Many attacks come from Wahhabi and al-Qaeda affiliates demanding Iraq become a fundamentalist Islamic state. Similarly, Shiite leaders linked to the Iraqi government, such as Muqtada al-Sadr and the remnants of his Mahdi Army, openly threaten and assault Christians who do not follow Muslim practices like wearing the veil. Customary in medieval times, monetary fines levied by Islamists upon churches and practitioners are becoming commonplace once again as a financial mechanism to force conversion to Islam.
Now, as Iraq’s central government wrestles with its own internal political divisions while trying to maintain control of a nation from which American forces who bolstered it have departed, the rights and safety of minorities like Assyrian Christians are receiving even shorter shrift.
Until recently, Iraq’s largely autonomous northern Kurdish region served as a safe haven for Christians fleeing persecution in cities like Basra and Baghdad, but that too is changing. The Kurdish Regional Government’s attempt to annex oil-rich eastern Ninawa province, largely inhabited by Assyrians, is pressuring Christians to relinquish lands their families have lived on for centuries. So, while a contract between ExxonMobil and the Kurdish authorities for petroleum extraction may benefit the region, it could lead to further displacement of Assyrians from their towns like Bashiqa, Tel Kaif (Tel Keppe) and Baghdeda (Bakhdida).
As part of the push to oust Christians, organized gangs of young men targeted Assyrian-owned businesses for destruction in the town of Zakho along Iraq’s north border with Turkey on December 2, while similarly planned attacks took place in at least five other cities at the same time. Kidnapping of Assyrians for ransom has also been on the rise within the Kurdish-held region in recent months – again targeting the community’s socio-economic means of survival.
Over the past few years, Assyrians could seek intervention from U.S. soldiers and officials to ensure safety and obtain redress. Now there are no American troops to protect them from other Iraqis, so Assyrians fear more attacks upon their lives and churches this year. Like their recent Christmas and New Year celebrations, future holy days will be muted and down-played, especially in public, lest further wrath be directed against them as kafirs or 'infidels.'
Yet, despite their travails, the star of faith continues to inspire and guide them. Many Assyrians see both religion and country as birthrights that should be cherished. They regard modern Iraq, its strife notwithstanding, as but the most recent manifestation of their community’s homeland. Iraqi society, they still hope, will regain its multi-religious framework and ensure fundamental freedoms prevail one day in the future.
