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Five churches were bombed in Iraq before dawn on Saturday. No one was injured in the attacks, which occurred between 4 and 6 a.m. at churches in four Baghdad neighborhoods.

Three churches were attacked with homemade bombs thrown from a car. The other two bombs were planted inside churches. The attacks occurred at the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The same day, leaflets were scattered around Baghdad saying insurgents would attack hard and often throughout the month.

"We didn't expect that in Ramadan innocent people and places of worship would be attacked," said Majed Ismaeel, a 43-year-old furniture maker, as he surveyed the damage at the Saint Tuma Church. "The one who committed this is neither a Muslim nor a Christian, he is not human. We ask the government to fight them and destroy them."

Saint Joseph was the first church hit. Then "flames engulfed the Roman Catholic St. George's church in the central Baghdad district of Karrada, leaving its wood-built sanctuary charred," reports Agence France-Presse.

''It is a criminal act to make Iraq unstable and to create religious difficulties,'' the Rev. Zaya Yousef of St. George's Church said of the latest attacks. ''But this will not happen because we all live together like brothers in this country through sadness and happiness.''

The Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni clerical group, condemned the attacks.

Iraq's Christians have been fleeing the country, particularly following church attacks in August that left 11 dead. Saturday's attacks "will no doubt push people to emigrate," Father Raphael Qutaimi, acting bishop of the Syrian Catholic Church, said. "But this country has been ours for thousands of years. Our ancestors shed blood defending it. We mustn't leave it.''

"Pascale Isho Warda, a Christian who is the interim government's minister for displacement and migration, estimated as many as 15,000 out of Iraq's nearly 1 million Christians have left the country since August," reports the Associated Press. Other reports estimate there are between 650,000 and 800,000 Christians in Iraq.

Many Christians stayed away from Mass yesterday, afraid that the attacks would continue. "I am sad in my heart because tomorrow I will not be attending Mass,'' said Widad, a Chaldean Christian. "They are denying us what is most important thing in our lives.''

"What can we do? They are shelling our church, they might break into our homes tomorrow and the next day force us to wear the veil," Widad said.

"The [Christian] community stood at 1.4 million people according to a 1987 census but has since shrivelled to 700,000 during a turbulent period of war and years of crippling sanctions," reports Agence France-Presse.

Still, many Christians refuse to leave. "It would be better to die in church than anywhere else," said Dana George.

About 100 parishioners met at St. Joseph's Catholic church for Sunday services. The church was nearly completely destroyed by the explosion. Members gathered for an all-day clean-up effort after the attack, and were able to meet on Sunday. "We carry on as we did before. Its just symbolic, to say that whatever they do to us, or to others, we carry on believing in God and praying," said St. Joseph's priest, Father Vincent.

At a Greek Catholic church yesterday, Nabil and Fayza Jamil brought their baby forward for baptism. Nabil, the church's caretaker, lives with his family at the church. They were there when it was attacked and their home suffered damage. "After the attack, Father Mansour had come to check the damage, and he told me that he would hold a service on Sunday like always. I insisted on baptizing my son," Jamil said.

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October (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48