D063 Supporting Christians in Iraq
The Christian communities in Iraq are among the oldest continuous Christian populations in the world, some dating back to the 1st century BCE reputedly resulting from the mission of St. Thomas. -- The historic Christian communities in Iraq are the last on earth speaking and worshipping in Aramaic, the language of Jesus. -- Historically the Christians in Iraq have periodically been subject to persecutions, massacres and cultural and political discrimination going back centuries. -- These persecutions reached catastrophic proportions with the rise of Daesh (ISIS) following the U.S. led invasion of 2003. This culminated in 2014 with approximately 120,000 Christians primarily from the capital Baghdad and the Nineveh Plains fleeing into the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan for safety. On March 7, 2016 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared Daesh guilty of genocide against religious minorities in Iraq, following the U.S. Congress unanimously passing a non-binding resolution condemning Daesh atrocities as genocide. --In 2017/18 Daesh was militarily driven out of Iraq, opening the possibility of Christians returning to their historic homelands to rebuild their communities, churches and cultural and commercial lives.
Explanation
The Christian communities in Iraq are among the oldest continuous Christian populations in the world, some dating back to the 1st century BCE reputedly resulting from the mission of St. Thomas. -- The historic Christian communities in Iraq are the last on earth speaking and worshipping in Aramaic, the language of Jesus. -- Historically the Christians in Iraq have periodically been subject to persecutions, massacres and cultural and political discrimination going back centuries. -- These persecutions reached catastrophic proportions with the rise of Daesh (ISIS) following the U.S. led invasion of 2003. This culminated in 2014 with approximately 120,000 Christians primarily from the capital Baghdad and the Nineveh Plains fleeing into the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan for safety. On March 7, 2016 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared Daesh guilty of genocide against religious minorities in Iraq, following the U.S. Congress unanimously passing a non-binding resolution condemning Daesh atrocities as genocide. --In 2017/18 Daesh was militarily driven out of Iraq, opening the possibility of Christians returning to their historic homelands to rebuild their communities, churches and cultural and commercial lives.