Christians in Iraq

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ISIS: Destroying the Language of Jesus?

Aramaic is under threat as ISIS invades northern Iraq

(Newser) - Islamic militants may have an unexpected victim in northern Iraq: an ancient collection of dialects and languages that's been around for over 3,000 years, Foreign Policy reports. Called Aramaic, it was flourishing among Assyrian Christians in the Nineveh plain of Iraq until ISIS invaded earlier this month and...

Attacks on Baghdad Christians Kill 37

And US embassy in Kabul hit by indirect fire, but no one injured

(Newser) - Militants in Iraq targeted Christians in two separate bomb attacks in Baghdad today, killing at least 37 people. In one attack, a car bomb went off near a church during Christmas Mass in the capital's southern Dora neighborhood, killing at least 26 people and wounding 38, a police officer...

Egypt's Coptic Christians Fear What Comes Next

They worry about Islamist groups cracking down

(Newser) - For Egypt's Coptic Christians, the current uprising presents a dilemma: While they share general sentiments about Mubarak's long, undemocratic stay in power, they worry that the transition to democracy could empower Islamist movements that take a dim view of religious minorities. The chaos and lack of police protection has caused...

Pope to Middle East Christians: Stay Strong
Pope to Middle East Christians:
Stay Strong
new year's address

Pope to Middle East Christians: Stay Strong

Hours after Egypt church blast, pope urges followers 'not to yield'

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to remain strong in the face of intolerance and violence in a New Year's appeal today that came hours after a bomb blast outside an Egyptian church killed 21 people as worshippers left Mass. The pope condemned a widening campaign against Christians in the Middle...

Defiant Iraqi Christians Mark Somber Christmas

Celebration subdued as al-Qaeda threatens more violence

(Newser) - Iraqi Christians gathered today to mark Christmas in the same church where less than two months ago dozens from their beleaguered community were killed by Muslim extremists intent on driving them from Iraq. The walls were pockmarked with bullet holes, plastic sheeting covered gaps where glass windows used to be...

Series of Blasts Kill 76 in Baghdad

180 wounded; France grants asylum to Christians

(Newser) - At least 13 separate attacks pounded Baghdad's Shiite neighborhoods today, killing 76 and wounding nearly 200, the AP reports. The assault was highly organized, with mortar attacks coordinated with bomb-rigged cars and roadside mines. Coming just two days after a hostage crisis at a Catholic church that left 58 dead,...

Iraqi Christians Flee Murder Campaign

1,000 families run scared after 3 homes bombed in Mosul

(Newser) - Escalating anti-Christian violence has forced almost 1,000 families to flee the Iraqi city of Mosul, AFP reports. They are hiding in surrounding schools and churches after three homes were bombed in the city, a known al-Qaeda stronghold. The violence "is the fiercest campaign against the Christians since 2003,...

Vatican Blasts Attacks on Christians

Official: India killings underscore spread of 'Christianophobia'

(Newser) - The Vatican warned against the spread of "Christianophobia" today following attacks in India that left 13 Christians dead, Reuters reports. Thousands fled their homes this week as mobs rioted in retaliation for the murder of a Hindu leader. The Pope condemned the violence, and Italy's foreign ministry will demand...

Kidnapped Priest Found Dead in Iraq
Kidnapped Priest Found Dead in Iraq

Kidnapped Priest Found Dead in Iraq

Captors tell church Chaldean archbishop was ill before death

(Newser) - The body of the Chaldean Catholic archbishop who was abducted last month has been found in a shallow grave in northern Iraq, the BBC reports. His kidnappers contacted church officials yesterday to tell them Paulos Faraj Rahho, archbishop of Mosul, had become very sick. They reported his death later that...

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