Iraqi Christians Face Unknowns of War
As a U.S.-led war to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein begins, Iraq’s small Christian minority fears more than American bombs. They expect to be targeted by a growing tide of Islamic militancy now being encouraged in the secularized Arab state. Numbering less than 400,000, Iraq’s Christian community has in recent months become the object of overt discrimination by Muslim elements. The attacks have ranged from verbal abuse and graffiti campaigns to stone-throwing and even brutal assassinations. Over the past few weeks, anti-Christian rhetoric has dominated Friday-prayer sermons in Baghdad’s mosques. :: This Religion Today report is submitted for your persecution (Matthew 24:8) files.