"I don’t want my country to be emptied from Christianity"

In the past decade, Islamic militants in Iraq have stepped up their attacks against Christians. The most brutal attacks started in the south and moved north, causing a mass exodus of Christians. Half to two-thirds of the country's Christians have left Iraq since 2003.

However, as a team from The Voice of the Martyrs found out, many Christians are committed to staying in the country. Watch this 6-minute video to find out more.


For other videos about the persecuted Church, visit our multimedia site. To learn more about our brothers and sisters in Iraq, visit our Iraq Country Report.

“We have hope, but we have no future”

Nader and Aram are two Christians who have been affected by escalating violence in Iraq. They lead a house church in Iraqi Kurdistan and are also involved in ministering to Kurdish refugees, especially among those in the camps. They are passionate about bringing the hope of Christ to those who are without hope.

Since 2003, Islamist groups have stepped up persecution of religious minorities in Iraq, causing mass emigration of the ancient Christian confession, whose presence in Iraq pre-dates the Arabs by centuries. Christians suffer from the anti-Western atmosphere in the country and are seen as collaborators with Westerners. As Western influence in the country dwindles with the pulling out of many of their forces, extremists take their chance to terrorize Christians and force them out of the country.

Discover Nader and Aram’s amazing story by watching this video today! (Length 4:35)


For other video reports about the persecuted Church, please visit our multimedia site.

Are you receiving our free newsletter?

In our February newsletter, you will learn about how your brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering for their faith and how you can stand with them!

Articles include:

Delivering God’s goodness: Read how your gifts to VOM’s Christmas Blessing brought a glimpse of God’s goodness to Christians in war-torn Iraq.

Bound with them: Learn about the vision behind VOM’s new youth initiative called Thirteen Three, and plan to send youth you know to our April launch event in Calgary.

VOM around the world: We bring you an update on Indian Christian teen Manini Digal, reports of attacks against Christians in India and Vietnam, and news about the petitions in the Asia Bibi “Call for Mercy” campaign.

Back to our roots: VOM founder Pastor Richard Wurmbrand shares why it is important to learn from the martyrs.

Save the date!: Mark your calendars for upcoming VOM events, like our annual prayer conference.

The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter is the flagship publication of The Voice of the Martyrs Canada. Subscribe to our FREE monthly newsletter today!

Pray for Christians in Iraq this week

Shops owned by Christians in Iraq’s
Kurdish region were attacked this month.
(Photo: YouTube image from Compass Direct News) 

Iraqi Christian leaders are calling for our prayers during the Christmas and New Year period, reports Middle East Concern. Some fear that there will be sectarian attacks during this period, especially as the country adapts to the changed security situation following the formal withdrawal of US military forces.

A number of recent incidents, in which Christians were the victims of violence, have contributed to these fears. In these incidents, whilst Christians were the victims, the precise motives of the attackers are not clear. Typically, violence in Iraq has numerous causes, including economic interests, tribal rivalries, settling of long-standing scores and religious motives.

On December 13, a Christian couple was shot dead in Mosul whilst driving. Their two young daughters, though with them at the time, were not physically injured.

On December 12, a 29-year-old man was kidnapped from his family's store in Erbil, capital of the area administered by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). He was released in a military operation after three days in captivity.

On December 2, there were attacks on a range of businesses, many of them Christian-owned, in Dohuk province within the KRG region. The attacks were perpetrated by extremist Muslims following inflammatory messages in a mosque. The security services acted to prevent further attacks in some locations (for more, click here).

In previous years, Christmas services have been cancelled in some parts of Iraq, or have been restricted to the hours of daylight, because of security concerns.

Please keep Christians in Iraq in your prayers! 

The February edition of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter will feature stories of persecuted Christians in Iraq. Sign up for your free subscription today!

Be a blessing to your persecuted family in Iraq this Christmas

From the Tower of Babel, to the Jewish captivity, to modern-day wars with neighbouring countries, Iraq has experienced a turbulent history riddled with conflict.

The church in Iraq has not been spared from turmoil. Just this year, three churches were bombed (for more, click here), a Christian man was tortured and killed by militants (click here for more), and an elderly believer was stabbed to death (for details, click here).

Estimates claim that only half of Iraq's pre-2003 Christian community remains in the country. However, despite the risks, many have chosen to stay and witness.

This year, you can be a blessing to Christians in Iraq through our annual Christmas Blessing project. For $50, you can provide a Christmas Blessing package to a believer. Each package contains a Bible, a blanket, sugar, rice, tomato paste, powdered milk, and cooking oil. These items will help meet believers' materials and spiritual needs.

To be a blessing to Christians in Iraq this Christmas, please phone our office or donate securely online.

To learn more about the difficult reality for Iraqi Christians, click here.

In mailboxes this week!

The November issue of The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter is hitting mailboxes this week and next.

Inside this issue:

• Songs in the night: Read the stories of five women who are actively witnessing for Christ in one of the most hostile nations in the world today.
• Christmas Blessing Iraq: This year you can sponsor a package containing a Bible and daily necessities to Christians in Iraq to let them know that they are not forgotten.
• Bookstore: Consider giving VOM books and DVDs to friends and family this Christmas. Don’t miss out on the specially priced packages.
• Christian Martyrs: Read how God’s grace sustained one man who endured much persecution, in order to lead an Armenian king to Christ.
• Kazakhstan Special report: VOM’s Greg Musselman recently had the opportunity to sit down with a couple ministering in Kazakhstan. Learn about the challenges the church is facing in the Central Asian country.

The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter is the flagship publication of The Voice of the Martyrs Canada. Published monthly, it is available free of charge to anyone in Canada who requests it.

You can subscribe online here.

Kidnapped men released; two others killed in Iraq

We recently requested prayer for three Assyrian Christians, together with a Turkman Muslim, who were kidnapped near Kirkuk on September 21. Middle East Concern reports that they were released on September 30. Praise God! Reportedly a ransom was paid to secure their release.

However, the Christian community continues to suffer, as two Christian men were shot dead in Kirkuk in recent days. Hanna Polos Emmanuel's body was found on the city's outskirts on October 1. He was 60 years old. Bassam Isho was killed in the Muthana district on October 2. He was 30 years old.

Iraqi Christians fear that these incidents are targeted attacks to destabilize Christian communities in Iraq.

For the full report, click here.

Iraqi Christians rejoice in the release of the kidnapped men and thank us for our prayers. They request our continued intercession that:

• Those kidnapped, together with their families, will find emotional healing after facing this trauma.
• The families of those killed will know the peace, presence and comfort of Jesus.
• The perpetrators of violence against Christians will know the Spirit's conviction, the Son's offer of forgiveness and the Father's welcome to relationship with God.
• The authorities will act decisively to improve security for all people, including Christians and other religious minorities, in Kirkuk and throughout Iraq.

Three Christians kidnapped in Iraq

Please pray for three kidnapped Christians in Iraq.

Three Christians were kidnapped near Kirkuk on September 21, reports Middle East Concern.

The believers were returning from a hunting trip when their vehicle was stopped by a group of armed men. A fourth person, of Turkoman ethnicity, travelling with them was also kidnapped. The group's burnt-out vehicle was found shortly afterwards, and the remains of their hunting dogs were found inside.

Iraqi Christians fear that this is incident is yet another attack aimed at the Christian presence in Iraq.

Iraqi Christians request our prayers that:

• The kidnapped men will be released unharmed.
• They and their families will know the peace and presence of Jesus.
• The kidnappers will know the Spirit's conviction, the Son's offer of forgiveness and the Father's welcome to relationship with God.

Church bombed in Iraq

A bomb blast in Kirkuk, Iraq damaged a church building.

A wave of violence hit 17 cities in Iraq, claiming about 70 lives. Included in the attacks was the bombing of a church building in Kirkuk, reports Compass Direct News. This is the second round of attacks against the city’s Christian community in two weeks.

On August 15 at 1:20 a.m., an explosive device tore through one of the walls of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mar Afram. Photos show bricks from the wall strewn across the church floor. One of the metal doors has been twisted open.

Thankfully, no Christians were killed in the attack, but police have announced higher protective measures for Kirkuk’s churches.

Abuna Gourgis Alyes, a priest from Mar Afram church, said that this attack was the third assault on his church in the past five years. There were minor attacks in 2006 and 2008, but this last one has been the most devastating.

Another pastor visiting the church was overwhelmed by the destruction.

“Now I am here and seeing it with my own eyes.... They have to demolish the church and rebuild it,” said the pastor.

Abuna Alyes said the incident’s worst repercussion is that many will view this attack as the final straw that leads them to leave Kirkuk. Since January, 10 families from Mar Afram have already fled the area.

About 334,000 Christians remain in Iraq, less than half of their number in 1991. The violence has caused hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people, both Muslim and Christian, to leave the country, and many more are displaced inside Iraq, particularly in Kurdistan.

For the full report, click here.

Watch this summer’s Persecution Report

In this video, you will hear about a family spreading the gospel in a warzone in Colombia and a Christian man who was tortured and killed by members of al Qaida in Iraq. You will also learn about believers arrested in Iran and Christians facing continued attacks in India. (Length: 13:42)



For more videos like this one, please visit our media site at www.persecution.tv.

Pray for Christians in Iraq!

Iraqi Christians are requesting our prayers for two recent incidents, reports Middle East Concern.

Yesterday morning, a car bomb exploded outside the Holy Family Church in Kirkuk. At least 20 people were injured, including the priest, other church staff and neighbours. One person is reported to be seriously hurt. The church building was badly damaged, and several nearby homes were also damaged.

Bombs were found outside two other church buildings in Kirkuk.

Back in July, a house fellowship leader was detained by the police and continues to be held without charge. It is believed he may be held for his Christian activities, because the authorities recently warned him to stop.

Today in Baghdad, four men were convicted of planning and coordinating the October 31, 2010, attack at the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad in which 58 people, including the perpetrators, were killed. Three were given the death sentence and the fourth a 20-year jail term.

Iraqi Christians request our prayers that:

• The wounded and traumatized will know the presence, peace and healing touch of Jesus.
• The perpetrators of the bomb attack will love mercy and act justly, and know the Spirit's conviction of guilt and the Father's loving offer of forgiveness and new life.
• Our brother will know the peace and presence of Jesus, and be released soon.
• All officials involved will love mercy and act justly.

First church in 8 years opens in Kirkuk, Iraq

Despite threats, first new church
in 8 years opens in Kirkuk, Iraq. 

Despite threats against them, hundreds of Iraqi Christians celebrated the opening of their new church in Kirkuk, the first to be built in eight years, reports Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA).

Al-Qaida and militant groups linked to it have increased threats and attacks against Christians in Iraq, who make up less than 3 percent of the nation’s population. Most Christians have left the country or have been forced to move from their hometowns due to continuous attacks. It is estimated that there are now less than half a million Christians living in Iraq.

“This church, and our presence here to celebrate its birth, is the strongest message that we are staying in our land,” said Fawziya Hanna.

Saint Paul’s is the first newly built church to open since 2003. The church was built on land donated by the government and was constructed through money from various donors, including President Jalal Talabani.

Christian families in Iraq have faced a host of threats and violence recently. In October, approximately 60 people died in a Baghdad church hostage-taking by a group with links to al-Qaida (for more information on this attack, click here). The UN High Commission for Refugees said 1,000 families left Baghdad and Mosul in the two months following the attack.

Overall, violence in Iraq has declined since its peak in 2006, but Christians still continually face threats of death and kidnapping.

You can read the full article here and learn more about Iraq at our persecution report here.

‘Religicide’ exterminating Iraqi Christians

More Christians have been fleeing Iraq in recent months than ever before, reported Mission Network News (MNN) today.

Carl Moeller with Open Doors USA says extremists are calling for the complete extermination of believers in the country.

"We've been calling this a 'religicide'—which is the systematic destruction and elimination of a religious group simply for being that religious group. And we see this now unfolding in a very shocking way," says Moeller.

The number of Christians in Iraq has dropped dramatically in the last few decades, from 850,000 believers in 1991, to 550,000 believers in 2003, to 345,000 believers in early 2010. Now perhaps less than 250,000 Christians call Iraq home, a number which includes those who have been permanently displaced from their homes.

The loss of so many believers in just a year can be attributed in part to one significant event, said Moeller: a terrorist attack by al-Qaida-linked groups on Our Lady of Salvation Church on October 31 of last year. Sixty Christians were killed. As a result, up to 95,000 Christians have left the country since that attack, said Moeller.

At the current rate of the exodus, Iraq will not have any Christians left in three years, said an Open Doors' field worker.

You can read the entire MNN report here.

Please pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Iraq. Pray for their safety but also for courage unknown to share the gospel with those who are seeking. Pray that the government would put an end to this "religicide" and that ultimately the Lord's sovereign will reign.

Murder of Chaldean man in Iraq raises fears

A group of armed men burst into the home of an elderly believer, stabbing him to death in Iraq, reported AsiaNews.

Youssif Isho, a 70-year-old Chaldean Christian, lived alone in Karrad, central Baghdad. According to information obtained by AsiaNews, Youssif Isho's death was a targeted killing by extremist groups.

Sources warned AsiaNews that other attacks against Christians are possible in the capital. "The faithful continue to suffer," a Christian leader said, "and people are scared, moving cautiously out of fear of more violence." Street demonstrations were scheduled in Iraq's main cities in the wake of the attack.

Pray for all those grieving the loss of this Christian man. Pray the Lord will strengthen the faith of believers in Iraq and take away all fear. Pray the Lord will strengthen and grow the Church in spite of the ongoing violence towards Christians.

Turmoil spreads to Iraq

Pray for believers in Iraq today!

Todd Nettleton with our sister-mission VOM USA recently spoke with Mission Network News about the turmoil in Northern Africa and the Middle East spreading to Iraq.

Take a few moments to read the story below.

Turmoil spreads to Iraq

Iraq (MNN) ― Tunisia. Libya. Egypt. Bahrain. Jordan. Most of the Arab world seems to be in an uproar. Now Iraq has thrown its hat into the ring.

“It seems that this same spirit of protest—‘Hey, our lives are not how we want them to be. The government is holding us back. Let's do something about it!’—is now spreading to Iraq as well,” says Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs.

On Friday, Iraqi protestors from every corner of the country flooded the streets to demand their leaders provide more opportunities, better jobs, and better infrastructure. Small level protests had occurred before Friday, but the “Day of Rage” resulted in lives lost and large-scale protests all over—even in Iraq's more peaceful north.

The question is why has unrest spread to Iraq? Many other uproarious countries were dictatorships before the people revolted, but Iraq, after all, is a democracy with elected officials. Nettleton says the answer lies in a lack of results.

“We [in the West] think of Iraq right now as liberated Iraq: Saddam’s gone, this is liberated Iraq. But to the people on the ground who see corruption in their government, they see infrastructure that is still not working properly, electricity that’s only on for a couple hours a day. And they say, ‘We want more than this. We want a better life than this.’... They also would identify the corruption of ‘Hey, these government leaders are making millions of dollars on different deals, and yet my electricity still doesn’t work.’”

Because Iraq is a democracy, however, responding well to the demands of the people could be tricky. “If you kick out these leaders, then who’s next in line? Because they did have elections, these are the people that a majority of the citizens voted for and chose to be in power,” Nettleton points out.
At this point, what this will mean for the country is unknown.

What this will mean for believers, though, could be progress. “I think obviously it means danger, because any time there’s upheaval, anytime there’s this type of situation, there’s danger there. But the other thing that I think it means is opportunity,” says Nettleton.

Nearly 100 percent of Iraq’s leaders are devout Muslims. Since the majority of Iraqis are upset with their leaders, this could mean that people turn a cold shoulder to Islam as a whole.

“If you see these leaders as good Muslims, it makes you open to other ideas or another religion,” explains Nettleton. “So this is an opportunity to share the Gospel. There’s an opportunity to present an alternative to Islam, which is the love of Jesus Christ.”

Pray that whatever happens, believers in Iraq would take every opportunity they have to share the love and peace of Christ with troubled neighbors. Pray for peace in the country and growth in the church.

Iraqi Christians speed exodus to North Iraq

Pray for believers in Iraq!

The Assyrian International News Agency reported yesterday that an exodus of Christians to the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq's north has accelerated after a spate of attacks against the minority group, according to the International Organization for Migration.

An official from the organisation also spoke Sunday of reports that many Christians were either leaving Iraq, or planning to emigrate.

By the end of January, 1,078 families had moved to the three provinces that comprise Iraqi Kurdistan since an October 31 attack on a church in Baghdad by al-Qaida militants, IOM figures show. A total of 331 families moved in the six weeks immediately following that attack, while a further 747 have left the rest of Iraq for Kurdistan between December 15 and the end of January.

IOM monitoring shows that an average Christian Iraqi family consists of four to five members.

The report noted that "monitors in Baghdad report that Christians continue to face grave threats" and "despite increased security measures an atmosphere of extreme insecurity persists among Christians remaining in Baghdad and many still intend to move or emigrate."

Between 800,000 and 1.2 million Christians lived in Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003, but that figure now is estimated by religious leaders at 400,000.

You can read the full report here.

More Iraqi Christians killed in bombings

A series of 10 coordinated bombings in and around Baghdad last night appeared to target homes of Christians, police said. Two people were killed and 20 wounded, all of them Christians, said the Ministry of the Interior.

You can read a NY Times article about the bombings here.

Please continue to pray for our Iraqi brothers and sisters who have come under intensified persecution in recent months. Pray for their safety and well-being. Pray they will continue to “say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust” (Psalm 91:2).

Iraqi Christians fear Christmas attacks

Iraqi Christians are scaling back
Christmas celebrations, fearful
of attacks.

VOM’s partner-mission Release International is reporting today that many churches in Iraq's major cities have been forced to cancel their Christmas services after extremist websites threatened further attacks.

Religious rights group Middle East Concern reports that many services in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk have been called off after threats of violence were posted online on Tuesday for the second time.

Kirkuk's Archbishop Louis Sarko told Agence France-Presse news agency that he and 10 other Christians had received threats from a group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq. This group, which has links with al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the attack on October 31 on Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad in which 53 Christians were killed.

A number of churches have decided not to put up Christmas decorations either. Instead, tall concrete barriers flank many with entrances guarded by security.

The UN estimates that 1,000 Christian families have fled from Baghdad and Mosul to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq since October 31 (read more here).

Some of the extremist threats online repeated calls for the release of two women in Egypt whom militants insist are being held against their will by Coptic church leaders. Extremists claim the women have converted to Islam. Egyptian church leaders and government officials have repeatedly denied these claims.

Iraq is one of the nations in which VOM takes to the airwaves to share the gospel and encourage believers. In June, VOM partnered with High Adventure Bible Voice to distribute 1,000 radios preset to a program called “The Voice of the Lord” to people in Kirkuk. The program reaches more than 700,000 people.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters living in Iraq this Christmas. Pray for their safety and well-being. Pray they will not be anxious, but they will know God’s peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-8).

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:9-11

Iraq's War on Christianity

Tim Rutten with the Los Angeles Times recently wrote “Iraq’s War on Christians,” and it’s a bit of an expose on the lack of response by the West to help those being persecuted in the East.

Here is an excerpt:

Putting aside America's particular culpability in Iraq, the West as a community of nations has long turned a blind eye to the intolerance of the Middle East's Muslim states—an intolerance that has intensified with the spread of Salafism, Islam's brand of militant fundamentalism. Our ally Saudi Arabia is the great financial and ideological backer of this hatred. In fact, when it comes to religion, the kingdom and North Korea are the most criminally intolerant countries in the world.

Additionally, Mr. Rutten discusses how churches established in Christ’s name are being pushed to the brink of oblivion in the very region where their faith was born.

Another excerpt:

Paradoxically, the one country in the Middle East whose Christian population has grown in recent years is Israel, where more than 150,000 Christians enjoy religious freedom. That lends a particular pathos to the way in which the current persecution of Christians mirrors that which destroyed most of the region's ancient Jewish communities following Israel's establishment in 1948. Iraq, for example, was home to one of the Mideast's largest and most vibrant Jewish populations, one that predated Christianity by many centuries. It was in the great Jewish academies along the Euphrates that the more authoritative of the two Talmuds was argued out and compiled after the Second Temple's destruction. All that was swept away in a wave of hatred, as were all but vestiges of the equally ancient Jewish communities in Morocco, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and, more recently, Iran.

As one of the recent Christian refugees from Baghdad told the New York Times this week, "It's exactly what happened to the Jews."

I recommend taking a few minutes to read the full op-ed.

500+ Iraqi Christian families flee

The Assyrian International News Agency is reporting that Iraqi Christians are continuing to flee their country, with 507 families moving to the Kurdish north, where security measures are relatively stable. Many more families have fled directly abroad, mainly to Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

Despite calls for them to stay, many Iraqi Christians feel they have no future left in the country. This follows violent attacks against Iraqi Christians, which you can read about here, here and here.

Churches in Baghdad are reported to be almost empty with senior Christian clergymen fearing that Iraq is on its way to losing its Christian minority. Baghdad was the last remaining city with a sizeable Christian community, but thousands have fled the latest upsurge in anti-Christian violence.

Pray for the nation of Iraq. Pray for anointed leaders who can act with wisdom, courage and integrity. Pray that God will heal this land and its people. Pray that Christians might persevere in this difficult situation; pray also for their protection.

You can read the full story here.