Christians in Iraq are holding their breath as protests and violence in parts of the Middle East continue over comments made by the Pope last week on Islam.
The minority faith group in Iraq has managed to withstand not only the turmoils of more recent months but also the pressures of the last few centuries, all by keeping a low profile. But now they are fearful that anger among both Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims could turn into violent confrontation with churches and their followers in Iraq."We're not afraid of our neighbourhoods turning against us, because we've lived with them for generations," said 35-year-old Christian grocery shop owner Iskandar in Baghdad, according to Reuters.
"But our fear is that the al Qaeda types will start targeting churches again, like they have with Shi'ite mosques."
Christians in Iraq remain anxious that the Pope's comments on Islam have made their lives less safe, and some have even joined with their Muslim neighbours in calling the remarks offensive.
"We, Christians and Muslims, have lived together for thousands of years in this city," said Qais abu Saimon, a Christian in Mosul, an ethnically and religiously mixed northern city with one of the country's largest Christian communities.
"Anything that offends them offends us also."
Uttor, a nun in the same city said: "If I were sitting there when the Pope was delivering his speech, I would ask him not to talk about this subject because it is very sensitive."
The fledgling government in Iraq was quick to urge the Muslim majority in the country not to take revenge on members of the Christian community following the Pope's remarks.
" call on all those who love God's prophets not to carry out actions that will harm our Christian brothers here," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told state television on Saturday.
"There were kings that carried the cross and committed crimes under the cross. But we do not hold Christianity or its followers responsible for these actions, for they are acts of individuals."
And so far the appeals for calm have been taken on board; none of the bombings and outbreaks of violence that have killed hundreds this week appear to be acts of retaliation directed specifically at Christians.
That does not mean, however, that the main Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim parties have remained silent on the comments of the Pope. They have instead chosen to issue potentially inflammatory denunciations along the lines that the Pope's comments are an attack on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
Meanwhile, around 150 demonstrators gathered in the predominantly Shi'ite Basra where they burned an effigy of the Pope on Monday, while a number of churches have also reported vandalism.
In the last two decades, the Christian population has continued to dwindle and now stands at around 1 million mostly Catholic Christians - a considerable drop from the 1.4 million in 1987.
One Christian member of parliament, Yonadam Kanna, spoke out against the Pope for making his comments but also criticised Muslim leaders for their potentially inflammatory responses.
But Kanna does not see any danger from ordinary Iraqis. If there is anyone to fear it is only the Islamic extremists who don't need much more of a reason to attack.
"The extremists are always looking for an excuse to kill people anyway, so the Christian community doesn't expect the violence against it to get any worse."
