Posted on 07/03/2008 3:50:26 PM PDT by forkinsocket
An Islamist group has sent threatening letters to Assyrian churches in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, asking them not to cooperate with US forces.
The letter sent by The Batallion of Just Punishment, Jihad Base in Mesopotamia, also opposes the establishment of a sectarian Assyrian-Christian police force, reported the Assyrian International News Agency on Wednesday.
"We caution and warn anyone who tries to rob us through dealings with the Americans or through the spreading of American forces and/or police to protect the Holy Shrines in the Islamic Republic of Iraq, that these shrines would remain target of the freedom fighters," the letter said.
"We remind the dhimmi people [Jews and Christians] that Iraq is for the noble Iraqis and not for how you are now."
The Islamist group also refers to Assyrian Christians as 'Dhimmi', or a non-Muslim subject of the state governed by Islamic Sharia law.
"I suspect this letter may have actually come from Ansar Al-Islam," said an unnamed Assyrian community leader, referring to the Kurdish Islamist group affiliated with al-Qaeda.
"The Kurds don't want us to have our own police force."
Assyrians are an ethnic group in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria. Nearly all Assyrians converted to Christianity during the first century A.D.
Most of the Christians in Iraq belong to the Assyrian and Chaldean Catholic denominations. Others groups include Syrian Orthodox or protestants.
During Saddam Hussein's secular regime they were free to worship - one of the regime's most prominent Christian members was Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz.
Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, growing religious intolerance and sectarian violence have prompted many Iraqi Christians to flee abroad.
Christianity is finished in Iraq just like it is in Lebanon. The only places in the ME where Christianity has a future are, possibly, Egypt, where the Copts suffer terrible discrimination and ironically Syria.
Probably no point in going into how and why this has happened in the past 20-25 years.
Egyptians are unfortunately very nasty people. & each time I visit, the people seem to grow more fanatic. Friends that were relatively normal on the trip before were trying to convert me to Islam by my next visit.
Syria is the best place for Christians. Unless the Alawi regime falls.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50400
“Forces in Iraq Kill Enemy Fighters, Detain Suspects, Find Weapons”
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2008 –
PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET: “In Mosul, coalition forces netted an alleged terrorist leader and a suspected associate. The alleged leader is believed to oversee kidnappings, assassinations and extortion operations in the city, officials said.”
“Christianity is finished in Iraq just like it is in Lebanon. The only places in the ME where Christianity has a future are, possibly, Egypt, where the Copts suffer terrible discrimination and ironically Syria.”
I disagree with you. Christianity is having a great awakening all throughout the Islamic world. Right now there are huge movement to Christ throught Central Asia. It is time for us Christians to quit sitting idlely by and get up and take front line possitions with the Sword of the Spirit in the battle for souls.
One of the fellows at the parish is marrying a Coptic girl in August, here. She’s coming over all alone to marry him and they will be living here. I’ve never met her but she’s both excited at the prospect of living here and not suffering for her Faith and fearing homesickness. The fellow says that its getting almost unbearable over there for the Copts.
“Syria is the best place for Christians. Unless the Alawi regime falls.”
Orthodox and other Eastern Christians are treated equally in Syria. There are no restrictions on worship and Christians have the same limited rights that Mohammedans have there. You are right however that if the Alawite regime collapses, the Sunnis will take over most likely and that will be very bad. Its possible the Shia could take over and traditionally that would have been OK but not anymore, at least not since the past 25 years or so.
Not in the ME, my friend. Mohammedans there can have four wives and each of them has five kids. Demographically they haven’t a chance and, well, they can’t look to us for any help can they?
What you say may be true in Central Asia. I know the Russian Church seems to be making some strides there and I hear that various Protestant missionaries have likewise found some success.
I do wish that I had even a smidgen of confidence that our nation would “take front line possitions with the Sword of the Spirit in the battle for souls.”, but the political elites in this country sold out to Mohammedanism two or three decades ago.
Us, too. We always had a good relationship with Shi’a until certain events sent everything to hell.
Christianity is on the way to be finished in America, thanks to the radical leftists, ACLU.
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