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Iraq: ISIL jihadis destroy churches, terrorize Christians

Jun 25, 2014 6:45 pm By Robert Spencer

ISILImad Youkhana “has noted that the main victims of the current conflicts are precisely Iraqis who confess Christ; ‘that is why the native and foreign Christian parties, organizations and activists must unite in order to help refugees and to stop the humanitarian catastrophe which may befall the Nineveh valley.'”

Not a chance. It could harm the “dialogue.” “Talk about extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have perpetrated globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims.” — Robert McManus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, February 8, 2013

“Mosul and Nineveh – ISIS militants violently persecuting Christians,” Pravoslavie, June 23, 2014 (thanks to Filip):

Early in June detachments of “The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” islamist terrorist organization entered Mosul – the most ancient city of the Middle East, founded opposite the famous city of Nineveh, where, according to the Old Testament, Holy Prophet Jonah preached.

Today this ancient land, the birthplace of thousands of Christians of different denominations, has become an eyewitness of the new turn of persecutions against its sons. The Linga news portal relates the chronicle of these tragic events.

On June 10, militants-takfirists encroached on the territory of the city of Mosul after they had established control over most of other major cities of the Iraqi province of Nineveh.

On June 12, the biggest news agencies of the world published an interview with Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul Emil Shimoun Nona. In his address to the world community the hierarch described in detail the ongoing events in the city.

“We have not witnessed such disorders before,” stated the archbishop. “Ancient Mosul has fallen victim to chaos and armed raids. Attempts by the islamists to seize the city have been made since June 5, but then they were just local, minor skirmishes. However, by Monday, June 9, the government forces suddenly left the city, de facto opening the way to the terrorists. Several groups obviously took part in the attack, but the eyewitnesses could not identify them”.

According to monsignor Emil, by June 11 more than a half the Christians of Mosul fled towards the Nineveh valley; church volunteers are receiving refugees all the time, providing them with shelter and food. “About 35,000 Christians had lived in Mosul before 2003; over the following decade their number dropped to 3,000, and today there may be no Christians in the city,” supposed the hierarch. He also called upon all believers of the world to pray for peace in Nineveh and in the whole of Iraq.

On June 16, an EU commission, working on the territory of Iraq, reported the destruction of several architectural monuments of Mosul which were of special spiritual importance. Thus, the grave of great medieval Muslim historiographer Abu al-Hassan al-Jazari, known as ibn al-Athir (1160-1233) has been destroyed and several city churches, including an Armenian church, have been “burnt to the ground”. The militants announced to the city residents through loudspeakers installed on automobiles with the lack flags of ISIS, their decision to destroy all Christian places of worship.

On June 17, the International Syrian News Agency reported shelling of the Armenian church near the “as-Salam” Mosul hospital as well as desecration and devastation of the Church of Holy Spirit. At the same time, the Fides Catholic agency reported an outflow of thousands of refugees from the center of occupied Nineveh. A well-known human rights activist Nina Shiya has confirmed this information, telling in her interview to the journalists of 500,000 people fleeing from Mosul to the roadblock of Kurdistan. In close connection with this, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church Louis Raphael I Sako addressed a request to the Iraqi government “to settle the current extremely disastrous conflict by forming a government of national unity to establishment tight control in all regions of the country”.

On June 19, the ISIS militants continued their attack deep into the Mosul province, seizing several settlements of the al-Hamdania district. According to the experts, about 165,000 people reside in the seized villages, a considerable part of them (70,000 people) being Christians. Establishing control of the as-Salamia village, which provides neighboring villages with water, the extremists blocked the water supply of nearby settlements. The water feed has not yet been recommenced to this date. Earlier takfirists already had interrupted the power supply to many towns of the Nineveh valley.

On June 20, the ISIS detachments occupied more than 10 deserted Christian neighborhoods of the Mosul left bank. In connection with this, former parliamentary deputy Imad Youkhana demanded that the country’s armed forces “rise in defence of the citizens” and “save the state from the extremists,” and thus “secure inviolable the lives of Christians and their property”.

Youkhana has noted that the main victims of the current conflicts are precisely Iraqis who confess Christ; “that is why the native and foreign Christian parties, organizations and activists must unite in order to help refugees and to stop the humanitarian catastrophe which may befall the Nineveh valley,” concluded the politician.

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Filed Under: Iraq, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), Muslim persecution of Christians Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. zulu says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    From Syria to Iraq, Kenya to Malaysia: How new era of Islamic fundamentalism is spreading fear and chaos around the world

    Internet flooded with images and videos of executions from Sunni militants aiming to topple Iraqi government

    At least five die in Kenya attack just days after Al Qaeda-inspired group Al Shabaab kill 60 in twin massacres

    Islamist militants Boko Haram feared to have snatched 90 villagers in Nigeria after kidnapping 300 Christian girls

    Attacks between Christian and Islamic militia in Central African Republic ‘risk creating conditions for genocide’

    Sudanese woman freed from death row for marrying a Christian is re-arrested for not using her Muslim name

    Middle East security expert: ‘All the evidence shows that extremism is on the rise – but Islam is not to blame’

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2669427/From-Syria-Iraq-Kenya-Malaysia-How-new-era-Islamic-fundamentalism-spreading-fear-chaos-world.html#ixzz35hAfKzE2
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

  2. Louise from Canada says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    If they are so proud of what they are doing, why not show their satanic ugly faces. Do they have something to hide?

    • jimmi says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 3:13 am

      Maybe they are shy. maybe they want to preserve the modesty of theirs. Or could it be that they want to give us a surprise someday in the future?

  3. Joseph says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 7:40 pm

    I agree with Robert. “Not a chance” that Christian “organizations” in the West will speak up to help these persecuted Christians. Why? Because even Pope Francis himself has officially declared:

    “Authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence” [Evangelii Gaudium #253].

    Which only serves to demonstrate his utter and profound ignorance of the true nature of Islam. And besides, this Pope is too busy being [very publicly and ostentatiously] “humble” and “poor” to have time for such matters. And with what spare time he does have, he’s got to defend the rights of his beloved “Palestinians”, who are so cruelly put upon by that bully state Israel. Right?

    Pope Francis is a useful idiot. Emphasis on the latter. So, these Iraqi Christians can be martyred on a daily basis, even on prominent pages of the mainstream media (as some of the recent Nigerian slaughter has been). Pope Francis will continue to maintain, no doubt, that Islam is a “religion of peace”.

    What a sad and embarrassing time to be a Catholic.

    • Stevan says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 6:40 am

      Joseph,
      Why all the angry words towards the Pope?
      Can you think of a better alternative?
      It’s easy for people to sit behind a keyboard and propagate words of little meaning and hate!
      What would you do if you were given the opportunity ?

      • Jay Boo says

        Jun 26, 2014 at 8:31 am

        It is not just the Pope saying PC things
        A well known televangelist and public speaker Brian Houston slipped up recently with coexist doctrine fever.
        They are responding to the Islamist appeasing MSM’s carrot & stick enforcement to PC.

        The MSM does not allow them to fairly criticize Islam.
        Critics complain about a movie (Stoning-of-soraya-m) because of “gratuitous-violence” only because what they really mean is “this really makes Islam look bad and that is not permitted” If right wing evangelicals where doing the stoning it would win an Oscar.
        How the liberal MSM responds:
        http://jezebel.com/5302974/stoning-of-soraya-m-a-message-lost-in-gratuitous-violence

  4. dumbledoresarmy says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 6:41 am

    I observe that certain defenders of Islam, whom I shall not name, who frequent some parts of this forum (but not others) and like to spend a lot of time pouring out clouds of smoke, or clouds of pixels, claiming that this or that conflict has *nothing* to do with Islam per se and is *not* jihad, are curiously absent from this thread.

  5. Jay Boo says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 8:13 am

    dumbledoresarmy
    An article on a CAIR official suspected of assisting terrorist financing would likely attract some of them like wasps defending the hive.

  6. mortimer says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 8:45 am

    Bishop McManus…modern day Pontius Pilate, washes his hands of his responsibility to defend the flock of Christ.

    (‘The shepherd gives his life for the sheep.’)

  7. andrew sapia says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 9:40 pm

    what I don’t understand is why so many muslims are granted asylum here when there are millions of middle eastern Christians that need help. Why is there no serious effort to give asylum to our fellow Christians throughout the middle east. Especially when the main reason that persecution is on the rise is because they are associated with us, the supposed crusaders. Please let us double our efforts to assist these desperate Christian families. Every Christian in this country should be writing their representatives and demanding more help be given to persecuted Christians in the middle east.

    • dumbledoresarmy says

      Jun 27, 2014 at 2:59 am

      “Every Christian in this country should be writing their representatives and demanding more help be given to persecuted Christians in the middle east.”

      And not only in “this country” (I am assuming you are in the US) but in many, many other countries, such as my own (Australia).

      *All* of us need to be demanding that the *most* vulnerable – that is, the Christians, who are *already* being subjected to genocide in their ancestral homeland – should be given absolute priority in our refugee intake. I don’t want even *one* Muslim from Syria to be given “asylum” in Australia; but I’d be happy to take a whole lot of the Christians.

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