IRAQ: In spite of the campaign against them, most Iraqi Christians are likely to stay on and defy the bombers, writes Michael Jansen in Baghdad
The Iraqi government yesterday blamed bomb attacks against four churches in Baghdad and one in Mosul on the Jordanian militant, Mr Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
His Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) group has been held responsible for many of the devastating car bombs which have killed hundreds and wounded thousands of Iraqis since the first bomber struck at the Jordanian embassy in mid- August last year.
Twelve people were killed and 40 injured in the co-ordinated church bombings, which took place as congregations gathered for worship at dusk on Sunday.
These attacks were the first on Christian places of worship since the end of the US war in April 2003. However, since then about 120 Christians have been murdered, several of them owners of shops selling alcoholic beverages. Christian liquor shops are being raided, trashed and torched frequently by followers of the radical Shia cleric Mr Muqtada al-Sadr.
But his spokesman in Najaf, Mr Ahmad al-Shabani, strongly con- demned Sunday's bombings and said that they were intended to "create strife among the united people of Iraq."
Most Iraqis agree with this assessment. Last Friday, Dr Wamid Nadmi, a professor of political science at Baghdad University, told The Irish Times that he expected attacks against Christians by the elements trying to destabilise Iraq because "they have failed to stir up trouble between Sunnis and Shias."
Iraq's Christians, an ancient community, are about 3 per cent of the total population of 24 million. The Chaldean Catholics constitute the largest Christian group followed by the Assyrians, and the Greek, Syrian and Armenian Orthodox. There are also small congregations of Latin Catholics and Protestants.
During the monarchy the Christians were an influential community, particularly in the educational and business spheres. Under the secular nationalist and Ba'athist regimes, Christians were not persecuted.
They enjoyed freedom of religion and prospered because many belonged to the educated middle-class. The former deputy prime minister, Mr Tariq Aziz, was a Christian. However, a wave of emigration followed the 1991 war and the imposition of sanctions which impoverished all Iraqi communities.
The rise of Islamic radicalism which followed the 2003 war has also prompted many Iraqi Christians to depart or think of leaving their country.
Christian clerics and laymen expressed serious concern over the adoption last spring of a temporary administrative law which stated that Islam is the religion of a majority of Iraqis.
Because many have relatives living abroad it is easier for Christians than Muslims to find countries prepared to admit them.
The church bombings could prompt the abandonment of Iraq by some who have stayed on in spite of all the trials and tribulations of living in an occupied country at war.
However, the majority of Christians who have remained are likely to continue to brave the bombers. Many are property owners or businessmen with all their assets in Iraq.
Men remain although they may send their families abroad.
My landlord, who has three buildings in central Baghdad, lives between Iraq and Britain and his wife minds their property when he goes abroad.
Iraq's native churches are also trying to encourage their congregations to stay by providing assistance to needy members. The bombings were a blow to the efforts of those who seek to preserve the 2,000-year-old Christian presence in Mesopotamia.