From Iraq - An urgent
message from Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Baghdad
Mosul
Christians: Whither?
To all
who have a living conscience in Iraq and all the world
To the
voice of moderate brother Muslims who have a voice in Iraq and all the world
To all
who have a concern that Iraq could remain a country for all His Children
To all
leaders of thought and opinion
To all
who announce the freedom of the human being
To all
protectors of the dignity of human beings and of religion
PEACE AND
MERCY FROM GOD!
The control exercised by the Islamist
Jihadists upon the city of Mosul, and their proclamation of it as an Islamic
State, after several days of calm and expectant watching of events, has now
come to reflect negatively upon the Christian population of the city and its
environs.
The initial sign was in the kidnapping of
the two nuns and 3 orphans who were released after 17 days. At the time, we
experienced it as a flash of hope and as a clearing of the sky after the appearance
of storm clouds.
Suddenly we have been surprised by the more
recent outcomes which are the proclamation of an Islamic state and the
announcement calling all Christians and clearly asking them to convert to Islam
or to pay the
joziah (the tax all non- Muslims must pay
while living in the land of Islam) - without specifying the exact amount. The
only alternative is to abandon the city and their houses with only the clothes
they are wearing, taking nothing else. Moreover, by Islamic law, upon their departure,
their houses are no longer their properties but are instantly confiscated as
property of the Islamic state.
In recent days, there has been written
the letter 'N' in Arabic on the front wall of Christian homes, signifying
'Nazara' (Christian), and on the front wall of Shiite homes, the letter 'R'
signifying 'Rwafidh' (Protestants or rejecters). We do not know what will
happen in future days because in an Islamic state the Al - sharia or Islamic
code of law is powerful and has been interpreted to require the issuance of new
I.Ds for the population based on religious or sectarian affiliation.
This categorization based upon religion or sect
afflicts the Muslims as well and contravenes the regulation of Islamic thought
which is expressed in the Quran which says, "You have your religion and I have
my religion" and yet another place in Quran states, "There is no compulsion in
religion". This is exactly the contradiction in the life and history of the
Islamic world for more than 1400 years and in the co - existence with other
different religions and nations in the East and in the West.
With all due respect to belief and
dogmas, there has been a fraternal life between Christians and Muslims. How
much the Christians have shared here in our East specifically from the
beginnings of Islam. They shared every sweet and bitter circumstance of life;
Christian and Muslim blood has been mixed as it was shed in the defense of
their rights and lands. Together they built a civilization, cities, and a
heritage. It is truly unjust now to treat Christians by rejecting them and
throwing them away, considering them as nothing.
It is clear that the result of all this
discrimination legally enforced will be the very dangerous elimination of the
possibility of co - existence between majorities and minorities. It will be
very harmful to Muslims themselves both in the near and the distant future.
Should this direction continue to be pursued,
Iraq will come face to face with human, civil, and historic catastrophe.
We call with all the force available to us; we
call to you fraternally, in a spirit of human brotherhood; we call to you
urgently; we call to you impelled by risk and in spite of the risk. We implore
in particular our Iraqi brothers asking them to reconsider and reflect upon the
strategy they have adopted and demanding that they must respect innocent and
weaponless people of all nationalities, religions, and sects.
The Holy Quran has ordered believers to respect
the innocent and has never called them to seize the belongings, the
possessions, the properties of others by force. The Quran commands refuge for
the widow, the orphaned, the poor, and the weaponless and respect "to the
seventh neighbor."
We call Christians in the region to act with
reason and prudence and to consider and to plan everything in the best way
possible. Let them understand what is planned for this region, to practice
solidarity in love, to examine the realities together and so be able together
to find the paths to build trust in themselves and in their neighbors. Let them
stay close to their own Church and surround it; endure the time of trial and
pray until the storm will be over.
Louis Raphael Sako
Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldean
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The situation for Iraq's Christians has been steadily deteriorating ever since the 2003 invasion, in part because the U.S. never acknowledged that Christians were being targeted by Islamists and did not prioritize protection of Christians or other minorities.
But with the recent sweep through Mosul and other Iraqi cities by the jihadi group ISIS, Iraqs Christians look to be on the verge of genocide. On June 16th it was reported that ISIS had marked the doors of Christians in red. Patriarch Sakos letter confirms that rumor.While no one yet knows what this ominous sign foretells, Sako and other Christian leaders are pleading with the world to intervene before the meaning of the sign is made clear. Bishop Yousif Habash, who now resides in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but who is originally from Qaraqosh, a city 15 miles from Mosul which was also recently overrun by ISIS, where the Christians still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, said, "Christians throughout the Middle East have been targeted, and we are on the verge of being exterminated. The West stepped in to stop the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims and Kosovar Muslims, so we know it can be done. The West must step in now and save the Middle Easts Christians, or we will be wiped out."
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