Open Doors calls attention to Iraq

(Image courtesy U.S. Army via Wikimedia Commons)

Iraq (MNN) ― Today it seems most of the Middle East is in crisis mode: Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iran.

Jerry Dykstra of Open Doors USA adds one more to the list.

"Iraq is not getting much attention, but we need to keep the spotlight there," he states.

A series of bombings in the capital city of Baghdad yesterday killed at least 70 people and wounded far more. It's the latest in a wave of turmoil that's engulfed the nation since 2013 started.

Over 4,000 civilians have been killed and 10,000 wounded since the year began, the BBC states in a recent article. July saw the greatest number of Iraqi causalities since 2008.

"The total number of Iraqis killed during July was 1,057 and 2,326 wounded in acts of terrorism," Dykstra states. "That is a new record, and not obviously good news for the people of Iraq and not good news for Christians who've lived in Iraq."

Rising sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims is to blame. Sunni militants say they're being ostracized by Iraq's Shi'ite government, which is holding the largest anti-insurgent campaign since 2011.

Conflict in Syria only serves to fan the flames.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Iraq's al-Qaeda branch, has joined rebels in the quest to overthrow Syrian President Assad. In turn, Assad is backed by Hezbollah--one of the region's largest terror organizations, and Iran, both of which are affiliated with Shi'ite Islam.

According to Dykstra, Iraqi Christians are caught between a rock and a hard place.

"That seems to be almost 'par for the course' in the Middle East nowadays," he says, explaining that Christians are "not only victims of the random violence, but they're also specifically targeted by Muslim extremists.

"You have the Sunnis and Shi'ites…and they have their backers. But the Christians have nobody."

Open Doors is combatting the loneliness and anxiety experienced by many Iraqi Christians. Through micro-loans, translation projects, and the distribution of Christian literature and Scripture, they're encouraging and supporting the Persecuted Church in this volatile nation.

Click here to see how you can help.

"The Christians in Iraq are very discouraged and obviously need our support and our prayers," Dykstra states.

One of the biggest needs among Iraqi believers, he adds, is trauma counseling.

"There's a whole generation of kids who are now young adults, who've been brought up in [these] terrible wars and persecution," says Dykstra.

See where Iraq lands on the Open Doors World Watch List.

"There are only about 330,000 Christians left in Iraq," Dykstra says. "10 years ago, over a million Christians.

"We really need to put emphasis on reaching out to them, especially in prayer."

Pray for Open Doors trauma counselors working with children and families affected by persecution. Pray for encouragement and healing for war-weary Christians in Iraq.

Pray "that they get the healing they need, and I'm talking about healing not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually," requests Dykstra.

Bombs, Bullying and Final Exams: the life of Christian students in Mosul

Even with violence increasing in their nation,
 Iraqi students are still expected to study.
 (Image courtesy Open Doors)

Iraq (MNN/ODM) ― In Mosul, one of the most dangerous cities in the world, kidnappings, bombings and targeted violence against Christians are reported frequently. These threats make it difficult to go from one place to another.

In the midst of this chaos and insecurity, Open Doors USA says hundreds of Christian students find their way to their university every day. Yusuf* says he’s praying "a hundred times" for safety. A few months ago, bombs exploded at his college.

“Where is the safety?” he asks. “Where are those who should protect us?”

In periods of increased violence, concentrating for exams isn’t easy.

“When the situation is very tense in the city, we still have to study," shares Malik, another Christian student. "It has a negative influence on our grades, but the exams are not deferred.”

Within the university, the atmosphere isn’t much better. Christians are being bullied and discriminated against because of their faith. Female students receive comments and threats about not wearing a headscarf.

Church elders of a village in Mosul were warned not to send girls to university; other female students were attacked because they weren’t wearing a veil.

“We just wish these years will pass fast,” says Kalam.

Sadly, it is not just the students that are giving their Christians peers a hard time.

“Teachers are saying bad things about Christianity in their lessons and participate in the discrimination and bullying also," explains Kalam.

Pray for Christian students in Mosul. Pray that they will be able to overcome the violence surrounding them. Ask the Lord to give them peace.

*The names of the people quoted in this article have been changed for security reasons.

Islamists driving Christians out of Iraq

Iraq (ODM/MNN) ― Iraq's Christian heritage can be compared to its wetland marshes.

(Images of Iraqi churches courtesy Open Doors Australia)

Christ followers in Iraq date back to the first century A.D., making it one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. But today, Christianity in Iraq is under serious threat. Similarly, the wetland marshes, once teeming with flora and fauna, were drained to desert over a decade ago.

What's more, it seems this attitude is part of a growing trend. Open Doors minister-at-large Paul Estabrooks explains, "The Christians are being told, ‘We want a Muslim-only nation. We do not want any Christians here.' This is similar to what is going on today in northern Sudan."

As a result, Christians in Iraq continue to be targets of violent attacks. "When the Iraq war began, Muslim extremists in Baghdad targeted one whole community called Dara, where the Christians lived in Baghdad." Estabrooks notes, "Today, just about every one of those Christian families has been driven out of the subdivision in which they lived."
While the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 may have been a victory for coalition forces, ongoing changes in leadership have been a disaster for Iraqi Christians. Estabrooks says, "As each attack against Christians occurs in recent weeks and days, there are more and more concerns that Christians will continue the exodus."
Reports from Open Doors field workers indicate anti-Christian sentiment is only growing. "From a city like Mosul, armed men shot a Christian right in front of his home. Another one had a bomb thrown in his yard." In 2003, there were more than one million Christians in Iraq. A decade later, only a third of this number remain.
The saddest part of this story, says Estabrooks, is the loss of history. Christians have been part of the fabric of Iraqi society since the beginning. During the 7th century, Islam took over and the Christians were hard-pressed, but they survived. That's what makes this modern day "religicide" a travesty. "Even though they were second class citizens at the time, they were able to survive through the challenges and the pressure of that era (7th century Islam). Now, even these denominations are saying, ‘If more and more Christians keep leaving or get killed, then there will be no Church left in this country.'"

However, there are some church leaders who are not content to sit quietly while the violence decimates their homes. Louis Raphael Sako, the newly-elected Chaldean Catholic patriarch of Iraq and Syria, urges Christians to stay. "We must stay. This is our history. This is our cultural heritage. When we leave, everything will leave with us." As he reads the field reports, Estabrooks echoes that sentiment. "There's a sense in which the Salt and Light Christians [bring] must remain there. This is the appeal Christians are making to us for our prayers on their behalf."

Does intercessory prayer make a difference? It must, says Estabrooks. "It is the only recourse we really have other than giving awareness to the international community of this kind of ‘religious cleansing' that seems to be going on."

According to the Open Doors 2013 World Watch List materials, there are only an estimated 330,000 to 350,000 Christians left in Iraq. There were more than 1.2 million Christians in the early 1990s. Many of the believers have fled to Jordan and Lebanon, or to the northern Kurdish region of Iraq. Iraq is ranked No. 4 on the list of the worst persecutors around the globe.

Despite the doom and gloom of this story, it does include a bright note. Dreams and visions of Christ are commonly reported throughout the Middle East and North Africa as the rise of Islam continues. Even as the reports of "religicide" pour in, there are people who are accepting Christ as Savior. Mentoring these new Christians falls on the shoulders of the few church leaders who are left.

The Open Doors ministry in Iraq is coming alongside this remnant and providing trauma counseling, biblical training for church leaders and Muslim-Background Believers, distribution of Bibles and Christian literature, community development projects, and working with Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) in Kurdistan.

Remember the comparison we made at the beginning of this story? Recently, an Iraqi civil engineer came back to the wetlands and organized a careful breech of the dams that diverted the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates. Within months, the desert landscape was teeming with life, seeds sprouting from a dry land nearly abandoned to war.

So it is with the seeds of the Church in Iraq.

Mosul is the most violent city in Iraq

Iraqi church before the exodus. (file photo)

Iraq (MNN/OD) ― Mosul is now one of the most violent cities in Iraq, with Christians and other minorities often targets of the violence.

As a result, thousands of Christians have left the Iraqi city since 2003 when U.S. forces deposed Saddam Hussein. The war triggered a wave of continuous violence in the second-largest city in Iraq.

Before 2003, Mosul was home to 75,000 Christians. Approximately 70% belonged to the Chaldean Church, while the rest were Syriac Orthodox and Catholic. Now approximately 25,000 Christians live in Mosul, which has a population of 2 million. Many more Christians live in the surrounding Nineveh province.

Dr. Carl Moeller, Open Doors USA President/CEO, labels the attacks against Christians in Mosul and all of Iraq as "religicide." He states: "Christians in cities like Baghdad and Mosul are gripped by terrorism. They are fleeing in droves.

Today it was reported that at least 20 people died in blasts and shootings across the country.

"With the spotlight currently on Syria, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq last December, Iraq has been placed on the back-burner. But we as Christians in the West must continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Iraq who face extinction if we don't pray and advocate for them."

Almost no day passes without someone being killed by bombs or bullets in the city, which is the capital of Nineveh province. The violence targets Christians but also policemen, soldiers or officials working for the government. In the midst of all this, it's not difficult to find examples of growing hostility toward Christians. In May, for example, it was reported that 20 families living in Mosul received threatening letters. The letters said that they had to move out of Mosul or face possible violence or kidnapping.

A Mosul Christian said terrorists in Mosul visited four real estate agents, asking the names of Christians who recently sold their houses. With this information, they know who has money and might be possible targets for kidnappings. "One of the agents refused to give information to the terrorists and was killed," said a spokesman for Open Doors.

Also in Mosul, the house of a Christian was set on fire, and the police dismantled a bomb placed in the car of another Christian.

General Ahmed M. Aljaboury, director general of the Mosul police, said: "Between 2005 and 2011, our operational command recorded the assassination of about 69 Christians, including university students, priests, female employees and housewives."

Two waves of killings and intimidation in 2008 and 2010 sent Christians fleeing from Mosul in such haste that the United Nations had to arrange emergency assistance. Many Christians have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Europe and the United States.

Before the Gulf War in 1991, the number of Christians in Iraq--ranked No. 9 on the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians--was estimated to be over 1 million. That number fell to an estimated 850,000 in 2003. Since then, the numbers have plummeted. Open Doors estimates the number of Christians remaining in Iraq at 345,000. However, the number decreases every month.

The role of Open Doors in Iraq includes distributing Bibles and Christian literature to churches and Internally Displaced People; supporting a project which translates literature, including the Bible, into the Kurdish languages; training of church leaders and new Christians; and training leaders in trauma counseling, especially to children.

An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our Web site at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.