FIREBOMBED BAGHDAD CHURCH REOPENS BUT THE FAITHFUL HAVE FLED

[Sally]

Sad when you think of the Assyrians being ancient people in the Middle East.


FIREBOMBED BAGHDAD CHURCH REOPENS BUT THE FAITHFUL HAVE FLED

LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images

by THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D.4 Nov 20150


The church of Saint George in Baghdad, which was closed down in 2007 after being firebombed by Islamic militants, was finallyreopened Monday, but local clergy worry that there are no longer any Assyrian Christians left to worship there.
The church is located in a neighborhood of south Baghdad called Dora, which once was predominantly Christian. In 2004, jihadists rained terror upon the 20,000 Assyrian Christians living there, burning 500 Christian-owned shops in one night, bombing churches and exacting the jizya, a Sharia-based tax, from Christian inhabitants of the area.

The bombings resulted in the deaths of dozens of Christians, and these persecutions, along with demands that Assyrian girls be married off to Muslims, led to a mass exodus of Assyrian Christians from the region. Of the original 20,000 Christians, a mere handful remain.

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Firebombed Baghdad Church Reopens but the Faithful Have Fled - Breitbart?

 

[Penelope]

We had no right to attack Iraq.

 

[Penelope]

Iraqi Assyrians have faced increased persecution following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, including attacks on Assyrian churches – some estimate that 60 percent of Iraqi Assyrians have fled the country since the Iraq War began.

8 things you didn't know about Assyrian Christians

 

[irosie91]

Iraqi Assyrians have faced increased persecution following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, including attacks on Assyrian churches – some estimate that 60 percent of Iraqi Assyrians have fled the country since the Iraq War began.

8 things you didn't know about Assyrian Christians

obviously---Penelope----besides having never known a jew or muslim----
you never knew an Assyrian ---or Syrian----Christian. We got lots
in the USA------who fled Islamic persecution--------I knew such people in
the USA more than 50 years ago. I cannot imagine why anyone
would date that persecution to some putative event in 2003. You should be
a bit more discerning about that which GALVANIZES Islamic ----annoyance.
It does not take much.

 

[Sally]

Iraqi Assyrians have faced increased persecution following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, including attacks on Assyrian churches – some estimate that 60 percent of Iraqi Assyrians have fled the country since the Iraq War began.

8 things you didn't know about Assyrian Christians

obviously---Penelope----besides having never known a jew or muslim----
you never knew an Assyrian ---or Syrian----Christian. We got lots
in the USA------who fled Islamic persecution--------I knew such people in
the USA more than 50 years ago. I cannot imagine why anyone
would date that persecution to some putative event in 2003. You should be
a bit more discerning about that which GALVANIZES Islamic ----annoyance.
It does not take much.

There are Assyrian churches in the Los Angeles area, and no doubt the members are sick about what has happened to Assyrian churches in the Middle East.. I remember reading a few years back about classes in the Aramaic language that some of the church members were taking because they wanted to be able to speak the language of their ancestors.. The following was a good article from the Smithsonian.

How to Save a Dying Language | Innovation | Smithsonian