3 of 3

The attack on St. Elya's Chaldean Church, for example, did far more damage to an "adjacent Shiite mosque, its minaret almost nuzzling the church's cross," the Los Angeles Times reports. The mosque was reportedly in the middle of a funeral service at the time. A Muslim family of five living next door to one of the churches was also killed, says The New York Times, as was a Muslim passer-by.

Iraq's Muslim clerics are condemning the attack, however, not because it killed Muslims, but because it killed Iraqi Christians.

"We reject these criminal acts which want to create religious and sectarian strife in Iraq," Adnan al-Asadi, a senior member of the Shi'ite Dawa Islamic party, told Reuters. "We do not differentiate between these acts which are in violation of religious and Islamic laws because the perpetrators of these acts … are the same people who strike Iraqi mosques and centers for the internal security forces."

A spokesman for radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, told Al-Jazeera television, "This is a cowardly act and targets all Iraqis."

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, was even harsher in his condemnation. "We condemn and reproach these hideous crimes and deem necessary the collaboration of everyone—the government and the people—in putting an end to aggression on Iraqis," he told the Associated Press. "We assert the importance of respecting the rights of Christian civilians and other religious minorities and reaffirm their right to live in their home country Iraq in security and peace."

Until then, however, it's likely that the Christian exodus from Iraq will grow. That is a tragedy, since Christians have been in the country since the first century—long before modern Iraq and the United States ever came into being. But it's more than a historical tragedy, Middle East Concern notes in a press release. Such an exodus "could harm Iraq's chances of becoming a pluralistic, tolerant society."

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Suggest links and stories by sending e-mail to weblog@christianitytoday.com

What is Weblog?

Check out Books & Culture's weekly weblog, Content & Context.

See our past Weblog updates:

July 30 | 29 | 28 | 27

July 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19

July 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12

July 9 | 8 | 7 | 6

July 3 | 2 | 1 | June 30

June 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21

and more, back to November 1999

first page |  3 of 3

share this page

August (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48