OPINION (CP) – Christianity in Iraq is “close to extinction” and those who remain may “face martyrdom,” yet some Christian leaders in Britain refuse to condemn the atrocities perpetrated by Muslim extremists for fear of being accused of Islamophobia, the Archbishop of Irbil has said. During an address delivered in London, the Most Rev. Bashar Warda said Iraq’s Christian population is down to just 250,000 — an 83% decrease in population since the United States’ invasion of Iraq, according to the BBC. “Christianity in Iraq,” he said, “one of the oldest churches,
if not the oldest church in the world, is perilously close to extinction. Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom.” While the Islamic State terrorist group was driven from its last stronghold in Iraq earlier this year, religious structures and homes belonging to Christian families have been destroyed and thousands of families have not returned, he stressed. “Our tormentors confiscated our present,” he said, “while seeking to wipe out our history and destroy our future. In Iraq there is no redress for those who have lost properties, homes and businesses. Tens of thousands of Christians have nothing to show for their life’s work, for generations of work, in places where their families have lived, maybe, for thousands of years.” FULL REPORT
