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Christian Iraqis mourn lives lost in Iraq church bombings

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  • Christian Iraqis mourn lives lost in Iraq church bombings

    Christian Iraqis mourn lives lost in Iraq church bombings
    By Lori Arnold

    ChristianTimes.com
    Sept 2 2004

    CHRISTIAN EXAMINER

    EL CAJON, Calif. -- After years of brutal unrest in their homeland,
    the Christian Chaldean population was rocked again Aug. 1 when 11
    Iraqi citizens were killed during five orchestrated attacks on
    Christian churches in Mosul and Baghdad. Dozens were wounded.

    In response, nearly 100 people attended a memorial meeting Aug. 4 at
    the Chaldean American Association center, north of the city's
    downtown. El Cajon, Calif. is home to the second largest Chaldean
    community in the nation, behind Detroit.

    The observance opened with prayers recited by a visiting priest and
    several deacons. The acapella chants of mourning, offered in the
    Chaldean language, eventually gave rise to impassioned condemnations
    of the civilian attacks.

    "The land is now filled with terrorists, criminals, guns and havoc,"
    interpreter Sami Banarji quoted Hanna Qalabat as saying.

    "The land where law was first established has become a land of
    lawlessness."

    Qalabat, who asked for mercy for the "martyrs who died in the
    churches," said despite the bloodshed, their resolve for a free Iraq
    should remain strong.

    "We've got to continue to fight these gangsters, no matter what
    happens," he said.

    A few minutes into the event, with the arrival of several contingents
    of Muslims--there to show solidarity through their own calls for
    peace--the conversation switched to Arabic.

    Alan Zangana, program director for Kurdish Human Rights Watch, said
    that any attack on a place of worship is condemned by all.

    "The ones that executed these people, they say they are Muslims, but
    the Muslims disown them," he said.

    In a news release issued there, Zangana said that his group "condemns
    any evil act committed toward innocent civilians. Citizens of Iraq
    view Chaldeans, Assyrians and Armenians as brothers and sisters and
    respect one another's worship places and these criminal acts are not
    accepted by all Iraqis from all different faiths."

    The perpetrators of such attacks, he said, should be "punished and
    brought to justice."


    A call for unity
    Sheikh Saeed, from Al-Madina Al-Munawara Mosque in El Cajon, offered
    his own prayers of peace for the dead and recuperation for the
    injured.

    "The Iraqi people are all united, regardless of ethnicity or
    religion," he said. "We are only one family. There is no animosity,
    no hostility. All parties are trying to live in peace, but these
    criminals are trying to divide that unity."

    His statement also contained a stern warning for the terrorists.

    "The more you execute these activities the more we're going to stand
    united," he said, challenging the terrorists to cite the passage in
    the Koran that commands use such measures.

    "Where were you criminals when Saddam Hussein was killing or
    terrorizing the people?"


    Fears fulfilled
    The church bombings underscored fears long held by Iraqi Christians,
    whose numbers are estimated at 750,000. With the country's new
    government still in its infancy, missionary and evangelism groups are
    keeping a careful eye on the situation.

    Many Christians, Open Doors officials said, are feeling increased
    persecution from Muslims who view Christians as American
    sympathizers.

    Even before the church bombings, Christian businesses were being
    targeted for attacks, including liquor stores and fashion and beauty
    shops.

    As a result, Open Doors USA has ceased all training sessions
    scheduled in that country, although materials targeting teens and
    children are still being supplied. A new education center is to help
    church leaders get together, while offering English and computer
    classes. A mobile medical clinic is also being organized in one
    extremely dangerous Iraqi city.

    In the days before the change of power, Open Doors issued an alert
    asking Western Christians to pray for a peaceful transition.

    "Pray for the violence to come to an end and that the transition of
    power will be smooth," said Dr. Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors
    USA. "Pray that Iraqi Christians and other Christians working and
    serving in Iraq will be kept safe. And pray that Christians will be
    allowed to worship our Lord in freedom as a new government is formed
    later this year."


    Fleeing Iraq
    Still, many Iraqi Christians, fearful of imminent attacks and uneasy
    about the government's ability to protect them, have fled to
    neighboring Jordan and Syria.

    Wissam Sagman, an Iraqi Christian living in his native country, told
    reporters that he had already attempted unsuccessfully to leave the
    country, fearing his family would not be safe. The attacks confirmed
    his fears, he said standing in his living room, wrecked from a car
    bomb attack on an Armenian church across the street.

    "These people, they love blood. They hate humanity. They hate us,"
    Sagman told Associated Press. "They want all the Christians to
    leave."

    Sagman said he will continue his quest to leave the country.

    "I feel despair now," he said. "Only despair."


    Looking forward
    Despite the fear and unrest in the Middle East, Dr. Labib Sultan, of
    the locally based Organization for Civil Society in Iraq, speaking at
    the El Cajon memorial event, stressed his longing for a peaceful
    Iraq.

    "We hope that we have a good solid future tomorrow for Iraq to build
    new rights, the rights and the freedom to work, the freedom of
    prayer, the freedom of speech. We have been dependent on all these
    rights for years and years," Sultan said, according to the
    translator.

    "The same guns that attacked the Christians, attacked the Muslims and
    they attacked the Kurds up north and Muslims in the south. They claim
    they are Muslims. They are followers of Saddam. The only thing is the
    time and place is different."

    While much of the local discussion focused on verbal condemnation,
    one speaker encouraged action. Words alone, Saleem Ibrahim of the
    American Middle-Easter Christian Association said, will not bring
    lasting peace.

    "Be ambassadors of peace," he said. "When things are tough, things
    get solved. So the time is right for things to be solved. Do positive
    actions, it's not enough to just come and talk. Terrorism will not go
    away unless we plan and think and educate people."

    For Banarji, the translator, he said the presence of Muslims at the
    meeting was a sign of hope.

    "They said condolences and condemned the whole thing," Banarji said.
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