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Being Christian in Iraq

baghdad-44.jpg


I was recently reading an article from the Washington Post talking about the persecution of Christians in Iraq. Here's how it begins:

BAGHDAD—Nabil Comanny and his family endured the dead bodies left to decompose along the road in their southern Dora neighborhood.


They accepted the criminal gangs that roamed the area, searching for targets to kidnap.

And neither the utility failures nor the mountains of trash in the street could drive them away.

As Christians, the Comannys had learned to keep a low profile. They even stayed in their house after many Muslim neighbors fled the daily chaos when sectarian bloodshed between Shiite and Sunni militants broke out in 2006, making this one of Baghdad's most embattled districts.

But the hand-scrawled note at their door was the final straw. The message commanded the family to select one of these options:

- Convert to Islam.

- Pay a fee of nearly $300 monthly for "protection."

- Leave the area.

Failure to comply would result in death.

"We don't have weapons, and the government doesn't protect us. What else can we do?" said Comanny, a 37-year-old journalist whose family abandoned its modest home of 11 years.

Extreme Islamic militants increasingly are targeting Christians in Iraq, especially in the capital. As a result, Iraq's Christian community—long the minority in a largely Muslim country—continues to dwindle.

(Here's the whole article.)

Let's pray for the Christians there.

Posted by on October 26, 2007

Comments (1)

These Christians in Iraq really need our prayers, that's for sure! Often we forget. This country is in the news daily. We are really getting used to the images.. But do we pray? Time to take some time for it now! Thank you for reminding!

Posted by Arnoud van Dillewijn | October 31, 2007 10:13 AM

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