October 20, 2004
by Noel Bruyns
Ecumenical News International

BANGKOK - Syrian Catholic Archbishop Basilios Georges Casmoussa of Mosul, had been speaking in Bangkok to a global gathering of Christian media specialists about religious coexistence in Iraq when five churches in Baghdad were bombed.

The bombings on Oct. 16 prompted new Vatican concern about the fate of Iraqi Christian communities who make up about 700,000 of the country's 25 million people. No one was injured or killed, but several of the churches were reported to be badly damaged.

There are five Evangelical (Presbyterian) churches in Iraq. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Middle East coordinator Victor Makari was traveling in the region and was unavailable for comment.

The groups that carry out such attacks "hope that many, many more Christians will go," Archbishop Casmoussa told the Catholic News Service. "Their strategy is to create fear among the Christians and push them out of Iraq."

About 70 per cent of Iraq's Christians belong to the Chaldean church, which follows the ancient Chaldean rite but is in union with the Roman Catholic Church. More than 40,000 Christians are believed to have left Iraq since the invasion by the United States and its allies in February 2003.

The Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni clerical group, condemned the attacks. "Islam doesn't support the ongoing terrorism," said member Sheik Abdul Sattar Abdul-Jabbar.

In a speech in Bangkok the day before the latest bombings Casmoussa said, "There is no alternative to dialogue in a civilized, pluralistic society. And religions should play an essential role in this area." He had described the diversity of Iraq creating a richness and dynamism.

The speech was made at a meeting of the Geneva-based International Catholic Union of the Press, known under the French acronym UCIP, which met until Oct. 17 in the Thai capital to deliberate on the theme "Media Challenges amidst Cultural and Religious Pluralism."

In August, four churches in Baghdad and one in Mosul were attacked, which resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people and leaving dozens wounded. Following the Oct. 16 blasts, the Vatican's missionary news agency, Fides, published a dossier of information asking: "What future lies ahead for Christians in Iraq if this massacre continues?"

The agency reported that in a joint statement, leaders of the main Christian communities in Iraq - dean, Assyrians, Latins, Syrians, Armenians, Greek-Orthodox and others -demned attacks on Christian or Muslim places of worship aimed at breaking a tradition of peaceful co-existence between believers of both faiths.

"Christians and Muslims have lived here side by side for more than 1,400 years and they intend to continue," the leaders said, noting they would not be intimidated. "We will not leave our country, we will stay here and help to build an Iraq of peace, freedom democracy and tolerance."

Presbyterian News Service