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Al-Akhbar, Lebanon
July 24 2014
Christian leaders express shock at world silence after ISIS expels
Iraqi Christians
by Asad Abu Khalil
The patriarchal residence in the town of Atchanah in Lebanon's Metn
region brought together yesterday representatives of the churches of
Mosul five days after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
forced Iraqi Christians out of the city. This is the first time that
Mosul's Christian population has been driven out of the city and is
the largest forced displacement since the Armenian genocide.
Nevertheless, there are people who still believe in returning despite
a Western and Arab failure to act.
About 10,000 Christians left Mosul. Nothing like this has happened
since the Armenian genocide in Turkey about a hundred years ago.Until
last week, ISIS was just a "joke" or a "boogieman created by the
Syrian regime to scare minorities and keep them by its side." That is
why kidnapping the two bishops, Boulos al-Yazigi and Youhana Ibrahim,
near Aleppo a year and a half ago did not serve as an adequate warning
of how serious and extremist these fundamentalist movements are. The
occupation of Maaloula and the burning of its churches did not change
anything in the Syrian scene and the kidnapping of the nuns was not
met with a response proportional to the crime. All this passed in
absolute lightness as some Lebanese politicians scoffed at the
fundamentalist danger: this is the people's revolution.
Last February, ISIS issued a decree similar to Mosul's decree in the
Syrian city of al-Raqqa, asking Christians to pay a religious levy in
gold and minimize the appearances of any of their religious
paraphernalia. Then they began carrying out judgements based on
"Islamic law" from lashes to killing, crucifixions and stoning. But it
is that same old lightness - intentional perhaps - that drove some to
say "there are people extending the life of the regime by fabricating
news and videos and misleading journalists and foreign news agencies."
That is why it took ISIS crossing the Syrian border towards Iraq for
some people to become conscious of the danger... and recognize it, if
only to avoid embarrassment.
Last Saturday was the deadline that ISIS gave Christians in Mosul to
either convert to Islam, pay a religious levy, leave the city or die
by the sword. As a result, about 10,000 Christians left Mosul. Nothing
like this has happened since the Armenian genocide in Turkey about a
hundred years ago.
Ignatius Aphrem II, patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Antioch
and All the East, said that most of the Christian families fled to
Kurdistan and the Nineveh Plains while others went to Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon. Remarkably, Aphrem II said that some families insisted on
staying in Mosul, adding: "we lost contact with them." Until now,
"there is no information whatsoever about the fate of these families,"
he confirmed.
Yesterday Aphrem II headed a meeting at the patriarchal residence in
Atchanah - Bikfaya, five days after the "war crime," as he called it
in his message, that included representatives of the five churches
found in Mosul to discuss the situation of Christians in the city. The
ecclesiastic gathering was large, it included patriarchal vicar of the
Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Diocese, Youhanna Jihad Battah, Chaldean
bishop of Lebanon, Michel Kasarji, priest of the Assyrian Church of
the East in Lebanon, Fr. Yathroun Koulianos, general secretary of the
Middle East Council of Churches, Fr. Michel Jalkh, Fr. Carlo Yeshuah,
associate secretaries of the Middle East Council of Churches, Deacon
Jimmy Danho and Mr. Elias Halabi, bishops of the Syriac Orthodox
Church in Lebanon, president of the Syriac League, Habib Afram in
addition to the Iraqi cleric Abdel Rahim al-Musawi, Iraq's Ambassador
in Lebanon Dr. Raad al-Alousi and Iraq's consul in Lebanon, Dr. Walid
Abdel Qader al-Issa.
In his message, Patriarch Aphrem II condemned incidents "considered
barbaric and unprecedented in the history of Christian-Muslim
relations in this region. ISIS systematically forced Christians out of
the city of Mosul labeling them with racist signs and symbols,
humiliating and luting them." He called on Muslims and their leaders
to "take a clear stance," expressing astonishment at the prevailing
silence "except for some Muslim religious leaders and civil
dignitaries." He went on to say that injustices such as "burning
churches and taking over holy sites will not compel us to ask for
Western protection or help."
He declared however: "We are going to address the United Nations (UN)
and the highest international and human rights fora to hold them
accountable to the Bill of Rights they claim to support." He called on
the Iraqi government and "Kurdish brothers" to protect Christians. He
also said that an urgent meeting will be convened soon with the
patriarchs of the East and a Christian delegation from the East will
be formed to take this issue before the UN and other international
platforms.
"Mosul deserves a united news bulletin like Gaza."In response to a
question on whether the church is in contact with Iraqi authorities,
Ephram II said there is no direct coordination with any of the civil
or political authorities in Iraq but the bishops are in contact with
Kurdish authorities to "secure a decent living for our children." The
patriarch asserted that "these terrorist parties are supported by
states." At the same time, he held the Iraqi government responsible
for the security and safety of Iraqi Christians.
Sheikh Abdel Rahim al-Musawi described what is happening as "ethnic
cleansing. It is our moral, national and religious duty to stand in
solidarity. Not just stand in solidarity but we should go a lot
further than that, we should go to the highest international
organizations in the world to put a stop to this abuse of people's
lives, blood and property."
The conference, which was broadcast live on a number of TV stations,
did not last more than half an hour. However, as expected, its
resonance ended with the end of the broadcast. Iraq's Christians were
forcibly displaced from their homes in 2003 and now they are going
through the same experience again after 11 years amid a lethal Western
and Arab silence. One of the churches of Mosul, built 1,500 years ago,
was burned and crosses have been removed from other churches.
Mosul's Christian families have fled to relatively safe areas in Iraq.
Most of them today are housed in schools or are simply out on the
sidewalks as they wait for refugee camps to be built or to be
transferred to decent housing. According to those present, there are
no armed Christian groups except those guarding villages and cities.
This is the first time that Mosul is emptied of its Christians amid
fear that ISIS might reach other areas in the Nineveh province.
Patriarch Aphrem II and the heads of other churches are trying as much
as possible to put pressure on relevant parties, for "we still believe
in returning." In the end, they issued a message to the Lebanese
media: "Mosul deserves a united news bulletin like Gaza."
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Roula Ibrahim
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/20871/
July 24 2014
Christian leaders express shock at world silence after ISIS expels
Iraqi Christians
by Asad Abu Khalil
The patriarchal residence in the town of Atchanah in Lebanon's Metn
region brought together yesterday representatives of the churches of
Mosul five days after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
forced Iraqi Christians out of the city. This is the first time that
Mosul's Christian population has been driven out of the city and is
the largest forced displacement since the Armenian genocide.
Nevertheless, there are people who still believe in returning despite
a Western and Arab failure to act.
About 10,000 Christians left Mosul. Nothing like this has happened
since the Armenian genocide in Turkey about a hundred years ago.Until
last week, ISIS was just a "joke" or a "boogieman created by the
Syrian regime to scare minorities and keep them by its side." That is
why kidnapping the two bishops, Boulos al-Yazigi and Youhana Ibrahim,
near Aleppo a year and a half ago did not serve as an adequate warning
of how serious and extremist these fundamentalist movements are. The
occupation of Maaloula and the burning of its churches did not change
anything in the Syrian scene and the kidnapping of the nuns was not
met with a response proportional to the crime. All this passed in
absolute lightness as some Lebanese politicians scoffed at the
fundamentalist danger: this is the people's revolution.
Last February, ISIS issued a decree similar to Mosul's decree in the
Syrian city of al-Raqqa, asking Christians to pay a religious levy in
gold and minimize the appearances of any of their religious
paraphernalia. Then they began carrying out judgements based on
"Islamic law" from lashes to killing, crucifixions and stoning. But it
is that same old lightness - intentional perhaps - that drove some to
say "there are people extending the life of the regime by fabricating
news and videos and misleading journalists and foreign news agencies."
That is why it took ISIS crossing the Syrian border towards Iraq for
some people to become conscious of the danger... and recognize it, if
only to avoid embarrassment.
Last Saturday was the deadline that ISIS gave Christians in Mosul to
either convert to Islam, pay a religious levy, leave the city or die
by the sword. As a result, about 10,000 Christians left Mosul. Nothing
like this has happened since the Armenian genocide in Turkey about a
hundred years ago.
Ignatius Aphrem II, patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Antioch
and All the East, said that most of the Christian families fled to
Kurdistan and the Nineveh Plains while others went to Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon. Remarkably, Aphrem II said that some families insisted on
staying in Mosul, adding: "we lost contact with them." Until now,
"there is no information whatsoever about the fate of these families,"
he confirmed.
Yesterday Aphrem II headed a meeting at the patriarchal residence in
Atchanah - Bikfaya, five days after the "war crime," as he called it
in his message, that included representatives of the five churches
found in Mosul to discuss the situation of Christians in the city. The
ecclesiastic gathering was large, it included patriarchal vicar of the
Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Diocese, Youhanna Jihad Battah, Chaldean
bishop of Lebanon, Michel Kasarji, priest of the Assyrian Church of
the East in Lebanon, Fr. Yathroun Koulianos, general secretary of the
Middle East Council of Churches, Fr. Michel Jalkh, Fr. Carlo Yeshuah,
associate secretaries of the Middle East Council of Churches, Deacon
Jimmy Danho and Mr. Elias Halabi, bishops of the Syriac Orthodox
Church in Lebanon, president of the Syriac League, Habib Afram in
addition to the Iraqi cleric Abdel Rahim al-Musawi, Iraq's Ambassador
in Lebanon Dr. Raad al-Alousi and Iraq's consul in Lebanon, Dr. Walid
Abdel Qader al-Issa.
In his message, Patriarch Aphrem II condemned incidents "considered
barbaric and unprecedented in the history of Christian-Muslim
relations in this region. ISIS systematically forced Christians out of
the city of Mosul labeling them with racist signs and symbols,
humiliating and luting them." He called on Muslims and their leaders
to "take a clear stance," expressing astonishment at the prevailing
silence "except for some Muslim religious leaders and civil
dignitaries." He went on to say that injustices such as "burning
churches and taking over holy sites will not compel us to ask for
Western protection or help."
He declared however: "We are going to address the United Nations (UN)
and the highest international and human rights fora to hold them
accountable to the Bill of Rights they claim to support." He called on
the Iraqi government and "Kurdish brothers" to protect Christians. He
also said that an urgent meeting will be convened soon with the
patriarchs of the East and a Christian delegation from the East will
be formed to take this issue before the UN and other international
platforms.
"Mosul deserves a united news bulletin like Gaza."In response to a
question on whether the church is in contact with Iraqi authorities,
Ephram II said there is no direct coordination with any of the civil
or political authorities in Iraq but the bishops are in contact with
Kurdish authorities to "secure a decent living for our children." The
patriarch asserted that "these terrorist parties are supported by
states." At the same time, he held the Iraqi government responsible
for the security and safety of Iraqi Christians.
Sheikh Abdel Rahim al-Musawi described what is happening as "ethnic
cleansing. It is our moral, national and religious duty to stand in
solidarity. Not just stand in solidarity but we should go a lot
further than that, we should go to the highest international
organizations in the world to put a stop to this abuse of people's
lives, blood and property."
The conference, which was broadcast live on a number of TV stations,
did not last more than half an hour. However, as expected, its
resonance ended with the end of the broadcast. Iraq's Christians were
forcibly displaced from their homes in 2003 and now they are going
through the same experience again after 11 years amid a lethal Western
and Arab silence. One of the churches of Mosul, built 1,500 years ago,
was burned and crosses have been removed from other churches.
Mosul's Christian families have fled to relatively safe areas in Iraq.
Most of them today are housed in schools or are simply out on the
sidewalks as they wait for refugee camps to be built or to be
transferred to decent housing. According to those present, there are
no armed Christian groups except those guarding villages and cities.
This is the first time that Mosul is emptied of its Christians amid
fear that ISIS might reach other areas in the Nineveh province.
Patriarch Aphrem II and the heads of other churches are trying as much
as possible to put pressure on relevant parties, for "we still believe
in returning." In the end, they issued a message to the Lebanese
media: "Mosul deserves a united news bulletin like Gaza."
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Roula Ibrahim
http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/20871/