“Ninety-nine percent of the Christians have left Mosul,” pastor Haitham Jazrawi said today following the takeover of Iraq’s second largest city””and its ancient Christian homeland””by al-Qaeda-linked jihadist militants.
A mass exodus of Christians and Muslims is underway from the city of 1.8 million after hundreds of gunmen with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) overran the city and forced out the Iraqi army and the police. Reports indicate Iraqi army units abandoned their posts, in the process giving up U.S.-provided weapons and vehicles, including Humvees, in what was a key base of operations for U.S. military forces throughout the Iraq war. Long a city of diverse religious and ethnic makeup””with Arabs and Kurds, and a large population of Assyrian Christians””Mosul was a flashpoint during the eight-year conflict.
I have not been aware of any of the mainstream media covering this angle. The Catholic and Orthodox churches both have archbishops in Mosul and substantial minority populations, with convents, parishes etc. What will happen to them? We can fear for the lives of the people and the destruction of the buildings. Kyrie, eleison.
Amen, Fr. Tee.
Whether as Brits or Americans, it’s tragic, even heart-breaking, to see how the Allied intervention in Iraq has resulted in the unintended consequence that the Christian minority there has been devastated, and may soon become extinct.
So yes, Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy not only on them, but also on us.
David Handy+