Christianity in Iraq is 'Close to Extinction,' Those Left 'Face Martyrdom,' Faith Leader Warns

"Will a peaceful and innocent people be allowed to be persecuted and eliminated because of their faith?..." 

Church destroyed by ISIS, Baghdida, Iraq. (Photo: Bill Devlin)

By Leah Marie Ann Klett
  
Christianity in Iraq is “close to extinction” and those who remain may “face martyrdom,” yet some Christian leaders in Britain refuse to condemn the atrocities perpetrated by Muslim extremists for fear of being accused of Islamophobia, the Archbishop of Irbil has said.

During an address delivered in London, the Most Rev. Bashar Warda said Iraq's Christian population is down to just 250,000 — an 83% decrease in population since the United States’ invasion of Iraq, according to the BBC.

“Christianity in Iraq," he said, “one of the oldest churches, if not the oldest church in the world, is perilously close to extinction. Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom."

While the Islamic State terrorist group was driven from its last stronghold in Iraq earlier this year, religious structures and homes belonging to Christian families have been destroyed and thousands of families have not returned, he stressed.

"Our tormentors confiscated our present," he said, "while seeking to wipe out our history and destroy our future. In Iraq there is no redress for those who have lost properties, homes and businesses. Tens of thousands of Christians have nothing to show for their life's work, for generations of work, in places where their families have lived, maybe, for thousands of years."

The archbishop, who has been outspoken about the plight of Christians in his country, also said Britain's Christian leaders are so concerned with "political correctness" they refuse to speak out against the atrocities committed against Christians in Iraq at the hands of Muslim extremists.

"Will you continue to condone this never-ending, organized persecution against us?" he asked. "When the next wave of violence begins to hit us, will anyone on your campuses hold demonstrations and carry signs that say 'We are all Christians'?"

Warning Christians are “facing our end in the land of our ancestors,” Warda said, “the entire world faces a moment of truth.”

"Will a peaceful and innocent people be allowed to be persecuted and eliminated because of their faith? And, for the sake of not wanting to speak the truth to the persecutors, will the world be complicit in our elimination?"

The BBC notes that the outlook for Christians “remains bleak” in Iraq, as tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims persist and there are still IS fighters hiding out in parts of the country.

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Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. 

Trump Urged to Condemn China's Religious Freedom Abuses in Trade Talks

President Donald J. Trump is joined by US Trade Rep. Ambassador Robert
Lighthizer, Sec. of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Cabinet members and White House
 Sr. advisers, as he meets with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He Thursday, April 4, 2019,
in the Oval Office of the White House, following continued US–China trade talks.|
 Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

The Trump administration was strongly urged by a congressionally-mandated commission to bring up the continued persecution of Christians and other religious minorities with China’s top trade negotiator during this week’s trade talks in Washington.

The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which includes three evangelical leaders who’ve engaged informally with the Trump White House, called for administration officials to discuss China's systemic persecution of Christians, Uighur Muslims and others minorities with Vice Premier Liu He during his visit.

Liu's visit comes as the U.S. Department of Defense estimates that as many as 3 million Uighur Muslims have been sent to detention camps in the Xinjiang province of China, while countless Christians, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and other religious adherents continue to face arrest, imprisonment and the closing of their houses of worship.

“The communist Chinese government’s brutal campaign to ‘sinicize’ all religions is one of the worst abuses of religious freedom taking place today,” USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer, a veteran social conservative activist, said in a statement.

”The Trump administration believed that it was nearing a trade deal with China that would have opened up the Chinese market to U.S. companies. But after days of negotiation between Liu, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, no deal was reached.

Additionally, the U.S. increased tariffs on up to $200 billion of Chinese goods by 15 percent as China was accused of backtracking on months of negotiations when it submitted drastic edits to a draft trade agreement. Chinese officials blamed the U.S. for the deal not being reached and vowed to counter the U.S. tariffs.

USCIRF and other religious freedom advocates have long called for the U.S. government to include religious freedom concerns as part of the U.S.’ ongoing trade discussions with China and other countries called out for religious freedom violations.

At an event on Capitol Hill last week, Bauer said that trade negotiations with China should be more than just about “tariffs and jobs” but should also ensuring that the Chinese people are allowed to worship the way that they see fit.

“This is about the right of every man and woman, whether Muslim or Buddhist or Christian or Falun Gong, to worship as he or she sees fit,” Bauer argued in a statement Friday. “

 At a time when the lives and freedoms of millions of Chinese people are under attack by their own government, we must put religious freedom and human rights on the agenda, too.”
severe violations of religious freedom. 

In its 2019 annual report, USCIRF called for the Trump administration to use targeted sanctions against Chinese officials who either “perpetrated or tolerated” religious freedom violations.

USCIRF suggested the administration sanction the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang, Chen Quanguo. Quanguo is said to have been responsible for violations committed against Buddhists in Tibet, who are reportedly subject to intrusive surveillance and political indoctrination.

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