Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 138 | Wed 14 Dec 2011
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IRAQ: PROPAGANDA VERSUS REALITY
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By Elizabeth Kendal
By 31 December 2011 all US and NATO troops will have completely withdrawn
from Iraq. Whilst the US and NATO had wanted to keep thousands of military
trainers there, the Iraqi parliament -- dominated by pro-Iran Shi'ites --
ruled that any remaining military personnel would be subject to Iraqi laws
and jurisprudence. Without immunity from prosecution, US and NATO forces
would not stay. However, if the propaganda is to be believed, the
decimated, imperilled, besieged Christian minority will have nothing to
fear when the last US and NATO forces leave Iraq after Christmas. On
Monday 12 December, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met with US
President Barak Obama at the White House in Washington. The two men had
nothing but praise for how the Iraq adventure has turned out. PM al-Maliki
boasted, 'We have proven success. Nobody imagined that we would succeed in
defeating terrorism and al Qaeda.' President Obama likewise effused that
Iraq can be 'a model for others aspiring to build democracy'. The reality,
however, is somewhat different.
The Superior of the Dominicans in Baghdad, Fr Amir Jaje, described the
atmosphere in Baghdad ahead of the US-NATO withdrawal as 'tense'. 'The
extremists,' he reports, 'are taking advantage of tensions to make their
voices heard and the faithful are increasingly distressed.' The Latin
Archbishop of Baghdad, Mgr Jean Benjamin Sleiman, told Aid to the Church
in Need that Iraqi Christians are preparing for a 'Christmas under siege'.
Traditions will be quietly kept in the privacy of family homes, while
Christmas Masses will only be celebrated during the day for safety
reasons. 'It will be a Christmas, between fear and sturdy faith.'
Christians, he said, have been reduced to dhimmitude: a state of
subjugation, without rights. Helpless before endless mafia and militia
attacks, they are forced to pay the jizya (protection money) as mandated
in the Qur'an, Sura 9:29.
The situation in the Nineveh Plains of Northern Iraq -- the ancient
Assyrian homeland -- is no better. On 2 December, following Friday
prayers, thousands of Muslims went on a pogrom through the predominantly
Assyrian northern town of Zakho. They looted and torched businesses they
deemed 'haram', that is, forbidden in Islam. After torching a Chinese
massage centre, the rioters moved on to raze liquor stores, hotels and
beauty salons -- most of which were run by Assyrian Christians, others by
Kurdish Yazidis. According to eyewitnesses, some rioters tried to attack
the Christian quarter of the town. Fortunately those guarding the
political offices fired over their heads, dispersing the mob. The
Kurdistan Islamic Union is believed to have instigated the violence. That
local Muslims could be so easily incited into such a destructive pogrom is
of great concern. Nobody expects things to improve after the US-NATO
forces leave. 'It's a big mess,' said David Lazar of the American
Mesopotamian Organization. When asked who would be there to ensure the
safety of Christians he answered, 'Basically, no one.'
Archbishop Louis Sako of the Chaldean Catholic Church in the northern
provinces of Kirkuk and Sulimaniya has expressed the fear that, if the
persecution continues with such intensity, 'Iraq could be emptied of
Christians' completely. The Director of the Christian Defense Coalition,
Rev Patrick J Mahoney, is likewise concerned, stating that unless the
situation is addressed 'the public expression of Christianity will be
exterminated. America must realise,' he adds, 'that this horrible
extermination of Christians is directly related to our failure in ensuring
their safety. It is a tragedy that America's involvement in Iraq did not
bring liberation for Christians but brutality, oppression and possible
extinction. We cannot abandon them. We must do better.'
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT --
* Iraqi Christians will draw closer to Jesus, their Saviour, be more
reliant on the Holy Spirit, their strength, and more dependent on God,
their sovereign, faithful Rock. 'In returning and rest you shall be
saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.' (Isaiah 30:15
ESV)
* God will bless all Christian witness -- active and passive -- with
effectual saving power, 'because only through Christ is it [the veil
that covers the unbeliever's heart, hardening their mind] taken away.'
(2 Corinthians 3:14-16) 'Therefore [believers] be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your
labour [including suffering and death] is not in vain.' (1 Corinthians
15:58 ESV)
* God will intervene to bring security to Iraq's remnant Christians.
(Isaiah 59: 15b-19)
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SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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PROPAGANDA VERSUS REALITY IN IRAQ
By 31 December all US and NATO troops will have withdrawn from Iraq. Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and US President Barak Obama are touting
Iraq as a model democracy that has successfully defeated terrorism. To the
contrary, Iraq's besieged remnant Christians are apprehensive that the US-
NATO withdrawal will simply open the way for completing the jihad and
genocide they have suffered hitherto. Iraq's indigenous Christian peoples
have already lost two-thirds of their number through evacuation and
genocide, but their most difficult days lie ahead. Their observance of
Christmas will be low-key. The propaganda indicates the powers-that-be are
more intent on getting good press than preventing the genocide of
Christians. The Church must never abandon them. Let us show the world that
our God lives, loves, saves and answers prayers.
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We suggest that churches and fellowships using the above Summary might
also provide a copy of the listed prayer points to be used in their
worship by people who are leading in prayer.
For more information, updates and helpful links see Elizabeth Kendal's
This RLPB was written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious
Liberty Commission (AEA RLC) by Elizabeth Kendal, an international
religious liberty analyst and advocate, and a member of the AEA RLC team.
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