September 10, 2005
Is There Any Place for Christians in the New Iraq?
by Simon Caldwell
The Times
Exactly a week after the London bombings of July 7, two Iraqi bishops met Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor over dinner at a Roman Catholic church in Chelsea. Archbishop Louis Sako, of Kirkuk, and Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Abouna, of Baghdad, were in the capital on business: they specifically wanted the cardinal to approach the British Government on behalf of Iraq's Christians, who, they said, were fleeing their country at the rate of 30,000 people a month.
The two Chaldean Catholic leaders wanted Britain to intervene to try to stop Sharia being incorporated into the draft Iraqi constitution, fearing that they would become second-class citizens if Islamic religious law were imposed. Instead they wanted the constitution to be secular, guaranteeing equality under the law for all Iraqis.
Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor "listened to their concerns". Under Sharia, non-Muslims are accorded "dhimmi" status under which they may have to pay special taxes. Since Saddam Hussein was removed in 2003, the experiences of Baghdad Christian alcohol vendors, for example, have included visits from the Hawza (Shia religious authorities), who have extorted cash penalties on the grounds that Sharia was being violated.
Sharia is being enforced with greater vigour in the Shia-dominated south of the country, where barbers have been attacked for shaving men of their beards. All women, including Christians -- who under Saddam could wear the latest fashions and make-up, and go to work -- are under pressure to wear the hijab.
Read the complete story (Some news sites require registration)
Related Headlines
Increasing numbers of radical Islamic Web sites are spreading al-Qaida's message in English
Philippine gay rights group wages battle to run in 2010 congressional elections
Muslim countries seek UN treaty to protect religion from blasphemy
