January 6, 2002

The Lighthouse

CHURCH OF THE EAST: CHALLENGING ISSUES

Introduction

Zinda’s three-part report on the Church of the East was a very bold and positive move. The report presented a brief review of the history, current conditions, and challenging issues. To my understanding the primary intent of the report was to challenge the church leadership to face today’s realities and take positive steps to preserve and promote this historical church.

We hope that those Assyrian readers interested in the faith of their fathers obtained better information on their church and were moved to expand their knowledge of this great apostolic church. More significantly, we pray that the church leaders got the message that the majority of well informed Assyrians is not exactly satisfied with their vision and performance.

This great apostolic church that preached Christianity from Mesopotamia to China and from Tatar country to India has experienced many persecutions, massacres, and schisms during its 2,000-year history. Today, on the threshold of the 21st century, the church is experiencing more debilitating challenges that are threating its survival. Unless Church leaders and concerned Assyrians take serious interest in these issues and work hard to resolve them, they may not have a church to pass on to their descendants. Below are some of the significant issues that must be addressed promptly and with determination and dedication to resolve, correct, and eradicate the present issues.

Zinda’s Articles

The number and sequence of the various schisms as reported by Zinda are not accurate.

The first schism occurred in the fifth century when the Church of the East (Church of the Persian Empire) ruptured communion from the Church of the West (Church of the Roman Empire). That is when the terms East Syrians (Nestorians) and West Syrians (Jacobites) came into existence.

The second schism was during the sixteenth century when Youkhanan Sulaka with the aid of the Franciscan missionaries at Mosul was sent to Rome where he was ordained as the first Uniat patriarch. Later on the Roman Catholic Church bestowed on the Uniat patriarch the title “Patriarch of Babylon” which was the title used by the Church of the East when the Patriarchate was at Ctessiphon near Baghdad.

The third schism (Zinda’s second) was not really a schism. It was a political move by Assyrians in Urmia to save themselves from the persecution and oppression of their Persian masters. The Russian mission had promised them not only protection but also material gains. Thus accepting the Russian Orthodox Church was a guarantee that the Russian army then stationed in Urmia would protect them. Eventually, the switch fizzled out as today you will not find any Russian Orthodox churches among Assyrians.

The fourth schism was also not a true schism. The Church of the East was split into two branches allegedly due change of the calendar by the late Mar Eshai Shimun. So now we have the adherents of the Julian calendar called the Church of the East and the Gregorian calendar the Assyrian Church of the East.

In reality, the split grew out of a disagreement between Mar Eshai Shimun and Mar Toma Darmo, Metropolitan of the church in India. The disagreement was about the management of the church and the needed reforms. While Mar Shimun adhered to the autocratic system and worked only to maintain the status quo, Mar Toma was supposedly struggling for reforms within the church. Unfortunately, the split was politicized by the old enemies of Mar Shimun and supported by the government of Iraq. When Mar Thoma visited Baghdad he was encouraged by these elements to declare himself patriarch. Truthfully, irrespective of how correct was his position, Mar Toma had no business assuming that title. His action was a betrayal of his oath at the time of his consecration by Mar Eshai Shimun to faithfully serve the church. He did not live long enough to demonstrate any great reforms that he had in mind, but long enough to cement the split and tear the church apart.

Challenging Issues

Presently, Church of the East is tangled into an internal turmoil that is threatening its very existence. Unless, its leadership and the faithful adherents of this apostolic church seriously analyze the crippling problems facing the church, the end is not too far in the future. Let us review some of the problems, as they are perceived by a segment of the church membership.

As pointed out by Zinda, the church needs to have a clear vision, defined priorities, well-defined objectives, and an execution plan to achieve these objectives. Above all it needs an honest dialogue between the leaders and followers. Following are the primary issues challenging the church leadership:

1. Current Split

For a number of years we have been hearing about meetings, memos of understanding, datelines, etc, between the bishops of the Old and New Calendar groups. When will the two branches come together and reunite this church? So far nothing has been accomplished.

Assuming that the current dictatorship in Iraq will soon be demolished and a semblance of democracy is established, then Assyrians just like other segments of the Iraqi society should have the freedom of managing their religious affairs without interference from the government. Under such circumstances, the adherents of the Julian calendar will no longer have the government’s interference and will be free to negotiate a resolution. At such a time, Mar Dinkha should first move the Patriarchal See to Baghdad, Iraq. Such a move will strengthen the position of Assyrians in general and the Church of the East in particular. Then serious negotiations can be conducted to bring the two branches together and integrate the church hierarchy into one Church of the East. If the calendar issue becomes a stumbling block in the negotiations, then Mar Dinkha should seriously consider the restoration of the old calendar. Let us remember that most of the eastern churches in the Middle East still adhere to the Julian calendar. At the same time, his presence will encourage many of our people to remain in their homeland and may even attract those who are refugees outside Iraq to return.

The success of these negotiations is in the hands of the people in the Old and New calendar churches. Let us remember that a church continues to exist because it has a faithful membership that accepts its teachings and supports it financially. If there are no believing members who wish to have their children baptized in the church, their marriage blessed by the church or their dead buried by the church, the church is an empty building. If members of both branches sign a petition and demand from their leaders that they want a resolution to this split and unity in their church or they will quit attending and refuse financial support, then assuredly the leaders will act.

2. Church Name:

For almost two millenniums, we have been known as the Church of the East. This was a universal church with membership from different nationalities and cultures, Assyrians, Persians, Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Mongols, and Indians, etc. We have had many famous bishops and patriarchs who were not Assyrians but served this church remarkably well. By adding the name Assyrian to the church we have wiped out its universality and reduced it to a church of a very small minority. Some Assyrians may take pride in the fact that their church has their national identity in its title, but that is shortsightedness. We must be more cognizant of the historical place of the church and its significance in the annals of Christianity and preserve its universality. Drop the name Assyrian from its title and let it be known simply as CHURCH OF THE EAST.

3. Violations of Church Canons:

Any member of the clergy who has been proven to be involved in embezzlement, fornication, molestation, and violating church laws should be immediately removed from his office and terminated from his position. In fairness to the accused, the church leadership must properly investigate, review, and reach a fair decision. Through proper investigation, the church leadership will put an end to rumors, character assassination and false testimony. As Christians we believe in forgiveness but guilty individuals should be separated from the body of the church and helped to rehabilitate themselves. If they are ordained clergy, they should never be allowed to resume their former priestly (or episcopal) duties.

Today, we hear that Mar Aprim Khamis has been allowed to resume his duties in Arizona and is celebrating Qurbana. Since Mar Aprim admitted his transgression and evidence was presented to the Patriarch and other bishops on this matter, we wonder what is the justification to ignore the church canons and allow him to perform his duties.

According to the church canons, Mar Aprim should be removed from his office and not allowed to perform his duties. From the Synodical Collection of Mar Odisho, Metropolitan of Suva, 2nd Division, Section 8, chapter 20, canon 3, we quote:

“It was the will of the ecumenical synod that for bishops, metropolitans, or catholicoses who are discovered in the act of adultery, fornication, or sodomy, or in an offense like this, there shall at once be deposition for them, and they shall not be trusted again to minister the priesthood, not even if they offer penance. Only they shall not be deprived of contact with the church. Whoever, transgresses against these things the ecumenical synod places under anathema.”

We all share the Patriarch’s belief that he should be forgiven, but not returned to his episcopal duties. However, as we understand that he does not show any atonement for his trespasses. As a matter of fact he has threatened to issue letters to different church leaders in the world exposing other bishops of the church. So now we are not only dealing with a bishop who has broken his vows of chastity but is ready to betray and avenge. Certainly, these are not signs of atonement. Mar Dinkha and others bishops should be aware that ignoring the church cannons and the public opinion would soon bring their own demise.

4. Educated Clergy:

Presently, the church is generally administered in the same old-fashioned tribal mentality. It is the obligation of the church leadership to educate its adherents that we are living in the 21st century, that the majority of Assyrians do not live in their ancestral homelands, and that the tribal system has been dead since the end of WWI. With migration, intermarriage, higher education, only a few fanatics still adhere to that mentality of identifying themselves by the tribe of their grand or great grandfather. The fact is that more than 95% of Assyrians are born and raised outside their original tribal homelands. Today, we are better known by the country in which we live than our tribe or village.

Metropolitans, bishops, and priests should be selected on the basis of their Christian faith, morality, education, personality and knowledge to deal with people. An aggressive educational program should be established where young men with a high school degree and verified good Christian qualities are selected and pshycologically tested for their mission, then placed in divinity schools for higher education. Once the new graduates are available, the uneducated and inexperienced priests should be retired and replaced.

We are grateful that Mar Dinkha has already embarked on this program. Today, we have bishops and priests that have obtained doctoral and master degrees in theology in addition to other students who are presently pursuing higher education in Rome. Indeed, these men are a promise for our church. However, educated clergy must be properly appointed and given responsibility that will challenge their education.

5. Needed Bishops:

When Mar Dinkha was the bishop of Iran, Assyrians in general and Church of the East in particular achieved recognition and a better understanding among the various Assyrian churches. Since Mar Dinkha’s departure, Assyrians in Iran have been neglected and still do not have a bishop. They certainly deserve a new bishop.

In the United States and Canada, considering the number of churches, we need to have three bishops, one for the Eastern Region, one for the Midwest Region, and one for the Western Region.

Conclusions

Chances are that some readers of this article may conclude that this writer is negative and pessimistic in his outlook at the Church of the East. On the contrary, this writer is a proud member of this church and will always remain a faithful member with highest respect for its leadership and canons. The purpose of this article is to challenge the church leadership and its adherents to seriously look at challenges that are treating the continuation of our church. The writer will be pleased to hear from the positive thinkers and optimistic fellows on condition that verifiable facts and not wishful thinking or emotional outbursts support their statements.

There is a complete translation of this article available in Assyrian.
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Youel A Baaba
California

GOOD MORNING BET-NAHRAIN

ASSYRIAN DELEGATION, IRAQI OPPOSITION TO MEET IN ARBIL

(ZNDA: Tehran) Mr. Jalal Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), told Iran’s official news agency this week that the Iraqi opposition groups are to meet soon in Erbil, North Iraq to plan for the eventual overthrow of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Talabani said opposition groups had rejected a proposal by Turkey to host their meetings, and he rejected any cooperation with Ankara to allow its army to enter Iraq.

Turkish newspapers reported Tuesday that Ankara wanted to send 20,000 soldiers, in addition to the 2,000 soldiers stationed in northern Iraq, backed by armored vehicles into northern Iraq to ensure the security of its border region in the event of a war.

A 75-member committee will meet in Arbil on or around 15 January to setup several sub-committees and a 15-member leadership committee. Mr. Yonadam Kanna of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa) and Mr. Albert Yalda will be representing the Assyrian-Iraqi population, including the Chaldean Catholic and Syriac Orthodox constituencies at this meeting.

Reliable sources to Zinda Magazine report that a few “Chaldean” community leaders have begun efforts in the United States in demanding full recognition of the Chaldean Catholics in Iraq as a unique ethnicity, separate from the comprehensive “Assyrian” representation agreed at the London Conference in December 2002. An official statement is expected later this week.

BNDP REP GREETS LOCAL ASSYRIAN & CHALDEAN LEADERS

(ZNDA: Dohuk) According to a report from the Information Center of the Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party, Mr. Barkho Shimshon, the representative of Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party in Iraq, met with the Assyrian political parties, social and educational organizations in the Dohuk Governorate and exchanged Christmas and New Year greetings.

Mr. Brkho and other members of the BNDP-Iraq Branch also visited the office of Mar Iskhaq, Bishop of the Church of the East in North Iraq, and other church leaders in North Iraq. During these visits, Mr. Barkho and members of the Party, distributed gifts to the needy Assyrian families.

On one such visit, Mr. Barkho and the BNDP members visited Mr. Ablahaad Afram, the head of the Chaldean United Party in North Iraq and a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). Mr. Barkho thanked the Assyrian and Chaldean organizations for the support received and offered his holiday greetings. .

IRAQ'S CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE UNEASILY

Courtesy of the Washington Post ( 25 December); article by Peter Baker

(ZNDA: Mosul) A nun was on her knees at the altar, not praying but scrubbing, getting everything ready. A man trained a spotlight toward the ceiling to test it. In the back of the church, a creche had been set up, the empty crib waiting for the Baby Jesus.

Christmas has arrived in Iraq, the moment when its relatively small Christian community takes center stage in a predominantly Muslim society. At the Clock and Latin Church here in Mosul, hundreds of Dominican Catholics gather annually amid the marble columns and stained-glass windows for Mass on Christmas Eve.

Peace is at the top of the list in their prayers this year, all the more so because of the threat of another war with the United States. But the Christians who live in Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq say they have an additional reason to pray this Christmas: Beyond the death and destruction delivered by war generally, another conflict could generate disorder and perhaps anger directed against Iraq's Christian population.

"Some people are afraid if there's something serious, what will happen in the city with the people -- Christian and Muslim, Sunni and Shiite. It's very difficult," said Brother Rame Simon, 35, who is studying philosophy and theology in preparation for the Dominican order. "We are afraid that they use this time when the government cannot control all the country. Most people have very good relations. But in this situation it only takes one fool, one crazy person who can make a lot of trouble."

Christians used to make up almost 1 million of the 23 million Iraqis, although the number has dwindled to below 800,000 in recent years as many left for Europe and the United States. Dominant among those remaining are Assyrian Catholics, who are called Chaldeans here. In addition to Arabic, many of them speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus.

Christians have risen to the top ranks in Iraq under President Saddam Hussein, with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz prominent among them, and anti-Christian violence has been largely suppressed by Hussein's Baath government. But religious conflict has been a fact of life through the centuries in the Middle East.

Mosul has as much cause for concern about what might happen if war breaks out as anywhere. Located about 250 miles north of Baghdad, near a semi-autonomous Kurdish enclave protected by U.S. and British air patrols, Mosul hosts perhaps the most vibrant Christian community in Iraq, estimated to number as many as 50,000 in the greater region. It also plays home to Muslim Kurds, Turkomen and Arab Muslims from both the Sunni and Shiite branches of the religion. What seems a harmonious diversity in peacetime could turn volatile if Iraq begins to collapse.

"If there is a war, it will be a complicated situation," said Philippe Khoshaba, 35, a Dominican priest at Clock and Latin Church. "We're afraid the Kurds will be here and the Muslims will be here. We don't know what the situation will be." Khoshaba added, "We're not afraid of our neighbors here, but we fear Iran or other groups that will provoke troubles here to profit from the situation."

Straddling the Tigris River, Mosul traces its history back to ancient times long before the prophet Muhammad and the advent of Islam. A major Mesopotamian trading stop on the route from India and Iran to the Mediterranean, it was known as Nineveh in the Bible, the third capital of Assyria and the cultural center of the Sumerian and Babylonian empires.

Devastated by the Mongols in the 13th century, Mosul was rebuilt and became one of three provinces under the Ottomans that would later be combined to create Iraq under British rule in 1920. After the departure of the British, Iraqi Muslims set upon the Christians in 1933 in retaliation for their collaboration with the colonial power. In 1959, political unrest also led to clashes in Mosul pitting Muslims against Christians.

Today, it is Iraq's third-largest city, a center of the oil industry but also still famous for its cotton and marble. The Serai bazaar teems with people at midday shopping for food or clothes. Tourists, when there are some, can visit a leaning minaret built in 640 or the Mosque of Nebi Yunus, believed to be the burial place of Jonah. Also noted for its churches and Christian antiquities, Mosul has begun storing away its most precious artifacts to protect them against any U.S. bombing.

Among its most distinctive churches is the Clock and Latin, built by French Dominicans in 1872 and known for its clock tower. A renovation completed last year has restored the limestone and marble house of worship to its once grand state.

Suhar Alyas, 32, a housekeeper, dressed up in her finest clothes and came to church today with her 9-year-old daughter, Milad Behnan, who carried three candles to light at the Virgin Mary statue in the church courtyard. Milad wants new shoes for Christmas; her 11-year-old brother, who has leukemia, wants a pair of birds. Their mother wants no more war.

"What do they get in benefit just to kill kids?" she asked. "We are praying to God to protect us and our children."

Around town, other Christians made final preparations for the holiday. It will not be a white Christmas, but it has grown chillier here in the north. Customers wore their coats to shop for last-minute gifts at Allah Faraj's shop. His is one of two in town that sell Christmas items, and he was too busy to think about geopolitics. "We're not worried about war," he said.

Ziad Tariq, an 18-year-old finishing his last year of secondary school, picked up some musical Christmas tree lights as well as small handmade ceramic creche figures. "For my gift, I just want that there won't be war," he said. Tariq wants to be a doctor. If there is war, though, he will be a soldier. At school, he received two months of training in how to use a gun.

Ban Wadi Said, 35, was looking for ornaments. Afterward she planned to go home and bake a traditional cake with dates for her three daughters, then cook a large meal and put music in the cassette player. While war looms, she said, she remains optimistic that it will not result in divisions with her Muslim neighbors.

"Thank God, we live in a country that respects us, and we respect them," she said.

Most Christians interviewed in the presence of a government translator said the different religious groups in Mosul live in harmony. Just as Christians congratulate their neighbors every Ramadan, they said, Muslims congratulate them at Christmas.

The man who sells many of the Christmas trees in town happens to be a Muslim. Mohammed Ali Hussein, 56, has been selling about 15 per day, and by this afternoon was left with just a half-dozen short, withered baby trees that could not support a string of lights.

Hussein said he has nothing but love for his Christian neighbors. "Our blood is about the same," he said. In the old days walking down the street he could tell who was Christian and who was not. "Now," he said, "we can't. The Muslims are without veils, the Christians are without veils. Everything has changed. Now sometimes even Christians are putting on veils as fashion, so you can't tell the difference."

CHRISTMAS MASS CELEBRATION IN DAMASCUS

Courtesy of the Arabic News (26 December)

(ZNDA: Damascus) A great Mass in celebration of Christmas day was held at the Cathedral of the Greek Catholic in Al-Zaytoon quarter in Damascus.

After the Mass the patriarchal vicar of the Greek-Catholic Archbishop Izidor Battikha pronounced Christmas sermons and urged people to consolidate their fraternity, solidarity and unity for the good of the society, the homeland and the humanity.

Archbishop Battikha greeted President Bashar Al-Assad national stances and his continued efforts for reinforcing the national unity on the basis of the real sincerity and love.

Meantime, Syrian Minister of Awqaf, Islamic Trusts, Mohammed Ziada yesterday visited representatives of the Christian communities in Damascus on the occasion of Christmas.

The Minister visited Greek Orthodox Patriarch Agnatius IV Hazim, Patriarch Zakka Iwaz I of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Assador Battikha, Archbishop of Syriac Catholics Elias Taber, Pastor of the Maronite Patriarchate Rymond Eid; Representative of the Latin Community, Romaldo Fernandes; and Pastor Secretary General of the Anglican Church in Syria and Lebanon, Adib Awad.

IRAQI CHRISTIANS FEAR BEING SCAPEGOATS FOR U.S. WAR

Courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle (25 December); article by Robert Collier

(ZNDA: Baghdad) Christmas comes for Iraqis with plenty of tinsel, packed churches and the mournful, mystical tone of millennia-old chants.

A veneer of normality prevailed everywhere in Baghdad on Christmas Eve. Christmas trees were sold on several street corners, and liquor stores -- almost all of which are owned by Christians -- were doing a brisk business as people stocked up for holiday parties.

Beneath the surface, however, is the gut-wrenching fear of war -- and, perhaps worse, what might happen after the bullets stop flying.

For Iraq's approximately 800,000 Christians, today is truly a Christmas like no other.

By any measure, Christians, who constitute 4 percent of Iraq's population, are a privileged minority, and they may have much to lose if the United States invades the country in the coming weeks, as appears increasingly likely. Despite their cultural links to the West -- most Iraqi Christians are relatively wealthy and have relatives living in the United States -- they have been protected by Saddam Hussein from fundamentalist Islam, and they are broadly loyal to his regime.

"This is a very sad Christmas, and we are very afraid of the New Year," said Bishop Constantine Delli, deputy patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, which represents most of Iraq's Christians.

The Chaldean Catholics, who are loyal to the Vatican, trace their roots to the fourth century A.D., when their creed became the official religion of the Mesopotamian region of the Roman Empire.

Delli voiced the widespread concern of Iraqi Christians that if the United States invades, the resulting chaos could cause the Muslim masses to carry out pogroms against Christians.

"Unless the government is able to act with a very strong hand, there could be violence against Christians," he said. "They may be influenced by Saudi Arabia, becoming fanatic."

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE

Those fears were right below the surface during the Christmas Eve service at Our Mother of Sorrows Church in downtown Baghdad, the country's largest.

The pews were packed, tree boughs were hung overhead, and creches were in the corners. But there was an otherworldly timelessness, too -- as always for Chaldeans, the liturgy and music were in ancient Aramaic, the language Jesus Christ is believed to have spoken.

The location of Our Mother of Sorrows is symbolic of Iraqi Christians' current state of mind. The church is squeezed among narrow streets clogged with handcarts and honking vehicles, hemmed in by the enormous Souk Araby on one side and a large mosque on another.

The Rev. Nidheer Dakko, Our Mother of Sorrows' priest, said: "Some traditional Muslims hate Christians. Not the government, no. They protect us.

"But this time, some Muslims see us as the enemy. Because America is Christian, they say the Christians are bombing Iraq," he added, referring to the sporadic attacks by U.S. and British planes enforcing the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq. "If there is war now, many, many Muslims will try to kill Christians because of this."

Iraqi Christians note anxiously that 60 percent of Iraq's population is Shiite, the version of Islam predominant in neighboring Iran. If the United States succeeds in overthrowing Hussein's regime, Dakko says, the new government may be dominated by Shiites. Several southern Shiite clerics have recently said that Iraq should adopt Shariah, or fundamentalist Islamic law.

"The Shiites hate the Sunnis and Christians," said Dakko. Sunni is the branch of Islam predominant in central and northern Iraq. "This is a problem. Iran likes the Shiites because it wants to make Iraq part of Iran."

Fears were compounded after the Aug. 15 murder and beheading of a Catholic nun, Cecilia Hanna, in the northern city of Mosul. The motive was later determined to be robbery, not religion, and three culprits were sentenced to long prison terms -- only to be set free when Hussein gave a mass amnesty to thousands of prisoners in November.

CHRISTIANS DO WELL IN IRAQ

Christians have more status in Iraq than in any other Arab nation except Lebanon, and they constitute a large part of the country's merchants and intelligentsia. Prominent Christians include Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the most powerful man in the regime after Hussein, and the late Michel Aflaq, the Syrian founder of the ruling Iraqi Baath Party, who was the mentor of young Saddam Hussein when he was in exile in Damascus in the 1950s.

Christmas Day and the day after are official holidays for Christians -- Muslims don't get the day off. The Orthodox Christmas, Jan. 6 and 7, is also a holiday for Christians.

Since the Gulf War, the internationally isolated Hussein has increasingly embraced conservative Islam -- a political gambit, his critics say.

In 1994, with his regime becoming imperiled by the economic crisis brought about by U.N. sanctions, he ordered the closure of all nightclubs and bars and banned the sale of alcohol in restaurants.

He has spent large sums in building mosques, including one in Baghdad, that when completed will be the largest in the world outside Mecca. The Muslim call to prayer is broadcast on state television five times daily, after which quasi- Muslim homilies written by the dictator are read.

MUSLIM, CHRISTIAN FRIENDS

A few blocks away from Our Mother of Sorrows, one of many conversations taking place at the same time showed how Iraqi secular tolerance will not die easily.

Gathered around an elegantly appointed table in a 200-year-old house was store owner Amal al-Khedairy and her friends Selwa and Sana Wazir. Al-Khedairy is Muslim; the other two are Armenian Catholic.

"We have never had anything to fear in this country," said Selwa Wazir. "People here are friends. We are all Iraqis, just like the people here in this room."

"But there are plenty of people who keep on saying we are not good Muslims because we are so tolerant," said al-Khedairy. "They keep saying this, and if you Americans come here, they will say it even more, and my friends will be blamed for anything that happens."

"This is the wrong time of year for such thoughts," said Sana Wazir. "Why can't we just love each other?"

LITTLE CHRISTMAS CHEER FOR IRAQ'S CHRISTIANS

Courtesy of Reuters (25 December); article by Nadim Ladki

(ZNDA: Baghdad) Iraqi Christians put on a brave face to celebrate Christmas on Wednesday but there was little joy as the shadow of war with the United States loomed large.

Members of the minority Christian community held mass in churches across Iraq, sang carols to celebrate the birth of their savior and prayed for peace.

But with President Saddam Hussein, in a Christmas message to Iraqis, warning that the drums of a U.S.-led war against Iraq were beating louder, the mood was somber.

"We are celebrating Christmas like any other people in the world and we are praying for peace to all," Maria Mardic told Reuters.

Some said they were celebrating Christmas as an act of defiance.

"We celebrate Christmas and practice our normal life despite the American threats and the embargo," a restaurant owner in Baghdad said.

But the fear of what might be around the corner was all too clear.

"I am going through the motions here," said a man who identified himself only as Marwan.

"I know it is Christmas but it doesn't feel like Christmas. All what we can think of is the looming war."

The United States has threatened to lead a military coalition to disarm Iraq if it does not obey U.N. resolutions. It is building up its forces in the Middle East as U.N. weapons inspectors looking for alleged banned weapons.

Iraq denied it has any nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

LOST JOY

"We want to live in peace and these things spoil our lives and take away the joy of Christmas," Anglican priest Ikram Mahni told Reuters.

"We pray to the Lord to halt this war and let us live in peace together, Christians and Muslims, in Iraq," he said at Baghdad's Anglican church.

Flower shops and restaurants in the posh Karradah neighborhood of Baghdad were decorated for the occasion. Santa Claus made several appearances in the area and his portraits joined pictures of Saddam on some shop windows.

Christians number about 1.5 million out of a total Iraqi population of about 23 million, the vast majority of them Muslims. The colorful mosaic of Christian sects includes Chaldeans, Copts, Roman and Melkite Catholics, Maronites and Greek Orthodox.

Among the most prominent Iraqi Christians is Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz.

In his Christmas message, Saddam said the festive season this year was marked by special circumstances "created by the powers of evil and darkness to spread chaos and create states of destabilization and tension" in many parts of the world.

To achieve the goal of controlling the wealth of countries, he said the "forces of evil" resort to "various ways and means of lies and deception, fabrication and false accusation, as well as threats and military aggression."

"It is in this context that the American-Zionist campaign against Iraq is being launched while the tone of a threatened, large-scale military aggression against our peace-loving people is growing louder," he said.

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News Digest

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: SADDAM AND THE CHALDEAN CHURCH IN IRAQ

(ZNDA: Rome) In recent days, Fides, news agency of the Vatican’s De Propaganda Fide office, published online a weighty dossier on the Chaldean Church.

In large part it’s a dossier on Iraq, home to a good number of Chaldean Catholics, with their patriarch, Raphael I Bidawid (in the photo, next to his procurator in Rome, Philip B. Najim).

The dossier gives a positive image of Christians in this country. Yes, there is the threat of war, the lack of food and medicine, the plague of emigration. In addition, “from time to time, incidents take place, especially since the gradual spread of a fundamentalist current in the Arab world.”

But on the other hand, Catholics in Iraq “don’t undergo discrimination” and enjoy “religious freedom,” even if it’s “within the limits set by the state.”

And what about Saddam Hussein? Says Msgr. Antonios Mina, representative of the Chaldean church to the Vatican’s Congregation for Eastern Churches:

”Relations with the government are good. In the government, there is vice premier Tareq Aziz, who is a Chaldean Catholic; his wife is a strong believer. Patriarch Raphael Bidawid is highly esteemed, respected by the civil authorities.”

Nothing new to this point. On the contrary. On repeated occasions, Patriarch Bidawid has praised Saddam Hussein in an even stronger manner. Most recently, in an October interview with “Panorama,” he said: “Christians here are privileged. Saddam gives us what we want, listens to us and protects us.” Regarding Islamic extremists: “They have infiltrated the veins of religious power and are trying to steer it in their direction. But the government keeps them in check. Saddam is capable; he fools them into being more open in order to uncover them. He will get them.”

Previously, on Sept. 18, Bidawid told the missionary news agency Misna that he feared war especially for one reason:
”A new conflict would trigger an awful clash within the Muslim world between Sunnis and Shiites.”

Implication: If Saddam goes, anarchy will break loose in Iraq, and without him as a shield, it will be the end for Christians.

There’s truth in this. But more striking than anything else in the “Fides” dossier and in the patriarch’s words is the deafening silence on the actual state of religious and civil liberty in Iraq.

For Christians in Iraq, the silence is understandable. It is less so for a Vatican agency like “Fides,” which in the past has distinguished itself for the precision and completeness of its information.

Less still since this is not reserved information. It’s enough to leaf through the reports of Amnesty International or Aid to the Church in Need in order to get a picture of the daily massacre of lives and of human rights in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

Christians are also victims of this massacre, increasingly so in recent months. A 71-year-old nun, Cecilia Hannamushi, had her throat slit August 15 in Baghdad. The second Sunday of September at Mossul, some Muslims assaulted a group of faithful with knives and bottles as they were leaving Mass. The caretaker of a Christian cemetery was attacked and his wife raped by a group of Islamists. Again at Mossul, Bishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, constrained by threats, had to cover the cross on top of one of the churches, and the nuns of one convent found one of their statues of Mary veiled in the Muslim manner. You can read the details in the Nov. 10, 2002 article by Lorenzo Cremonesi in “Corriere della Sera” and the Nov. 12, 2002 article by Hugh Pope in “The Wall Street Journal.”

But these acts targeting Christians are carried out by Islamic fanatics, hated by the regime itself. What is worse is something else.

What is worse is the massive, unrelenting state persecution that crushes the principal victims of the Saddam Hussein dictatorship: Shiite Muslims.

Shiites make up the majority of the Iraqi population, 60-65 percent of a total of around 23 million.

But Saddam favors Sunni Muslims, who make up 32-37 percent of the population, in everything. And he also tries -- with a mixture of privileges and subjugations -- to win to his side the Christian minority, which is 2-3 percent of the population and of whom almost 300,000 are Chaldean Catholics. For the record, Saddam’s personal tailor and barber are Christians.

The persecution of Shiite Muslims at the hands of the regime is summarized by Aid to the Church in Need in its 2002 report on religious freedom in the world:

“Among the gravest measures is the ironclad control of places of worship, the prohibition of processions, the prohibition or limitation of the diffusion of religious texts or religious programs in the media, the prohibition of Shiite leaders leading prayer, interference in the organization of pilgrimages and the Shiite commemoration of Ashura. The government policy has reached its climax with the arrest and assassination of many Shiite religious leaders.”

But the chapter on Iraq in Amnesty International’s 2002 report is much more detailed. The 2002 edition of the American State Department’s international report on religious liberty states: "The [Iraqi] Government for decades has conducted a brutal campaign of killings, summary execution, arbitrary arrest, and protracted detention against the religious leaders and followers of the majority Shi’a Muslim population and has sought to undermine the identity of minority Christian (Assyrian and Chaldean) and Yazidi groups. The regime systematically has killed senior Shi’a clerics, desecrated Shi’a mosques and holy sites, interfered with Shi’a religious education, and prevented Shi’a adherents from performing their religious rites. Shi'a Arabs, the religious majority of the population, long have been disadvantaged economically, politically, and socially. Christians also report various abuses including repression of political rights".

THE POPE ORDAINS A NEW CHALDEAN BISHOP

Courtesy of the Zenit News Agency (6 January)

(ZNDA: Vatican) On Monday, Pope John Paul II ordained 12 bishops on the solemnity of the Epiphany and asked them to "become light to guide the way of nations, weighed down by darkness and confusion." The Pope bestowed on the bishops the symbols of their ministry: the ring, sign of fidelity; the miter, symbol of holiness; and the staff, symbol of the shepherd. One of the new bishops is from Iraq. Monsignor Andraos Abouna of the Patriarchal Eparchy of Baghdad, Iraq, was born on March 23, 1943, ordained a priest June 5, 1966, named titular bishop of Zenobia of the Chaldeans and appointed auxiliary of the Patriarchate of Babylonia of the Chaldeans, in Iraq, on Nov. 6.

The celebration was held in a festive atmosphere. Following the Mass, a cavalcade led by the three Magi and composed of a thousand participants dressed in traditional costumes, entered St. Peter's Square.

CHALDEAN FEDERATION’S LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH

Chaldean Federation of America
18470 West 10 Mile Road
Southfield, MI 48075
www.chaldeanfederation.com

December 3, 2002

President George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re: Statement
Ethnic Diversity of Iraqi Population and Cultural Groups

Dear Mr. President:

Please be advised that the cultural and ethnic grouping of the population of Iraq consists primarily of the following groups: 72% Arabs; 18% Kurds, 3.5% Chaldeans; 1.5% Assyrians and Syriacs; and 5% all other groups (including Turkomans and Yazydies).

Contemporary Chaldeans are the descendants of the inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia. Their ancestors converted to Christianity during the first centuries of the Christian era. Their Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, is in communion with Roman Catholic Church.

Since the middle of the 16th Century until the present time the majority of the Christians of Mesopotamia adopted the name “Chaldean” as the expression of their ethnic and cultural identity. This nomenclature in fact relates to the last national Mesopotamian Empire with its splendid Capital Babylon before foreign invaders conquered the country (i.e. the Parthian, the Persians, the Arabs, the Mongols, and finally the Ottoman Turks). The language of ancient and contemporary Chaldeans is Aramaic, the same language that Jesus Christ spoke.

Though a small segment in number, the Chaldeans of today’s Iraq are more than a mere minority group. They represent the historic remnant of ancient Mesopotamia in today’s Iraq.

The Chaldean Federation of America, representing more than 150,000 proud Chaldean Americans (the majority of which are of Iraqi descent) stands ready to assist you an dour U.S. Government at anytime.

Please contact us at (248) 557-2362 if you require additional information.

Thank you,

Very truly yours,

Saad Marouf
Chairman
Chaldean Federation of America

Approved and Endorsed by:

Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim
St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Diocese of U.S.A.

Bishop Sarhad Y. Jammo
St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Diocese of U.S.A.

CHALDEAN FEDERATION'S POSITION REGARDING ASSYRIAN/CHALDEAN/SYRIAC PEOPLE LIVING IN NORTHERN IRAQ

Received 26 December 2002

Chaldean Federation of America
An Umbrella Association of Chaldean Organization in Metropolitan Detroit
18470 West 10 Mile Road
Southfield, MI 48075
www.chaldeanfederation.com

December 11, 2002

Re: CFA Position Regarding Assyrian / Chaldean / Syriac People Living in North Iraq

The Chaldean Federation of America (CFA), representing Chaldean Americans in the United States of America is concerned with ensuring hat the human, civil and legal rights of all Chaldean people throughout the world are protected and that our rich culture and heritage is preserved and that our people are entitled to live their lives in peace, without fear and with dignity.

We realize that after the 1991 Gulf War, many Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac families fled the country. Over fifty thousand of them became refugees all over the world. More than ten thousand Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac refuges are currently living in the No-Fly Zone of northern Iraq. They join thousands of other Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac families currently living there. Historically, Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people have lived in those parts since 5000 B.C.

Unfortunately, our people are living under critical conditions. The worst cases can be found in rural areas where there is a lack of clean water, schooling, electricity and many other basic human needs. Many of this is due to the damage done to the infrastructure and shortage of equipment and necessary resources.

We thank the world community and many humanitarian organizations, such as the Assyrian Aid Society, the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Churches and many others, in generously lending their helpful and caring hands to ease the hardship that our people are enduring on a daily basis. The CFA especially acknowledges and recognizes the great efforts of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) in representing and serving the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people in that part of the country in all aspects of life, be it social, cultural, educational, political, or other. With their dedication and commitment, the ADM was able to obtain Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac representation by placing 5 members in the 105 seats of the Parliament and to hold a mandated position of Minister in the region’s Government.

We commend and praise the ADM’s implementation of many necessary and valuable projects such as building schools and proving transportation to students from Kindergarten through 12th grade from far villages and for teaching our beloved language in schools. IN fact, it gives us great pride to see that the ADM has printed textbooks in our own language that allows for instruction of materials of official subjects in schools where the majority of students are Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac. Additionally, it has also been repeatedly demonstrated to us by facts and actions that the Assyrian Democratic Movement, along with many other affiliated organizations, are helping the underprivileged, the underserved and poor families with the basic necessities of life such as food and shelter. The ADM has also helped to provide irrigation systems to many farms that lack water and have supplied generators for electricity to many homes and villages. They have continued to do so since the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War and have always promised to continue and increase such good deeds.

We are pleased that the ADM by-laws and platform reflects that Assyrians/Chaldeans are one nation. However, we recommend to the ADM the importance of advocating the true reality of the unity of Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people and to carry that powerful message throughout the world. We are confident that our inquiries will be prioritized and fulfilled in the near future.

Subsequently, the CFA is prepared to work with and assist the ADM and our unity, be it individual or organization that offers humanitarian assistance to our great united Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Nation. United We Stand.

Chaldean Federation of America
Saad Marouf
Chairman

U.S. PUZZLED: HOW TO INVADE IRAQ WITHOUT DESTROYING TREASURES

Courtesy of IslamOnLine.net (24 December)

(ZNDA: Washington) As Washington prepares to invade Iraq, it stands puzzled by the possibility of waging war and avoiding at once widespread devastation of Iraq's priceless antiquities and archeological treasures.

The U.S. fears worldwide anger if its war on Iraq inflicts damage to Iraq’s irreplaceable religious and cultural artifacts v part of the world's cultural heritage.

The possibility that war could lead to the destruction of even a small percentage of Iraq's historical treasures has raised the concern of scholars, curators and archeologists from around the world, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said on December 24, in a detailed report.

The report quoted Ashton Hawkins, president of the American Council for Cultural Policy and Maxwell Anderson, president of the American Association of Art Museum Directors, as saying that it is not just the Iraqis who will be impoverished should U.S. missiles strike Iraqi archeological sites.

"What they contain is not merely the patrimony of one small nation but that of much of the modern world, including the United States," they wrote in an opinion piece published recently in the U.S. press.

There are roughly some 10,000 archeological sites throughout the area, according to experts, the oldest of which date back to 5000 BC and the vast majority of which are unexplored. Pentagon officials are trying to locate where these treasures are, U.S. officials say, according to AFP.

Most important are archeological sites located in and near the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur, identified in the Bible as the home of Abraham and deemed by some scholars to be the cradle of civilization, said AFP.

U.S. forces are accused of having pillaged treasures from Ur, the most splendid of all the ancient Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia, following Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War.

Many foreigners have also financed the theft of archeological pieces, Iraq has maintained, pointing an accusing finger at diplomats posted in Baghdad, as well as U.N. employees.

Other important archeological sites is Nineveh, the capital of the ancient Assyrian empire, located in what is now northern Iraq. Both Ur and Nineveh locales hold substantial undiscovered antiquities.

Washington has enlisted a team of experts knowledgeable about the region who will catalogue information about historical and archeological sites scattered across Iraqi territory, and who have agreed to pass that information to the Pentagon, said AFP.

Leading the effort is McGuire Gibson, an archeologist from the University of Chicago who has made frequent expeditions to Iraq over the past decade. Working with him is Charles Butterworth, a professor at the University of Maryland.

"They contacted us because they recognize our expertise in this field," said Butterworth, who described Iraq's treasures as being of "incalculable historical value."

Gibson and Butterworth, who are to be aided by about 40 academics in the task of locating and charting Iraq's historical sites, have a longstanding interest in the antiquities of the region. The duo had hoped years ago to open a historical research center in Iraq, but that effort had to be abandoned because of the 1991 war on the country.

"The work is indispensable," Butterworth said. "The plotting of these sites was done by the Iraqis a long time ago, and is not precise enough."

Even artifacts safeguarded at the Museum of Baghdad are not fully out of harm's way, Butterworth told AFP.

He warned that a nearby television station would be a prime target of U.S. missiles, and worried that a bomb explosion might lay waste to the museum and its precious exhibits.

Josh Keller, a military expert with the Federation of American Scientists, initially said that the risk of a missile striking an Iraqi museum or cultural site is diminished in this era of "smart bomb" technology, which allows the U.S. military to mark its target with pinpoint accuracy.

But, he eventually admitted that such a system is not foolproof.

"It is difficult to mark the area electronically. It has to be done by the intelligence," Keller said, adding that "it's almost impossible to mark every area."