Iraqi Christians feeling insecure

Baghdad, Feb. 25 : Violence and gun battle have never seen respite, and a series of attacks which bear religious nature have not only worried Assyrian Christians in particular and the Iraqi Christians as a whole but also another fuel is being added to the fire of insecure feelings among them - the possible induction of the Muslim law – the Shariah, which is being considered to be preferred by majority Shiites (who make up roughly 59% of Iraqi population) the Constitution of Iraq in the near future.

Majority Shiites are too much willing and desperate to implement their wishes to have an ideal Islamic state in Iraq. Shiites in Iraq were a political victims under Saddam Hussain, who was a Sunni Muslim which accounts only for Iraq’s 36% but were politically dominant for many decades. Christians make up 3.3%.

The fundamentalist sees Iraqi Christians as an ally of Americans and they were termed as ‘crusaders’ and they want to convert them to Muslim. Many Christians were killed mysteriously during the transition of government from Saddam Hussain to the new government monitored by the UN and US.

“Many Christian Churches have received anonymous threat letters,” said William Warda, head of the Assyrian democratic movement’s Department of Culture and Information. Many Churches in Iraq have cancelled evening services in addition to nigh catechism courses organized by parish youth. They could do their religious activities, worship, etc only day time.

Recently, Iraqi minister of education has fired all University Presidents with the exception of three presidents of northern Kurdish Universities, replacing them with Islamicists. The new Presidents have issued a memorandum in which they ask women to abide my Islamic dress habits like wearing headscarves, covering the whole body, etc.

Many Iraqi Christians said that the regime under Saddam Hussain was much better as it didn’t allow the elements of religious fundamentalism to crop up in Iraq; and during the regime Christians did have a much better religious freedom. If the Shariah be introduced and once the UN and the coalition forces leave Iraq, Iraqi Christians may be the worse victim of the liberation of Iraq and may become a blessing in disguise for Iraqi Muslims.

The Iraqi Christians are Assyrian-Chaldean community, the ancient Mesopotamian people who were among the first to have received the gospel of Lord Jesus Christ, where gospel was once prosperous.