged to stay because “it is an important message for all Christians”, he said.

According to the archbishop, Iraq now has a Christian community of 300,000 as opposed to 1.6 million in 2003.

The archbishop spoke highly of Hungary as the only country which sends direct aid to church organisations in the region.

Una chiesa a forma di nave a Mosul: la "Chiesa Nave Titanic"

By Baghdadhope*

Foto Ishtar TV

Il sito Ankawa.com riporta le parole del dottor Ibrahim Al 'Allaf secondo il quale la chiesa di Mosul nelle foto sarebbe comunemente conosciuta e chiamata dagli abitanti della città la "Chiesa Nave Titanic". 
Nel suo post lo storico fa notare come nè il governo locale nè quello centrale siano stati in grado in 16 anni di terminarne i lavori di ricostruzione e, forse perchè ricorda nella forma una nave, o forse perchè la mancata fine della costruzione è stata un disastro come lo fu nel 1912 la fine della nave contro l'iceberg che l'affondò, la chiesa, in realtà quella caldea dello Spirito Santo, si è guadagnata il nomignolo.

La posa della prima pietra della chiesa, una delle costruzione di culto cristiano più recenti a Mosul, avvenne nel 1997 ad opera dell'allora patriarca caldeo Mar Raphael Bedaweed ed alla presenza dell'allora nunzio apostolico Mons. Giuseppe Lazzarotto e dell'allora vescovo caldeo di Mosul Mons. George Garmou. L'edificio di culto fu però consacrato solo nel 2005 dall'allora vescovo caldeo Mons. Faraj P. Rahho. Progettato dall'architetto cristiano Nashwan Abulhad Qurayu può contenere 1500 fedeli, ha l'altare maggiore posto al di sotto della grande cupola centrale alla quale sono vicine altre tre cupole più piccole che rappresentano il Padre, il Figlio e lo Spirito Santo.
Oltre che per le dimensioni e l'originale architettura la chiesa dello Spirito Santo è però purtroppo anche tristemente nota. Fu in quella chiesa, infatti che nel 2007 Padre Ragheed Ghanni celebrò l'ultima messa prima di essere ucciso a sangue freddo insieme a tre suddiaconi come fu lì l'ultima messa di Mons. Rahho prima di essere rapito nel 2008 per essere ritrovato cadavere due settimane dopo.

  

Foto Ankawa.com

Foto Ankawa.com

Christians of Iraq, Where to?

By Chaldean Patriarchate

Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako

Worrisome Decline

Christians represent an essential component of Iraq. From the dawn of Christianity until the fall of the regime in 2003, they defended the values ​​of citizenship and human fraternity; formed an effective model for that; and preserved their towns, Churches and Monasteries. They were attacked by terrorists, abducted, killed and their Churches were blown away after 2003, as happened in the Syriac Catholic Church of Our Lady of Deliverance in 2010.

In 2014, ISIS occupied Mosul and the Nineveh Plain towns, where Christians were driven away from their homes and their burned Churches were dated back to the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th Centuries. These Churches reflected a deep-rooted and prosperous Christian presence in this region. Today, despite the liberation of their areas, Christians have not received any support from the Iraqi Government for the reconstruction of their homes and rehabilitation of infrastructure. Moreover, the conflict has been intensified on their land to change its demography, causing escalation of their worries and fears.

What is Going on?

Currently, Iraqi Christians represented by 14 Churches, of which the Chaldean Catholic Church is the largest and most important. Christians have formed political parties and organizations that have done nothing useful to them. The population of Iraqi Christians has been decreased dramatically after the fall of the regime in 2003, as a result of the deterioration of the security situation; the emergence of religious extremism such as al-Qaeda; the start of a series of threats, abductions and killings even among clerics. Also, the domination of corruption, bribes and sectarianism within state institutions, the exclusion of national competencies, and the emergence of weak Governments that fail to enforce the law and the prestige of the state. Subsequently, the role of Christians were marginalized, and unfair laws were endorsed against them. However, the peak of injustice was the occupation of Mosul and the towns of Nineveh Plain by ISIS. As a result of which, was displacement of Christians, acquisition of their properties, loss of confidence, shortage of employability that even the ministerial order for compensatory jobs was not carried out, as well as emigration in order to ensure good education for their children and a better future. It is estimated that about half a million Christians remained in Iraq so far, out of a 1.5 million before 2003.

Worries and Hope

Government officials, as well as Muslim religious authorities and political parties, should take Christians’ fears and concerns seriously, reassure and encourage them to stay in their land and continue living with their citizens confidently and peacefully aiming for fruitful cooperation. 

1. The concern of Christians is to lift unfairness and suffering, to achieve law and equality for them and for all citizens; and to restore their confidence, trust as well as the national, social and cultural role. Hence, they will be able to contribute with others to raise awareness among Iraqis about the values ​​of citizenship, human rights, tolerance and respect, and consolidation of harmonious coexistence, to believe that there is a possibility to have a safe and better future for them and for their children on this earth.
2. To achieve this, there should be a vision of the future national state, based on democracy, law, equality and respect for diversity to prevail peace and prosperity throughout Iraq.
3. In the meantime, Iraqi politicians are required to rise up to the level of responsibility, in maintaining the achievements that have been made so far. In particular, to avoid slipping into a “proxy” war, by facing the current crisis between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America. Such war, if happens “God forbid”, will cost the entire region more casualties, destruction, divisions, and would definitely drive people to emigrate as refugees.

I therefore, call on all Iraqis to open a courageous political dialogue, for developing a clear and agreed upon strategy by all political parties that would be considered as a “National Covenant”. Such document, if implemented, will help Iraqis to get out of the successive crises and devastation.

Iraqis must trust themselves, their abilities and appreciate the value of their unity, through which they will be able to challenge the painful reality, since unity, action and hope will enable them to accomplish great and lasting things for their country and their citizens.