A group of Republicans and Democrats are urging President Obama to help prevent the death of more Iraqi Christians. In their public letter to President Obama, the group warned that that unless something is done the situation “promises more innocent Christian blood in Iraq, more turmoil in that country, and more shame for America.
The Hill wrote that since 2004, 40 Christian churches and institutions have been bombed, according to the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America, seven on the eve of Orthodox Christmas alone in 2007.
Before the ouster of Saddam Hussein, there were about 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. Today, through a mass exodus and violence that has included a dozen members of the clergy killed or kidnapped, about 400,000 remain.
We can sometimes forget that in many parts of the world how brave it is to be a Christian. We must remember that in many parts of the world just being a Christian is punishable by imprisonment or death. To hear that many Catholics showed up at Christmas Mass in Iraq despite the threat of death is awe inspiring to me. I pray that I would have such courage.
America can still do something about it in Iraq though while we still have influence. Rep. Frank Wolf said: “What you’re seeing is the eradication of the Christian community,…The world has pretty much turned away.”
My hopes are not high as it seems that standing by while wagging our finger is the fallback position for Western civilization in the face of genocide.
Note:Thanks to Weasel Zippers Weasel Zippers for the heads up on this story.
December 28, 2010 at 5:00 pm
He won't even issue a condemnation. But maybe, just maybe, the hope of not being impeached next month might goad him into some action.
December 28, 2010 at 5:44 pm
To be fair, Obama's predecessor bears blame for this as well. The persecution and exodus started on Bush's watch. (For the record, I'm not a liberal or habitual Bush-basher. I'm calling it as I see it on this one.)
December 28, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Don't hold your breath. A few lines pontificating on inclusion and a change of subject, that's all you'll get from Obama. Now if it was Christians persecuting Muslims, well that would be different……
December 28, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Really Dave? Muslims in Iraq, started persecuting Christians for the first time ever in the Bush era? Where can I find the verification for that seemingly crazy assertion? Putting that aside, does it matter when it started? It seems to me the most important question right now is not when it started or who was president. Rather, what is the appropriate response? Pretending for two seconds, that your assertion is accurate (Two seconds is all I can muster) if someone failed to do the good in the past is that license to continue to fail?
Sorry if I seem irritated, your comment reminds me of the liberals who always want to change the subject. Move on to another topic, convolute things, so, that you are no longer focused on issue at hand. Which is that currently Christians are being killed at an alarming rate in Iraq. Should the president, who quickly took up with the Imam in New York, in his cause for building a mosque at ground zero, quickly take up for the cause of the killing of Christians just because they are Christians?
Nobody is blaming Pres. Obama for Christians being killed. We are wondering if he is going to choose the good. It isn't his fault, that doesn't mean that he can't denounce out loud the behavior of a certain religious group(Muslims) who kill people that refuse to convert to their religion. Or do you think that since the persecution of Christians in Iraq is GW's fault we should do nothing.
December 29, 2010 at 12:07 am
Thank you for this post!
I'm comforted to see elected officials FINALLY saying something about it, as the anti-Christian media has either completely ignored or whitewashed the widespread persecution of Christians around the world.
I recently wrote about this persecution at my own blog, it isn't just Iraq, in many countries Christians are not able to even celebrate the birth of our Savior for fear of violence arrest and/or death:
http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2010/12/christmas-and-christians-who-need-our.html
From the Blazing Cat Fur blog, I came across an article today that you might also find interesting:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Dwindling+persecuted+Christians+Holy+Land+most+unreported+story/4030136/story.html#ixzz19Qi0YNyX
"Dwindling of persecuted Christians in Holy Land most unreported story"
There are hardly any Christians left in the birthplace of Christianity due to oppression and persecution and nobody seems to much care.
December 29, 2010 at 4:00 pm
From what I can tell nobody left or right cares about Middle Eastern Christians.
December 29, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Ron:
I repeat: I'm not a liberal, and I am certainly no fan of Obama. I'm as conservative as they come. But I am pointing out that the Assyrian Christians' plight has been ignored for a long time. I expect no response from Obama. I wish Bush had responded much, much earlier.
December 31, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Obama's silence = consent.
January 3, 2011 at 4:22 pm
I quoted from this post at my blog today, where I wrote about another horrible attack on Iraqi Christians:
http://zillablog.marezilla.com/2011/01/doorbell-death-for-iraqi-christians-in.html