Iraqi interference in Christian affairs

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes that the Iraqi government is trying to expropriate and disempower the Chaldean-Catholic church. There have been attempts to transfer property of the church to Christian militias. These militia-groups – which were founded in 2014 as a means to fight the “Islamic State” – are controlled by the government in Baghdad, which also pays their wages.

“The central government is using these militias to break up the structures of the Chaldean church, which have been tried and tested for centuries. This interference with church-internal affairs is not backed by the Christian community in Iraq – and it will lead to further conflicts,” stated Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant. “The government’s assertions that it is merely trying to keep state affairs and religion apart are nothing more than a smokescreen. In fact, parts of the government are closely connected to Shiite clerics from Iran, while others are close to Sunni strongmen in Turkey.” The head of the Chaldea-Catholic church, Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, has meanwhile announced plans to relocate – to leave his seat in Baghdad and seclude himself in a monastery in Iraqi Kurdistan. With this step, the highest dignitary of the Christians in Iraq could protest against interference by the Iraqi central government.

“While the two regional powers Iran and Turkey often cooperate, they are fighting over influence in Iraq and in Syria. They each support their own militias, such as the IS and the Hezbollah who, in turn, are spreading violence in the region,” Sido explained. “There are similar proxy wars going on between competing Islamist regimes in Yemen and Sudan. Shiite and Sunni Islamists are aiming to introduce Sharia law everywhere in the Middle East. This is a deadly threat, especially for members for minority groups such as the Christians, the Yazidis, the Mandaeans, the Alevis, Druze, Jews, and Baha’i.” The examples of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the regime in Turkey, which is dominated by the Islamist AKP party, also show how dangerous Shiite and Sunni Islamism are for women in general and for a majority of the Muslim world.