An Islamic group in Baghdad says:
“Get rid of the cross or we will burn your Churches”
In the Dora quarter threats continue to be made against Christians. In the last two months Christian parishes have been forced to give in to extremist pressure, only the Church of Sts Peter and Paul has withstood so far. A fatwa forbids the practice of Christian ritual gestures. Read more here.
Blood of Iraqi Martyrs
Over the past three years, Iraqi Muslim extremists have targeted Christians in systematic attacks, aimed at driving them from their homes, their work places, and their churches.
Just last week, a group of armed Muslims set fire to St. George’s Assyrian Church in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, completely decimating what remained of a church already hit by a deadly fire-bombing in October 2004.
It was the 27th church to have been destroyed by Muslim gangs since the liberation of Iraq from Saddam and his thugs.
“The bombing of St. George’s Church should leave no doubt in any one’s mind that a process of ethnic cleansing has begun,” the Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick of Christian Solidarity International told me.
“Unfortunately, the US has put very little pressure on the Iraqi government to establish, as guaranteed by provisions in the Iraqi constitution, an autonomous federal unit of self governance and security for these minorities,” he said. Read more here.
Sad that our Christian soldiers risks their lives to provide these folks an opportunity for intolerance. I often wonder where Iraq will end up for Christians and churches. Will our American presence in Iraq cause the gospel door to open wider or close a bit further?
Yes, this is sad. It would truly be a miracle to see true religious liberty in Iraq, so that the Gospel might be spread. We need to continue to pray for that miracle.
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