By Ed Koch
Jewish World Review
On October 17th, The New York Times published an article on the plight of Christians in Iraq. There are an estimated 800,000 in that country, about 3 percent of the total population.
The two largest sects are Chaldean Catholics and Assyrian Christians. The Times reports that the 1987 Iraqi census reported 1.4 million Christians inhabiting the country, "but many left during the 1990s when sanctions squeezed the country." Today the churches are poorly attended with parishioners "simply stay[ing] at home on Sundays because of fears for their safety."
Those fears are well founded. The Times reported on the new Islamist bete noire, Pope Benedict XVI, because of his recent "reflections on Islam." As a result, "Several extremist groups threatened to kill all Christians unless the pope apologized." To their credit, Sunni and Shia clergy denounced these threats. Nevertheless, "In Baghdad, many churches canceled services after receiving threats. Some have not met since." The Times tells us that "In the northern city of Mosul, a priest from the Syriac Orthodox Church was kidnapped last week. His church complied with his captors' demands and put up posters denouncing recent comments made by the pope about Islam, but he was killed anyway. The police found his beheaded body on Wednesday."
Currently, as a result of Islamic fury, according to The Times, "Conditions have been especially bleak for Christians in Basra, the southern city that is dominated by radical Shiite militias. Christian women there often wear Muslim head scarves to avoid harassment from religious zealots trying to impose a strict Islamic dress code. After the pope's [Benedict XVI] statement, an angry crowd burned an effigy of him."
When I read the Times' article, I recalled my meeting with Pope John Paul II, one of the great friends of the Jewish community. It took place at the Vatican in May of 1985.
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