Christians of Iraq

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Updated list of Opression and Murders of the Assyrians in Iraq Not reported by the International Press

---- Radical Muslims against pope: two Assyrian churches attacked in Mosul and Baghdad 25 September, 2006 Muslim militias have forced Christians to pin up posters condemning the words of Benedict XVI in Regensburg. But religious leaders, including al Sistani, have expressed their friendship with the Apostolic Nunciature. And the representative of the Iraqi Shiite leader would like to meet the pope. Baghdad (AsiaNews) – The start of the month of Ramadan in Iraq was marked by violence but also by significant openness by al Sistani towards the Vatican. Yesterday, two churches, one in Baghdad and another in Mosul, were struck. Recently, the country has seen an escalation of attacks against Christians, thought by some to be the reaction of radical Muslims to the speech of the pope in Regensburg. However, religious leaders, among them al Sistani, have shown solidarity and understanding towards the Vatican. Moreover, the representative of the highest religious exponent of Iraqi Shiites has expressed the desire to be able to visit the Pope. Yesterday morning at 11.15am local time, armed men attacked the Chaldean Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, firing at least 80 shots on the building. “Thank God there was no Mass at the time,” one member of the community told AsiaNews, “so no one was killed or injured, there was just some damage done to the eastern part of the building and a few broken windows.” The atmosphere in the city is very tense. Recently, Muslim militias threatened the Catholic bishop and priests that unless they publicly condemned the address of the pope at the University of Regensburg within 72 hours, Christians would be killed and churches burned down. In recent years, some churches, shrines and even the bishop’s house were the target of terrorist attacks. For fear of further attacks, the bishop had posters put up to say that “neither Iraqi Christians nor the pope want to destroy ties with Muslims”. Defying the prevailing atmosphere of terror, last night, Chaldean Catholics left their homes to participate in Vespers Mass in the very church that had been attacked. “Our faith is a challenge to violence. The militias fear us because our faith is stronger than their bullets,” a Christian told AsiaNews. Yesterday morning in Baghdad, two bombs went off outside the Assyrian Orthodox Church of St Mary in the central neighbourhood of Karrada. The attackers put a bomb under the parish priest’s car. The blast, that took place at 9.30am, drew many people, including some from the parish. Immediately afterwards another bomb went off close by, injuring many people and killing a watchman of the church. Some think these bombs targeted Christians in the wake of the controversy surrounding the pope’s speech in Regensburg. But in recent days, Orthodox communities distanced themselves from the words of the pope, putting up posters outside their churches expressing their disagreement with him. Some Catholic figures said the attack on St Mary’s Church was much more likely a vendetta based on ethnic-religious motives: the Assyrian Orthodox Patriarch recently visited communities in Kurdistan and probably the bombs were meant to be a threat by Sunni or Shiite militias against such ties with Kurds. The lecture of Benedict XVI in Regensburg was misunderstood by the media as being an attack on Islam. Although the pope explained the true meaning of his words several times over, bitter and threatening criticisms continue to come from many sectors of Islam. In Iraq, it is fundamentalist and political Muslim splinter groups that are reacting violently to the pope’s address. Recently, the Secretary of the Nunciature in Baghdad, Mgr Thomas Halim Abib, met religious representatives of Islam and offered them an Arabic translation of the words of the pope, so Muslim leaders would be able to understand the true meaning of what was said. Muslim religious leaders undertake the task of informing their communities. Mgr Thomas told AsiaNews that in these days, the official representative of the Grand Ayatollah al Sistani, the undisputed leader of Shiite Islam in Iraq, visited the Vatican Nunciature twice to express friendship and solidarity. The representative of al Sistani accepted the explanations rendered by the Nunciature and spread them among all Iraqi Shiite communities, expressing respect for the Holy See “that has always been close to the Iraqi people”. The representative of the grand ayatollah also said he wished to go to Rome to visit Pope Benedict XVI.

Who are the Christians of Iraq? Ealool = September two Assyrian churches attacked in Mosul and Baghdad Sept. 25, 06 Turkey invites Assyrian and Armenian dignitaries to meal that breaks daily Muslim fast. Sep. 25, 06 Dutch Lawmaker May Remove Assyrian Genocide Reference in Report on Turkey Sept. 25, 06 Assyrian Church Bombed in Baghdad; 1 Dead, 17 Injured Sept. 24, 06 Assyrian Police Officer Murdered in Mosul Sept. 24, 06 Assyrian-Swedish journalist investigates the arrest of the Assyrian-Georgian General Sept. 21, 06 Muslims react to the speech of Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 20, 06 Iraq: International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Sept. 19, 06 Fear Strikes Iraq's Christians Over Pope Words Sept. 19, 06 Assyrian Cultural Day Sept. 19, 06 When Iraqi Christians Vanish, Locals Pay the Price Sept. 18, 06 Dozens Dead in Kirkuk Bombings Sept. 17, 06 Book Exhibit in Baghdeda Iraq Sept. 17, 06 Second Assyrian Christian Killed in Retaliation for Pope's Remarks Sept. 17, 06 The Hellenic, Armenian and Assyrian Communities in the Late Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Sept. 16, 06 'I Felt God Was With Me,' Says Released Assyrian Priest' Sept. 15, 06 Two Assyrians Killed in Separate Terrorist Attacks Sept. 15, 06 Rosie Malek - Yonan Documentary, My Assyrian Nation on the Edge Sept. 14, 06 Two Assyrians Killed in Separate Terrorist Attacks Sept. 14, 06 Kirkuk: The potential spark for civil war Sept. 14, 06 Sabri Atman in Sweden Sept. 14, 06 Assyrian Candidate Gains Republican Endorsement Sept. 13, 06 Priest Abducted in Baghdad Was Threatened and Tortured Sept. 13, 06 Assyrians Accuse Kurdish Authorities of Discrimination Sept. 12, 06 Priest Kidnapped in Baghdad Released Sept. 12, 06 Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the Assyrian, Armenian genocide Sept. 10, 06 Rosie Malek - Younan; The Assyrian Woman of the Year Sept. 10, 06 Lebanese Bishops Chastise Hizbullah, Back Siniora Sept. 6, 06 A Feast Awaits At Annual Assyrian Festival Sept. 6, 06 Prominent Assyrian Christian Leaves Iraq. Says Work Situation 'Intolerable' Sept. 5, 06 Turkey's terror against Christians in Midyat Sept. 4, 06 Syria; Sanctuary for Iraq's Displaced Christians Sept. 3, 06 August = Tubbakh Assyrians honour the Lt General Sir Stanley Savige KBE CB DSO MC ED August 31,06 Assyrian archaeologist resigns amid threats by the fundamentalists August 31, 06 Assyrians: from Bebar Khan to Saddam Hussein (a new book) August 28, 06 Donny George of Iraq's State Board of Antiquity, Heritage Flees to Syria August 28, 06 A New Film by Lina Yakubova August 27, 06 PM Maliki urges tribal unity in Iraq August 27, 06 Lebanese Bishops Appeal for a Stop to the Christian Exodus August 24, 06 Iraqi Christians Caught in the Crossfire August 23, 06 Assyrian Universal Alliance, Australian Chapter Meeting in Canberra August 23, 06 Iraqi Christians on Edge After Priest's Kidnapping August 23, 06 The Secrets Of Mustafa Barzani In KGB Archives August 23, 06 Pope urges release of priest in Iraq August 20, 06 Heading Toward an (Inevitable) War in Kirkuk August 20, 06 TWO CHALDEAN PRIESTS KIDNAPPED IN BAGHDAD August 18, 06 Confiscation of the Assyrian villages by the Kurds August 18, 06 The Kurdish Democratic Experiment: an Assyrian Tragedy August 17, 06 Assyrians Experience Slow Cultural Revival In Southeastern Turkey August 17, 06 Lebanese Bishops Call for Single National Leadership August 16, 06 Lebanese Cardinal Concerned About Christian Exodus August 16, 06 In Turkey non Muslims are listed as Foreigners August 14, 06 Murdered Assyrians in Iraq in August August 14, 06 Why Can't A Christian Be More Like A Muslim? Revisited August 13, 06 Peter W. Galbraith's 'The End of Iraq' August 12, 06 Babylon the Great lives August 12, 06 We Don't Want a Proxy War in Lebanon:' Cardinal Sfeir August 10, 06 Go-ahead for dam that will drown history August 9, 06 750,000 Christians Caught in Middle East Crossfire August 8, 06 Arabist Indoctrination At Middlebury College August 8, 06 Middle-Eastern conference: from worship to ‘reunion’ August 8, 06 Hezbollah Uses Christian Villages As Shields in Missile Attacks August 7, 06 Family Pays Ransom in Iraqi Kidnapping August 7, 06 Johanns meets with Iraqi leaders to help rebuild agriculture August 6, 06 Half of all Christians have fled Iraq since 2003, says Baghdad bishop August 4, 06 Christian Persecution Groups Express Concerns for Mideast Believers August 3, 06 Assyrians and Australians will honour Captain Savige for his world war one help August 3, 06 Nuri Kino Wins Swedish Award of: good role model for the youth Aug 1, 06 July = Tammuz Let them Rape and Kill Christian Women, says Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament July 31, 06 Aramaic-English Bible Translation Draws Criticism July 27, 06 Iran bans Da Vinci Code book after 8 editions July 27, 06 Everyone has a Guardian Angel July 26, 06 Ancient Urartian inscription disappears in Iran July 26, 06 Alum to head Mooreland Hill July 24, 06 The End of Christianity in Iraq July 24, 06 Why Can't A Christian Be More Like A Muslim? July 22, 2006 Residents of the Dora are told to Evacuate their homes July 21, 2006 Iraqis watch with sadness July 21, 2006 Turkey Signals It's Prepared to Enter Iraq July 19, 06 Iraqi Christians Flee Fighting July 19, 06 IRAQ AND THE KURDS: THE BREWING BATTLE OVER KIRKUK July 19, 06 Minister who learnt to manage the impossible at Baghdad July 14, 06 The Endeavour Programme July 13, 06 Sackler Gallery cancels exhibition of Iraqi gold July 10, 06 Students onto a winning football score July 9, 06 Three years after invasion, Iraqis now living in San Diego County differ in views of war July 9, 06 Kurdish Militia, Iraqi Police Terrorizing Assyrians in North Iraq July 6, 06 Kurdish Regional Government Needs Lessons in Democracy July 5, 06 An open letter to His Holiness Mor Zakka Iwaz July 3, 06 Writing Competition 2006 July 3, 06 USCIRF Testifies to Killing, Harassment of Mid east Christians July 2, 06 ‘Seyfo’ Monument Design Competition July 2, 06 June = Khzeeran Text of Rosie Malek-Yonan's testimony before the House Committee on International Relations June 30, 06 UK Assyrians Honour British MP June 30, 06 The forgotten Assyrian Christians of Mesopotamia June 28, 06 The Assyrian Empire revisited in China June 30, 06 Rosie Malek Yonan will Testify about Genocide before a Congressional Committee June 29, 06 The Plight of the Assyrians of Iraq June 28, 06 Living in the Grave Yard June 28, 06 Yes! Ashur Yousif is Dead but he Speaks June 26, 06 More Threats Against Basrawi Christians June 25, 06 Kurds Block Assyrians, Shabaks From Police Force in North Iraq June 18, 06 Iraqi Catholics in U.S. See Continuing Challenges in Their Homeland June 18, 06 Assyrian University Students Beaten By Iraqi Police June 18, 06 Assyrian leaders meet with Laura Bush June 17, 06 Assyrians in the World War I Treaties: Paris, Sèvres, and Lausanne June 16, 06 Iraqi Christians In Saskatoon Canada Want Peace in Their Homeland June 14, 06 Priceless Assyrian Relics Used for Target Practice June 14, 06 Kurd's Plan to Change the Demographics of Northern Iraq in their Favour June 14, 06 Questions assyrians would like to ask Turkey June 14, 06 Iraq's Minority Communities Look Abroad for Asylum June 13, 06 Assyrians Demonstrate in Washington, D.C.  June 12, 06 Turkey turns the confiscated church into a pornographic movie theatre June 12, 06 Continuing Persecution Renews Calls for Assyrian Safe-Haven in Iraq June 9. 06 Assyrian Demonstrations in Washington D.C. June 8, 06 Safety Zone Could Be the Answer for Iraq's Endangered Peoples June 8, 06 Assyrian Christians Object to Exclusion in Iraq Homeland June 07, 06 Welsh Members of UK Parliament Recognize the Armenian and Assyrian Genocide June 6, 06 Violence against the Assyrians in Iraq updated  June 4, 06  New Book Release by Sargon Donabed June, 2, 06  The European MP letter to the Syrian Embassy June 1, 06 Asking for Equal rights is considered racist by the Kurdish Regional Government June 1, 06 Archives March April May January- February 06