The Chaldean patriarch of Baghdad Luis Sako led church services
at the Church of St. Paul in Mosul. This was the first time Christians had gathered
in the city to celebrate Christmas since the Islamic State seized Mosul in
2014. Back in July 2014, the militants distributed
flyers telling Christians they had to convert, pay a tax or be killed. The next
day insurgents marked Christians houses in the city. The day after that, a
second leaflet was issued telling them they had to obey the first order or leave.
That led to the majority of the population fleeing. Since the Mosul campaign
was completed the future of the community has been up in the air. Some are afraid
to return to their homes, many want to stay in their new locations or leave
Iraq overall. Still others are attempting to rebuild, which was seen in the
service held in Mosul.
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| (Baghdad Today) |
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| (Baghdad Today) |
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| (Baghdad Today) |
SOURCES
Agence France
Presse, “In ruins of Iraq Christian town, fires a sign of rebirth,” 5/6/17
Baghdad Today, “Pictures
of the first mass in Mosul after Daesh,” 12/24/17
Bassem, Wassim, “As
Mosul battle nears end, Iraqi Christians wary of return,” Al Monitor, 6/30/17
- “Iraq’s Christians
demand reconstruction of religious sites,” Al Monitor, 5/21/17
Coles, Isabel,
“Insight – Purge of minorities re-draws Iraq map,” Reuters, 7/24/14
Harding, Luke and
Hawramy, Fazel, “Isis accused of ethnic cleansing as story of Shia prison
massacre emerges,” Guardian, 8/25/14
Human Rights Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Assistance Mission for
Iraq (UNAMI) Human Rights Office, “ Report on the Protection of Civilians in
Armed Conflict in Iraq: 6 July – 10 September 2014,” 10/2/14
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