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There are still some old men alive in Iraq who were forcible converted to Islam in their childhood but remained Christians in their hearts, fasting during Lent and making merry at Christmas, Easter and Pentecost.

During Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, the Assysians' persecution was in a sense more of a cultural than a religious nature. "Tyrants hate minorities," said Yelda. Hence Saddam had hundreds of Assyrian villages razed, including one 2nd-century church. He also banned the Assyrians' cultural clubs where they had kept their literary language alive.

But in Saddam's days, too, Muslim mobs terrorized Iraqi Christians, beheading on August 15, 2002, a Chaldean nun, Sister Cecilia Hanna, whose monastery they had stormed.

Like their cousins, the Jews, Assyrians are now scattered around the world. Almost 300,000 went to America, primarily the Chicago area. Others live in Jordan, Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

It is with a heavy heart that Pope John Paul II reacted to the news of the murderous attacks on Iraq's churches by stressing his closeness to the marvelous and venerable Christian culture, which is at the point of oblivion.

Uwe Siemon-Netto is UPI's religious affairs editor.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Christianity Today's Weblog has covered the church bombings and their aftermath. Keep checking this feature for the latest news and analysis on Iraqi Christians.

For more in Iraq and its Christians, see our full coverage area. We also have a full coverage area for the war in that country.

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August (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48