Baghdad: some Christians reduced to dhimmitude
December 12, 2011
The Latin Rite archbishop of Baghdad says that some Christians have been reduced to dhimmitude and are being forced to pay the jizya, a special tax that permits them to practice their faith.
Christians are “helplessly witnessing crime, mafia, or militia,” says Archbishop Jean Benjamin Sleiman, who told Aid to the Church in Need that Christmas Mass will be “celebrated during the day, for safety reasons. It will be a Christmas between fear and sturdy faith.”
The prelate called upon the international community to support Iraq’s government “so that Iraq once again becomes a [place of] rule of law.”
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Further information:
- Nearing Christmas "between fear and sturdy faith" (Fides)
- Attacks and discrimination against religious minorities are increasing (Fides)
- Jizya (Wikipedia)
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Posted by: Contrary1995 -
Dec. 12, 2011 6:36 PM ET USA
Saddam Hussein was a tyrant and a thug, but he also steadfastly opposed Islamic extremism and protected all Christian minorities. If I were an Iraqi Christian, I would pray for the return of a dictator who could keep the real persecutors at bay. The same sad story will play itself out in Egypt and Libya, and probably in Syria as well. Listen to the Christians of the region!
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Posted by: Gil125 -
Dec. 12, 2011 4:38 PM ET USA
One does wonder what time the Archbishop has in mind when he wishes that Iraq "'that Iraq once again becomes a [place of] rule of law.'” Not, one assumes, the good old days when it was owned and operated by Saddam Hussein & Co.
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Posted by: AgnesDay -
Dec. 12, 2011 3:50 PM ET USA
And when our troops leave, what do you expect to happen?
