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Bishop blasts UK and US over persecution of Iraqi Christians
by Scott Gilbreath ~ December 23rd, 2008
A Church of England bishop has sharply criticised the United States and Great Britain over brutal persecution of Christians in Iraq. The Rt Rev Graham James says the two countries’ invasion of Iraq has contributed to the obliteration of one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.
Despite having very strong Christian traditions, the US and the UK did not take seriously the invasion’s effect on the security of Christians. Bp James accuses them of “religious illiteracy”.
Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein an estimated 300,000 Christians have fled the country. The Christians, who have lived in Iraq for 2,000 years, survived the Muslim invasion in the 7th century and the Mongol onslaught in the 13th.
Their churches are now routinely bombed and members of their faith hunted down and killed along with other minority faiths, according to a report by Minority Rights Group International.
Christians were tolerated under Saddam Hussein whose Deputy, Tariq Aziz, was a Christian.
[…]
“A significant minority of the Iraqi population were Christian. There’s been at least two-thirds that have either left or been marginalised and in some circumstances killed.”
Christian communities in Iraq have suffered terrible persecution in recent years, but their lot under Saddam Hussein was not problem-free. Saddam destroyed hundreds of Christian towns and villages in an ethnic cleansing campaign.
Nevertheless, for the Christians of Iraq, the 2003 invasion made a difficult situation infinitely worse.
h/t: Persecution Blog
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December 28th, 2008 at 11:12 PM
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