Thousands Of Christians Flee Mosul

Families Leave Iraq's 3rd Largest City To Escape What Local Official Calls "A Killing Campaign"

(AP)  Hundreds of terrified Christian families have fled Mosul to escape extremist attacks that have increased despite months of U.S. and Iraqi military operations to secure the northern Iraqi city, political and religious officials said Saturday.

Some 3,000 Christians have fled the city over the past week alone in a "major displacement," said Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, the governor of northern Iraq's Ninevah province. He said most have left for churches, monasteries and the homes of relatives in nearby Christian villages and towns.

"The Christians were subjected to abduction attempts and paid ransom, but now they are subjected to a killing campaign," Kashmoula said, adding he believed "al Qaeda" elements were to blame and called for a renewed drive to root them out.

Political and religious leaders interviewed said the change in tactics may reflect a desire on the part of extremists to forcibly evict all Christians from Iraq's third largest city.

Earlier this week, Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako said he was worried about what he termed a "campaign of killings and deportations against the Christian citizens in Mosul."

Mosul police have reported finding the bullet-riddled bodies of seven Christians in separate attacks so far this month, the latest a day laborer found on Wednesday. On Saturday, militants blew up three abandoned Christian homes in eastern Mosul, police said.

Father Bolis Jacob of Mosul's Mar Afram Church said he was at a loss to understand the violence. "We respect the Islamic religion and the Muslim clerics," he said. "We don't know under what religion's pretexts these terrorists work."

The violence in Mosul occurs despite U.S.-Iraqi operations launched over the summer aimed at routing al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents from remaining strongholds north of the capital.

The killings come as Christian leaders are lobbying parliament to pass a law setting aside a number of seats for minorities, such as Christians, in upcoming provincial elections, fearing they could be further marginalized in the predominantly Muslim country.

Iraq's Christian community has been estimated at 3 percent of Iraq's 26 million people, or about 800,000, and has a significant presence in the northern Ninevah province.

In Mosul, where Christians have lived for some 1,800 years, a number of centuries-old churches still stand.

Joseph Jacob, a professor at Mosul University, said there were nearly 20,000 Christians in the city before the 2003 U.S. invasion. But over half have since left for neighboring towns, or new countries, he said.

Islamic extremists have frequently targeted Christians since the invasion, forcing tens of thousands to flee Iraq. Attacks had tapered off amid a drastic decline in overall violence nationwide, but that appears to be changing with the deaths this month.

On Saturday, Bashir Azoz, a 45-year-old carpenter, said he was forced to flee his home in the city's eastern Noor area after gunmen warned a neighbor the day before to leave or face death.

"Where is the government and its security forces as these crimes take place every day?" asked Azoz, who is now staying with his wife and three children in a monastery in the Christian-majority town of Qarqoush, east of Mosul.

Separately on Saturday, a U.S. soldier died when a bomb exploded near his vehicle outside Amarah, southeast of Baghdad. The U.S. military said it was withholding soldier's name until it notified next of kin.

[libluv2cnsor]

Posted by seis-6-seis at 10:10 PM : Oct 13, 2008
+ report abuse


*********

So what would an athiest do when a christian moves next door?

chase them down and beat them like the christians??

i really starting to doubt of athiesm is any better..

[libluv2cnsor]

Maybe they are over there converting in the wrong neighborhoods?
you cant fly the wrong colors in the wrong hood..


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Posted by seis-6-seis at 10:10 PM : Oct 13, 2008
+ report abuse


*********these 3000 christians are not european white but more middle eastern..they are not there to convert but there to live an existance amongst the muslim..

they are getting prosecuted for thier religion..wonder what you would do if you run a country...UP TO KILL A FEW YOUR DONT LIKE?

[gaye5]

StopSocialis is right, they are told to be nice until their numbers have grown enough to become a force, just as mohammad did.. As I said, the first part of the Quran was peace, love, tolerance, etc until their numbers had grown enough to become a force then they became a force just as they are told to do today..
They are not allowed to be our friends unless it is for the cause of Allah, because they see us as evil they hate our guts and we are to be slaughtered. any nice Muslims obviously dont know their holy books and obviously they dont go to pray often, other wise they would know that we are the hated infidels and are to be killed until all the world is for allah.

[gaye5]

justsurfing, what on earth are you talking about, no where did I say that we were not allowed to criticises anyone, I was just pointing out what Muslims say.. we are not allowed to criticise Islam as they see it as us being against them there for must be killed...

[justsurfing-2009]

I have a concern that Obama isn''t being completely truthful in his presentation of himself to the American voters. I believe I can trust knowing his associations and background and values and ideologies, etc. more than I can trust the promises and speeches he makes as he campaigns to get people''s votes.

[justsurfing-2009]

This is one thing that concerns me. Well, a couple. Obama has not been clear about his religion. I think he should clearly disclose it. He''s running for President at a time when our greatest threats are from Islamic terrorists. Yet, he has a Jesus that is created for Malcolm X and this religion hates Jews and white people and considers them an inferior race.

Louis Farrakhan states that "Judaism is a gutter religion" and "Hitler was a very great man". Reverend Wright and Obama''s church gave Louis Farrakhan a "Lifetime Achievement Award".

This religious view does "weigh in" on a person''s view of foreign relations... and how they may deal with Islamic nations as President of hte US. It''s pertinent. We have a right to know as Americans if a candidates religious views may "tilt" how they view Israel as well as Islamic states.

Obama has stated he doesn''t agree with some things stated by Reverend Wright, has left the church, yet was there for 20 years, and wrote that Wright was his "spiritual father" as well as has adopted the Value System of this religion.

His choices concern me. In 2006, Obama travelled to Kenya and appeared in Campaigns with Raila Odinga - who is a Muslim and a Socialist who was running for President. Odinga agreed with Muslims that he would stop the war on terrorists and institute Islamic law - thereby making Kenya a radical Islamic nation. And Obama appeared with Odinga as Odinga campaigned.

[jerr11]

Another MISSION ACCOMPLISHED moment for the Liar-in-Chief!

He removed a secular dictator in Saddam and replaced him with the Iranian mullahs running the country!

So the Christians are being evicted from Mosul!

Thanks to George W Bush!!

At what cost to the country?

$3 trillion spent.

4180 Dead Americans!

The guy who gave us Iraq and Katrina is now giving us the sequel, Nightmare on Wall Street!

Heckuva job, Bush!!

[stopsocialis]

Truthhonor, and contrary to your dictatorship belief that everyone agrees with you when it comes to your belief that the Iraq War is wrong, many of us support our troops in Iraq and their efforts during the war, and believe that taking out the evil Saddam Hussein was indeed the right thing to do.

your liberal hero leaders agreed as well. Joe Biden said Saddam needed to be removed, and so did Billy Bob Clinton and his wife Hillary.

Get your facts straight before you start pointing the fingers like you liberals are so masterful at doing.

Fact is most of our leaders agreed that Saddam needed to be taken out.

But you forget history so quickly, that one has to wonder what planet you''re living on.

[stopsocialis]

As far as I see, the same evangelical president that got us in Iraq still in office. So your blaming liberals, is a claim of idiocy. I mean he is still your president and commander in chief.


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Posted by Truthhonor at 08:08 PM : Oct 12, 2008


Has president Bush appeased Islamic fundamentalism or has he fought against it the past 8 years?

Answer that question would ya? Then ask yourself when was the last time we were attacked by Islamic fundamentalists on American soil, on our homeland.

There are some policies that I disagree with with Pres. Bush(like his wish to create a "2 state solution" in Israel-because Muslims don''t want a 2 state solution, they want Israel wiped out). But one thing he hasn''t done is appease Islamic fundamentalists who want to turn our country into Sharia law.

[mtminds]

justsurfing
what kind of babblecrap is that?

[justsurfing-2009]

? - Just checking.

Christians are considered "radical" because we believe that there are morals and sexual behavior outside marriage of one man and one woman can be called "sin". I''m not sure why else we''re perceived as "radical". We believe in right and wrong. We also believe it''s wrong to kill babies and call abortion murder rather than choice. That''s considered "radical" by some also.

If those who hate Christians because they don''t believe in *** outside heterosexual marriage and they don''t believe in abortion had the power, would they take up arms and commit genocide because they hate us so much??

It makes a person wonder sometimes.

[justsurfing-2009]

Gaye 5,

Take out your "Islam" word and replace it with some other words.

Who else aren''t we allowed to criticize... or we''re "racist"... or whatever??

[justsurfing-2009]

Given the fact that James Cone created the "Jesus" of the Black Liberation Theology of Reverend Wright for Malcolm X as a "Muslim Jesus", and, in my book, that makes Reverend Wright''s "Christ" a Muslim Jesus and therefore an Islamic, not Christian, religion (though he calls it Christian)... and it''s Socialist... where are we Christians going to flee to should a Socialist Black Liberation Theology (that I interpret to be Muslim Socialist) candidate become President of hte US??

Can''t happen here??

Yeah, right.

[stopsocialis]

Keep appeasing Islam liberals, and see what happens. You appeasing pacifist liberals will help the enemies of America bring us down.

[gaye5]

I keep telling people to read the last three quarters of the quran, and others of their books, and yes there is good stuff in there, especially in the first quarter, but then Allah changed his mind and became intolerant hateful etc, thus mohammad went from village to village killing all who would not submit, and his followers are doing the same today once their numbers become large enough to do it.
The problem is that when you criticise Islam, all criticism is seen only as a vast conspiracy against Islam in other words, anyone who criticises Islam is an enemy of Islam and must be destroyed.
And please don''t come back at me with what the first part of the old testament said as that is not relevant for what is happening today and what we are up against now. If we make excuses for their behaviour now we will not stop them and we also will die once their numbers have grown..
Muslims say that suicide is not Islamic and they are right, the Quran says that one who commits suicide will roast in hell (Surah 4:29-30). But the person that WE call a terrorist is not committing suicide, he is doing something for the glory of Allah so therefore is rewarded in paradise.

[gaye5]

wl7bzh, you cant count these Christians as radical, and you are pushing them to death if we come out.. The bible says that Christians (who follow what the New Testament says) are not allowed to kill but it doesn''t mean that they cant protect themselves, so like us they are reluctant to hurt anyone else, but Allah says to kill all infidels in the whole world until all the world is for Allah. Here just a couple of verses.. and they try to tell us that we miss read their holy books.. all we need to do is listen to ex Muslims who risk their lives by leaving..
Qur%u2019an 8:39 %u201CFight them until all opposition ends and all submit to Allah.%u201D


Qur%u2019an 8:39 %u201CSo fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief [non-Muslims]) and all submit to the religion of Allah alone (in the whole world).%u201D

Qur%u2019an 8:67 %u201CIt is not fitting for any prophet to have prisoners until he has made a great slaughtered in the land.%u201D
Bukhari:V5B59N516 %u201CWhen Allah%u2019s Apostle fought or raided people we raised our voices saying, %u2018Allahu-Akbar! Allahu-Akbar! None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.%u2019%u201D
These radical Muslims are not radical in their religion they are the pure Muslims who are following what the Quran said and what Mohammad himself did, this is why there is so much joy when non muslims are killed as this is what mohammad did and commanded them to do, those who slaughter the infidels are the good Muslims and are heroes''

[zwaggsy]

To w17bzh

No reason why it wouldn''t work.

[wl7bzh]

Would withdrawing the troops from Iraq and allowing the radical religious sects kill each other instead of our troops be such a bad idea?

[zwaggsy]

michaelt302

You seem to be trying to say that we went into Iraq to help these poor people. If this were the case we would have gone in straight after the mustard gas attacks! Don''t forget that the west was more than happy to back Saddam during & after the Iranian revolution (the BBC still had some footage from the 80''s off a beaming D. Rumsfield shaking hands with Saddam after signing some trade deals).

Furthermore many off the Kurdish refugee''s in the UK have proven to be a growing source off anti western sentiment (as well as being too *** keen on good ole'' "honour killing''s" on various female relatives).
At the end off the day we''re simply being used by various factions to eliminate their political/idealogical opponents, we have no real friends in these countries.

[swingset4u]

God bless the Iraqi people with the liberty defined by enlightenment to live fully in peace.

Posted by Grandesign

Can I get the name of the news source you get your news from??? Sure could use some good news today....