Iraq Christians fear future holds ‘total extinction,’ ISIS resurgence

Feb 24, 2020 by

by Emily Judd, Al Arabiya:

When ISIS took over the Nineveh plains in northern Iraq in 2014, terrorized Christian residents fled in fear of their lives.

Six years later, despite liberation from ISIS, many Christians have not returned home and are leaving Iraq altogether – prompting concern that Christianity’s 2,000 year presence in the country could be under threat.

A 1987 government census listed 1.4 million Christians in Iraq, but following the outbreak of war, ISIS, and continuing political instability in the country, Christians now number around 200,000, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.

As numbers decrease “rapidly,” Iraqi Christian Maryam Binyamen said she feels hopeless.

“We are facing a total extinction, I assume. Not the church nor the government can do anything about it. No opportunities, no jobs, security issues…this is sad,” Binyamen said in an interview with Al Arabiya English.

Given the over 85 percent decrease in the population since 1987, Iraqi Christian Archbishop Bashar Warda says if “nothing changes in the current trajectory” there is a “real possibility” of extinction.

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