Persecution of Iraqi Christians

One of the more ironic, and disturbing, results of the U. S. invasion of Iraq and the resultant disassembling of Iraqi society is the impact upon Iraqi Christians, many of whom are fleeing to Syria to escape the persecution they now experience in Iraq. During Saddam’s reign Iraq was a secular society where folks were free to worship as they wished. Likewise in Syria.

The new Iraqi constitution ensures the continued persecution of Christian by establishing Islam as the state church and prohibiting efforts to convert Muslims to other religions.

It is indeed ironic that with all of the concern in the U. S. with the discrimination of Christians, our self-professed fundamentalist Christian president has created conditions in Iraq intolerable to Christians.

Another great irony of the Iraqi adventure is that it has resulted in the greatly enhanced influence in Iraq of Iran, another of Bush’s “Axis of Evil”. Shiites closely aligned with Iran dominate the newly formed Iraqi government.

The primary objective of the Bush administration’s cabal of neo-fascists Iraq invasion was enhanced Israeli security, which with enhanced Iranian influence has become less secure. Another miscalculation by the Bush administration Straussian Philosopher brain trust, and the Israeli Likud party, the policies of which the neo-fascists promote.

Juan Cole, a University of Michigan history professor and one of the nation’s leading Middle East scholars discusses the lot of Iraqi Christians here.