2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Assyrian suffering overlooked in Iraq
Charles Rice
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Viewpoint
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The Assyrians have lived in Iraq since 5,000 B.C. Ethnically distinct from Arabs and Kurds, they are Christians and speak neo-Aramaic, similar to the language of Christ. They include Chaldean Catholic, Apostolic Catholic and Syriac Orthodox churches.
"In Iraq," Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako, of Kirkuk, said last April, "Christians are dying, the Church is disappearing under … persecution, threats and violence … by extremists who are leaving us no choice: conversion or exile."
Last June, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) issued a report, "Incipient Genocide: The Ethnic Cleansing of Assyrians in Iraq." In 2003, Christians and smaller non-Muslim groups were about one million of Iraq's 26 million people. Probably 50 percent have now fled the country. Persecution began after the Gulf War and escalated after the fall of Baghdad in 2003. AINA reported that from 1995 to 2002 there were 19 murders of Assyrians in Iraq, with none in 1996, 2000 and 2001. From 2003 to June 2007 there were 370. Assyrians and other Christians have been attacked by Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and al-Qaeda in every part of Iraq. The Assyrians, with no tribal structure, military or militia, are defenseless. Since the coming of Islam in 630 A.D., noted AINA, Assyrians have suffered thirty "genocides at the hands of Muslims," several in the 20th century. They experienced comparative safety and tolerance under the oppressive but secular regime of Saddam Hussein.
Since the fall of Saddam, the persecution has intensified, with the added motive that many Iraqi Christians who speak English have worked for Americans. The AINA study, however, confirms that the persecution is primarily religious. Last October, for instance, Ayad Tariq, a 14-year-old Assyrian in Baquba, was accosted at his place of employment by insurgents who asked if he was a "Christian sinner." "Yes," he replied, "I am a Christian, but I am not a sinner." The insurgents quickly pronounced him a "dirty Christian sinner" and, shouting "Allahu akbar!," beheaded him. Also last October, Father Paulos Iskander was kidnapped in Mosul. His head, arms and legs were severed from his body.
"In Iraq," Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako, of Kirkuk, said last April, "Christians are dying, the Church is disappearing under … persecution, threats and violence … by extremists who are leaving us no choice: conversion or exile."
Last June, the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) issued a report, "Incipient Genocide: The Ethnic Cleansing of Assyrians in Iraq." In 2003, Christians and smaller non-Muslim groups were about one million of Iraq's 26 million people. Probably 50 percent have now fled the country. Persecution began after the Gulf War and escalated after the fall of Baghdad in 2003. AINA reported that from 1995 to 2002 there were 19 murders of Assyrians in Iraq, with none in 1996, 2000 and 2001. From 2003 to June 2007 there were 370. Assyrians and other Christians have been attacked by Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and al-Qaeda in every part of Iraq. The Assyrians, with no tribal structure, military or militia, are defenseless. Since the coming of Islam in 630 A.D., noted AINA, Assyrians have suffered thirty "genocides at the hands of Muslims," several in the 20th century. They experienced comparative safety and tolerance under the oppressive but secular regime of Saddam Hussein.
Since the fall of Saddam, the persecution has intensified, with the added motive that many Iraqi Christians who speak English have worked for Americans. The AINA study, however, confirms that the persecution is primarily religious. Last October, for instance, Ayad Tariq, a 14-year-old Assyrian in Baquba, was accosted at his place of employment by insurgents who asked if he was a "Christian sinner." "Yes," he replied, "I am a Christian, but I am not a sinner." The insurgents quickly pronounced him a "dirty Christian sinner" and, shouting "Allahu akbar!," beheaded him. Also last October, Father Paulos Iskander was kidnapped in Mosul. His head, arms and legs were severed from his body.