Posted on 11/18/2008 12:08:45 AM PST by Bokababe
(AINA) -- A Christian bishop received a threatening letter written by Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish Muslim group affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq. The letter ordered the Christians to leave Iraq en masse and stated it is sending a final warning to Christians in Baghdad and other Iraqi governorates to leave Iraq permanently.
(Excerpt) Read more at aina.org ...
ON THE INTERNET:
www.alitthad.com/paper.php?name=News&file=article&sid=46250
www.alitthad.com/
A huge number of American soldiers in Iraq are Christians. Did they get that letter too?
Actually, with the coming mideast war and decimation, there is a silver lining to the Christian exodus. They will be safely emigrated and can go back in to resettle the area after the destruction.
This is “multiculturalism” at its very finest.
I see the link in post no. 1 is already having difficulty.
I kept a copy of the article/letter.
...sounds like they’re adopting the tactics of the gay community in America...
Where is Tariq Aziz ? A Christian who worked for Sadem .
I am at FOB Falcon and haven’t recieved my copy yet. I’m sure I could be packed with a couple of hours.
Empowering terrorist all over the world, even Bill Ayers got to be on Good Morning America. I am proud my election ballot was not a mirror image of that terrorist. Another good example of why not to give a guilty man a fair trial
Uh NO.
And if taken down the Bishop should spread his arms as Christ did and look his killer in the eye.
St. Maxamillion stand by all those being persecuted as you were for her suffering at the Cross of Our Saviour. Here and hear are Our Prayers.
I dot judge those out of my beliefs however selfish bastards of whatever color/laziness/gluttony/lust who impose their crap on me ...I will be like Peter and cut an ear of in Defense as a last resort if that selfishness imposes on my family.
Me thinks the MSM gives to much exposure to a few creeps.
Heck the Inner Cities did not riot post POTUS elect so the MSM has to find some slutty story some where and put up a banner of righteousness in journalism.
Most folks I know who live what ever lives..don't knock down the Church doors of my faith and I surely dont knock down theirs.
Remember MSM needs confusion and delusion to grip shock and awe.
Our family is severely limiting time to Internet/tv and concentrating on enjoying our quiet hikes through life however limited we are.
ALL Muslims are our enemies
ALL Muslims seek to either convert or subject all non-Muslims
Our adventure in Iraq to try and create a democracy was a costly loss in lives and money.
We are at war not with a nation, or a particular sect, but with a cult of millions of enemies, many of whom are living in our midst.
No. Its the result of a flawed foreign policy. The “Obama Effect” will come later.
Not really — this has been happening since the fall of Saddam. Saddam was a megalomaniac, a mad-man and a butcher, but he was secular. Christians lived pretty equal lives in Iraq — much more freedom of religion than any Gulf country. They were 2% of the population, and, since the Christians there did not involve themselves in politics and definitely not openly against Saddam, he pretty much left them alone. Saddy’s policy was — I don’t care who you worship as long as you acknowledge me as your boss-man.
Google: Alive in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, IRAQ – When members of the National Evangelical Baptist Church in Baghdad celebrated Christmas at the end of 2007, they were also closing their fourth year of existence in Iraq. While many news stories today focus on the dissolution of Iraq’s 2000-year old Christian communities, today there are few articles examining the activities of evangelicals.
A recent report again denominated the many dangers facing Iraq’s Christians, death, kidnapping, extortion, and torture among them. However, the nearly complete absence of mention of Christians other than Iraq’s traditional Chaldean, Assyrian, and Syriac sects is telling. Although it is clear to any observer that these communities are the largest and thus those most at risk, it is also clear that there continues to be underlying conflict between Iraq’s traditional Christians and newcomers, evangelical or otherwise.
One report gave a 100% breakdown of Iraq’s Christians that included only the three main groups in its numbers: “Of the remaining 800,000 Christians, 65 percent are Chaldeans, 25 percent Syriacs, and 10 percent Assyrians.”
Statements such as this, and the vast disparities in total population of Iraqi Christians quoted by the many reports and articles about the dangers they face further muddy a complicated situation. The estimates of Christians remaining in Iraq since the American invasion range from 800,000 to less than 300,000. Even more dramatic, numbers of Christians living in Iraq prior to 2003 range from 800,000 to 1.35 million or slightly more.
Although there have been many articles in 2008 examining the ongoing struggles of Iraq’s Christian minority, they focus almost entirely on the largest portions of the minority, Assyrians and Chaldeans, as well as examining almost exclusively their future in Iraq’s north and the potential for a protected autonomous area for Iraq’s historic Christians. It appears that Evangelicals and other newcomers have not been investigated in depth since early in the war, between 2003 and 2005. This hole in reporting on Iraq’s Christians is made even more dramatic given the veracity, if infrequence, of reporting on the repression of Iraq’s larger Christian communities.
Alive in Baghdad’s depiction of Iraqi Evangelical Baptists celebrating Christmas mass and discussing their hopes and difficulties does not aim to provide a wide depiction of Christian life in Baghdad or Iraq, but will hopefully provide further insight into one of Iraq’s newest Christian minorities.
Yes, this is a result of obama winning. Yes.
http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=300
A British Baptist in Baghdad
By Norman Kember
On November 26, 2005, Norman Kember and three other Western peace workers with Christian Peacemaker Team (American Tom Fox and Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden) were kidnapped by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. Fox, a Quaker, was later executed. On March 23, Kember and the others were freed during a raid by a multinational force led by Britain. Kember, a member of the Harrow Baptist Church in Britain, tells of his experiences in an exclusive to Baptist World magazine.
I am embarrassed at having achieved a degree of fame (notoriety?) not for what I have done but for what was done to me. Yes, I made the decision to go to Iraq as a member of a Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) Delegation, but nine such CPT groups had been to Iraq without a kidnapping incident. I went to Baghdad to discover the effectiveness of such delegations, to meet Iraqis, and partly to prove that at age 74 I was not past taking adventures in my faith as a pacifist.
Since being a conscientious objector to military service, I have always held that the development of nonviolent solutions to conflicts at personal, national and international levels is an integral part of Christianity. I see the teaching and actions of Jesus from the temptations to the cross as examples of nonviolence. Only by good is evil overcome (Paul in Romans). There are, I know, some contrary arguments based on certain texts, but the overall message of the gospel is one of costly love in action for peacemaking. It is an essential part of the good news. (Read more in the July-September issue of the Baptist World).
http://glimpseofiraq.blogspot.com/2005/03/iraqi-baptists.html
The Iraqi Baptists
I was born and raised in Baghdad. Our home was right on the bank of The Tigris. In my early childhood, I was always fascinated by people who performed what seemed like funny-looking rituals in the river.
They invariably came at dawn… groups of less than 20 people clad in white. Some of them waded knee-deep into the water and stood there making graceful, studied motions. On several occasions, I could signal out a small group of three people: a young man and a young woman facing an old bearded man who orchestrated the rituals. Obviously a wedding ceremony. There was always an atmosphere of tranquility and dignity surrounding the proceedings.
Later in life, I had the chance to meet a number of these people, have the acquaintance of a few and cherish the friendship of at least two. Invariably, they portray a peaceful non-aggressive attitude towards life and other people.
Iraqis colloquially call these people “Subba” [Sabi’a in classical Arabic] – The Sabians, Sabaeans or Mandaeans. It is noteworthy that although the name is reportedly rooted in Aramaeic, the word in Arabic is also related to the ‘pouring’ of water.
The origins of both the people and of the religion are a mystery. Their language is Semitic. In any case, they are definitely an integral part of the rich Iraqi mosaic.
It is estimated that there are around 50,000 of them. Their communities tend to concentrate near the major rive basins in southern Iraq because natural running water is central to many of their religious rituals. As I remember, they were only allowed to use tap water for the rituals in recent decades. This central role of water in their faith has led many people to believe that they are followers of John the Baptist. There are a number of other aspects that give that impression.
They are definitely monotheistic and have several holy books. They believe that they descended from Adam, but have no ‘founder’ for their religion. They believe that their teachings were received by Adam directly from God [The Great Life or The Eternal Life]. They have several Prophets, notably: Sheet and Sam son of Noah. Their “last” great teacher was Yahya bin Zekaria (or John the Baptist).
They have fasting days, a rigid dietary system, a holy day (Sunday), but their faith goes beyond simple rituals; It is a complete system and a way of life. It regulates personal conduct and social structure. Family and children are precious. Life is sacred. The Mandaeans believe that all things return to their origins and beginnings. A distinguishing feature of their religion is that they have no idols or images used to pray to. The abstraction of worship is a significant sign of sophistication of concept.
Their most distinguishing belief is that no one except God has the right to take away life. This is perhaps a surprising attitude to hold (and keep) in harsh and frequently violent surroundings. It should certainly be a lesson to the rest of us!
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