8 Churches in Baghdad close in 2017 as threatened Christian population in Iraq shrinks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Eight churches have closed their doors in Baghdad in 2017 “after nearly seven years of low to no attendance” due to the declining number of Iraqi Christians in the country, according to a report by a Christian persecution advocacy group.

International Christian Concern (ICC), based in Washington DC, on Monday, released a report that indicated eight churches in Iraq’s capital had closed their doors as many Christians fled southern Iraq for fear of being persecuted.

“After the regional Catholic Church authority visited the churches, the Vatican decided that it was best to close the doors for good,” the ICC report stated.

“While this makes logistical sense, it represents a symbolic defeat for the Church in the capital of Iraq,” the report added.

Much attention has been given to Iraqi Christian following the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq which devastated Christian communities in areas such as Mosul and the Nineveh Plains.

However, the minority group has also suffered in many other regions of Iraq in the past 15 years.

There are one million fewer Christians that live in Iraq than they did in 2003.

Speaking with Kurdistan 24, Khalid Jamal Albert, the General Director of Christian Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, said many Christian families fled abroad when the militant group first took over in 2014.

“When IS came, many fled their homes and headed to the Kurdistan Region, or to Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon in hopes of receiving asylum in the West,” he said.

He highlighted the fact many of them found refuge in Kurdistan among its already robust Chaldean Christian community. Churches have also been opening up in Kurdistan, the most recent one having opened in Erbil last June. 

“Many who fled to Kurdistan remain,” he said. “There have also been 51 families who had fled to Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon but returned to the Kurdistan Region.” President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani has also promised that an independent Kurdistan would respect the rights of Christians living on the Nineveh Plains.

According to Albert, Christians aren’t just leaving Baghdad, but other areas in the south such as Basra as well.

Iraqi Christians used to make up 10 percent of Iraq’s total population. There is now an estimated population as low as 200,000 remaining in the country.

“Now, in 2017, the Christian population in Iraq is just a fraction of what it used to be,” the ICC report explained. “It’s important to recognize that IS is not solely responsible for this.”

“Christians have faced various forms of persecution and discrimination [in Iraq] from a wide variety of perpetrators throughout the past 15 years,” the report highlighted.

The report notes there were three periods of exodus for Christians in Iraq.

“The first was from 2005-2007, [the] second was in 2010 when some extremists attacked [a] church during Sunday mass, and the third stage was in 2014 when IS attacked [the] Nineveh Plain,” a former Baghdad resident told the ICC.

ICC reported that after the sectarian violence began in 2005 Christians started receiving threats, driving thousands away from their homes and neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, the actions committed by IS against Christians, Yezidis (Ezidis), and other religious minorities have been condemned globally and widely declared a “genocide.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany