(MOSUL, IRAQ) 5/30/11: ANOTHER CHRISTIAN GUNNED DOWN IN MOSUL
Another Iraqi Christian has been murdered, as targeted killings of the religious minority continue. Arkan Jihad Yacob, a 62-year-old businessman and father of 4 children, was gunned down in Mosul. He had previously avoided two kidnapping attempts.
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 4/24/11: BOMB EXPLODES OUTSIDE BAGHDAD CHURCH ON EASTER SUNDAY
A bomb exploded outside of Sacred Heart Parish in Baghdad following the Easter Sunday Mass, wounding seven. “Our life in Iraq is full of fear,” said Father Hanna Saad Sirop, a Chaldean Catholic priest and 2006 kidnapping victim. “But we have to live in faith and trust.”
CATHOLIC CULTURE - Bomb Attack On Baghdad Parish
VATICAN RADIO - Bomb Attack On Iraqi Church After Easter Mass
BBC MIDDLE EAST - Bomb Explodes Near Baghdad Church
REUTERS - At Least 4 Hurt In Explosion At Baghdad Church
(MOSUL, IRAQ) 2/17/11: ARCHBISHOP EMIL NONA - CHRISTIANS CONTINUE TO LIVE IN FEAR
Ken Timmerman of Newsmax interviews Archbishop Emil Nona of Mosul, Iraq on the plight of Christians, who continue to "live in fear.
NEWSMAX - Christians Continue To Live In Fear
(KIRKUK, IRAQ) 2/11/11: IRAQI ARCHBISHOP - WEST UNDERESTIMATES ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM
“The Western mentality does not allow it to fully comprehend this risk,” said Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq, who compared radical Islamic forces to that of a "volcano" with its aim at creating fundamentalist Islamic regimes throughout the Middle East.
CATHOLIC CULTURE - West Underestimates Islamic Fundamentalism
CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY - West Cannot Understand Risk Of Islamization
(MOSUL, IRAQ) 1/17/11: IRAQI CHRISTIAN DOCTOR SHOT IN MOSUL CLINIC - CHRISTIAN GROUP CHARGES "The West Denies its Christian Roots"
Another Christian targeted attack. Well known Christian cardiologist, Dr. Youssif Nuyia, was shot in his clinic on Sat. and is in critical condition. Dr. Nuyia was the private physician of many priests and religious including martyred Bishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, who was kidnapped and killed on March 12, 2008. An Iraqi Christian group charged that "the West denies its Christian roots and is indifferent to all religions."
CATHOLIC CULTURE - Another Iraqi Christian Shot In Mosul
ASIA NEWS IT - Christian Doctor Assaulted In Mosul
(EGYPT) 1/3/11: CHURCH BOMBING IN EGYPT KILLS 21
Imam condemns Pope's remarks and accuses the Pontiff of “unacceptable interference in Egypt’s affairs.” Pope condemns bombing and calls for the protection of Christians.
CATHOLIC CULTURE - Pope Benedict XVI Condemns Bombing
(VATICAN CITY) 1/1/11: Reuters - POPE TO HOLD PEACE SUMMIT IN ASSISI WITH RELIGIOUS HEADS OCTOBER 2011
Pope Benedict, worried over increasing inter-religious violence, will host a summit of world religious leaders in Assisi in October to discuss how they can better promote peace, he announced on Saturday.
REUTERS - Pope To Hold Peace Summit
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 12/23/2010: CHRISTMAS IN IRAQ: THREE IRAQI CITIES CANCEL CHRISTMAS MASS AND FESTIVITIES AFTER NEW JIHAD THREAT
"Jihad Grinch steals Christmas for Iraqi Christians. 'There will be only small Mass in one church in Basra without any signs of joy or decoration and under the protection of Iraqi security forces. We are fully aware of al-Qaida threats.' "
JIHAD WATCH - Iraqi Cities Cancel Christmas Festivities
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 12/16/2010: MEET 3 YR. OLD ADAM, HERO AND MARTYR WHO CONFRONTS ISLAMIC TERRORISTS
"He wandered among the corpses and the blood, following the terrorists around and admonishing them, ‘enough, enough, enough.’ According to witnesses, this continued for two hours until Adam was himself murdered.”
NEWSREAL BLOG - Three Year Old Confronts Islamic Terrorists
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 12/15/2010: CHRISTMAS IN IRAQ - MASSIVE CONCRETE WALLS AROUND BAGHDAD AND MOSUL CHURCHES
Concrete walls up to 10 feet high are being erected around churches in Baghdad and Mosul to protect Christmas worshippers from being targeted by extremists.
CATHOLIC CULTURE - Iraqi Government Builds Massive Concrete Walls Around Churches
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 12/12/2010: WELCOME TO CHRISTIAN WORSHIP BAGHDAD STYLE
"The congregation receives death threats, there are 35 soldiers manning the perimeter fence and the vicar travels to work with 12 bodyguards in three armoured vehicles. St George’s, Iraq’s only Anglican church, has had its windows blown out in four separate bomb attacks. It is deemed too dangerous for any Iraqi Government employee to visit and when the British Ambassador paid a call, he came with air support."
ANKAWA English - Welcome to Christian Worship Baghdad Style
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 11/26/10: DEATH THREATS CONTINUE AGAINST IRAQI CHRSITIANS
Fresh death threats against Christians residing in Iraq are terrorizing families and inciting them to flee, as seven hand written messages for which Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility were found in various locations throughout the city. Christians are told to flee immediately or be killed.
AKI English - Iraq Death Threats Continue To Menace Nations Christians
JIHAD WATCH - Iraqi Jihadists Threaten Christians To Leave Iraq Immediately Or You Will Be Killed
(WASHINGTON DC) 11/04/10: CHALDEAN CHRISTIAN CHURCH MASSACRE IN BAGHDAD
EWTN The World Over - Raymond Arroyo Interviews Dr. Walid Phares, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Dr. Phares discusses the Chaldean Christian Church Massacre in Baghdad and Al Qaeda activity in Yemen.
Youtube - Raymond Arroyo Interviews Dr. Walid Phares
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 11/2/10: HUNDREDS MOURN IN A PACKED BAGHDAD CHURCH
Fear could not stop hundreds of grieving Christians from packing a Baghdad church on Tuesday to mourn two priests and dozens of others killed during a hostage drama by Al-Qaeda gunmen that ended in a bloodbath. About 700 tearful worshippers and representatives from the government and every religious and ethnic community in Iraq packed the Saint Joseph Chaldean church in the heart of the Karrada district, where coffins carrying the dead lay on the ground. In the solemn ceremony where mourners sobbed openly during mass for the dead, only the coffins of the priests — Taher Saadallah Boutros, 32, and Wassim Sabih, 23, who were shot dead by the gunmen, rested on a table. Father Tahour is a hero and a martyr. “Father Taher was praying and reading from the Bible when the armed men arrived,” one of the survivors said. “He told them ‘kill me but let the worshippers go in peace.’” The gunmen told Father Tahour Boutros: “‘Convert to Islam because in any case you will die,’ and then they shot him in the head.”
Ankawa.com - Iraqi Christians Mourn Dead From Church Attack
Youtube - In Honor of The Innocenct Slain
Youtube - Mourners at Funeral of Priests and Loved Ones in Baghdad Church Attack
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 11/2/10: BREAKING NEWS - Sixteen bombs went off across Iraq's capital on Tuesday, many at coffee shops full of civilians. Officials said the death toll was at least 76, but that number could keep climbing as rescuers reach the scenes. MSNB Bombs Go Off Across Iraq
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ) 10/31/10: BAGHDAD CATHOLIC CHURCH PARISHIONERS HELD HOSTAGE BY AL-QAIDA
Insurgents laid siege to Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church, one of Baghdad's largest churches, as more than 100 parishioners attended Sunday Mass in a central district near the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to embassies and the Iraqi government. Al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack on "the dirty place of the infidel which Iraqi Christians have long used as a base to fight Islam."
There remains conflicting reports on the number killed in the attack. One of the freed hostages said the first thing the gunmen did when they entered the church was to shoot the priest. "They entered the church with their weapons, wearing military uniforms. They came into the prayer hall, and immediately killed the priest," said the young man who declined to give his name. The BBC is reporting that at least 37 people were killed after Iraqi security forces stormed the Catholic Church in central Baghdad to free dozens of hostages being held by the gunmen. Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said three militants detonated suicide vests as Iraq forces entered the church. He said a total of 120 hostages were held by the assailants, adding that 30 people were wounded.
BBC - Baghdad Catholic Church Hostage Drama Ends In Bloodbath
MSNB - Gunmen Storm Catholic Church, Demand Release of Al-Qaida Prisoners
REUTERS ALERT.NET - Hostages Rescued From Church In Baghdad
(BREAKING NEWS) 10/29/10: BOMB MATERIALS FROM YEMEN FOUND ON WAY TO JEWISH PLACES OF WORSHIP IN CHICAGO.
Suspicious packages discovered in Dubai and England in air cargo shipments to the U.S. contained explosive materials and appeared headed for Jewish places of worship in Chicago, President Obama confirmed Friday afternoon. The Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is suspected. Fox News
Related
The Jerusalem Post - Obama: 2 Packages Intercepted Contained Explosive Material
Washington Times - Obama Offers Details on Mail-bomb Threat
(DETROIT, MI) 10/25/10: FOX NEWS REPORTS: An Al Qaeda call-to-arms video released in Detroit by a U.S. intelligence agency hints that terror attacks may be coming to the U.S. and parts of Europe, MyFoxDetroit reports. Adam Gadahn, Al Qaeda’s American-born spokesman, posted a0-minute video on terrorist Web sites on Sunday, looking to attract local Muslims in sparking terrorism attacks.
Fox News - Al Qaeda Video Asks Detroit Area Muslims To Terrorize
Center for Security Policy Alert - CAIR's Role in Juan Williams Firing
(VATICAN CITY) 10/15/10: MIDDLE EAST SYNOD UPDATE: IRAQ, Father Raymond Moussalli,.."Churches, together with the clergy in Iraq, are being attacked. There is a deliberate campaign to drive Christians out of the country. Fundamentalist extremist groups have satanic plans against Christians, not only in Iraq but throughout the Middle East. ...We want to make the international community aware that it cannot remain silent in the face of the massacre of Christians in Iraq, and to encourage countries of Catholic tradition to do something for Iraqi Christians,"....
Holy Press Office - VIS, Vatican Information Service
(VATICAN CITY) 10/14/10: MIDDLE EAST SYNOD DAILY UPDATE:
Mosul, Iraq - Archbishop Basile Casmoussa of Mosul, Iraq said that the Christian presence is decreasing for several related reasons: campaigns of intimidation by Islamic fundamentalists, a loss of confidence, a drop in the birth rate, and a sense that Christians are viewed as representatives of an alien Western presence in the Middle East. Archbishop Casmoussa, whose archdiocese has been battered by anti-Christian violence, was himself a kidnap victim in 2005.
VIS News - Vatican Information Services
(VATICAN CITY) 10/12/10: MIDDLE EAST SYNOD DAILY UPDATE:
The challenge of maintaining an active Christian presence in the Middle East, despite an increasingly assertive Muslim majority, emerged as a key theme during the first full day of discussions. Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq stated during his address, "We want to live in peace and freedom rather than merely surviving." Archbishop Boutros Marayati of Aleppo, Syria posed, "Are we waiting for the day when the world, as a spectator amidst the indifference of the Western churches, will sit back and watch the death of the Christians of the East?"
Youtube - Bishops Flock to Vatican for Middle East Synod
VIS - Vatican Information Service
(SIOUX FALLS, SD) 01/28/12: MISSION TRIP REPORT AND HIGHLIGHTS. Please stay tuned as we begin to post reports, video and pictures of our amazing five week Mission HOPE South Sudan Trip 2011-2012.
