Christians in Iraq flee Islamic State

This article orginally appeared on The Media Line.

The Christian community in Iraq traces its roots to the first century. But the continued expansion of Islamic State across large parts of Iraq is sparking a Christian exodus from these countries. There is concern that one of the world’s oldest Christian communities could be eliminated completely from the area.

In 2003, the Christian population in Iraq was estimated at 1.5 million, from several communities including Assyrians, Chaldeans and Armenians. Among them are Christians who speak neo-Aramaic, the language most similar to what Jesus spoke. Today there are an estimated 200,000- 600,000 Christians in Iraq.

“The Christians are being targeted by Islamic State and face extreme violence,” Renad Mansour of the Carnegie Middle East Center told The Media Line. “The Christians are the indigenous people of Iraq which is the cradle of civilization. The fact that that are leaving is a blow to Iraq.”

Canon Andrew White, the founder and president of The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, and the long-time spiritual leader of St. George’s Anglican Church in Baghdad goes even further.

“Iraq is finished as a country,” he told The Media Line. “There are a few safe towns near the Shi’ite shrines like Najaf and Karbala and parts of Baghdad but about two-thirds of the country is under the control of Islamic State.”

Once Islamic State takes over, it demands that Christians either convert, or pay the jizya, a massive tax levied on no-Muslims. There are also reports of dozens of Christian women being taken captive and forced to be sex slaves for Islamic State soldiers. Houses where Christians live are painted with a red letter “nun” for Nasara, or Christian. Many Christians say they fled, rather than try to live under Islamic State.

The US has paid a heavy price for its involvement in Iraq. From 2003-2010 tens of thousands of US soldiers tried to help Iraq rebuild itself as a democracy after the fall of long-time strongman Saddadm Hussein. More than 4400 US soldiers died fighting in Iraq. Iraqi civilians have paid a heavy price for the fighting, with more than 17,000 killed in 2014 alone. Sectarian attacks between majority Shi’ite and minority Sunni are a daily occurrence.

Some of the Christians have fled to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish area in northern Iraq, which hopes to become an autonomous state. But says analyst Mansour, many of the new arrivals speak only Arabic, not Kurdish. While they welcome the protection, they are unable to integrate into the area.

Others have fled to Jordan or Turkey, said Canon White, and his organization has tried to set up schools for them and find them housing. Like most refugees, they yearn to return to their homes.

Other Christians have been allowed into the US, either because they already have relatives in the US, or on special student visas. Canon White says they are given enough money to last for eight months and then left to fend for themselves.

The international coalition including Saudi Arabia has launched dozens of air strikes on IS-controlled areas. In the case of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown they successfully drove out IS. They say they hope do the same in Mosul, and to take back more and more of Iraq. But by the time that happens, there may be no Christians left in the country.