The new Improved Iraq - Targeting Christians
May 14th, 2009 in Breaking News, New World Disorder
AP News : News : Times Record News.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq has lost more than half the Christians who once called it home, mostly since the war began, and few who fled have plans to return, The Associated Press has learned.
Pope Benedict XVI called attention to their plight during a Mideast visit this week, urging the international community to ensure the survival of “the ancient Christian community of that noble land.”
The number of Arab Christians has plummeted across the Mideast in recent years as increasing numbers seek to move to the West, saying they feel increasingly unwelcome in the Middle East and want a better life abroad.
But the exodus has been particularly stark in Iraq - where sectarian violence since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion has often targeted Christians.
The AP found that hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled.
The situation holds practical implications for Iraq’s future. Christians historically made up a large portion of the country’s middle class, including key jobs as doctors, engineers, intellectuals and civil servants.
The last official Iraqi census in 1987 found 1.4 million Christians in the country. Now, according to the 2008 U.S. State Department report on International Religious Freedom, that number has dropped to between 550,000 and 800,000.
Source:
AP News : News : Times Record News
May 14th, 2009 in Breaking News, New World Disorder
AP News : News : Times Record News.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq has lost more than half the Christians who once called it home, mostly since the war began, and few who fled have plans to return, The Associated Press has learned.
Pope Benedict XVI called attention to their plight during a Mideast visit this week, urging the international community to ensure the survival of “the ancient Christian community of that noble land.”
The number of Arab Christians has plummeted across the Mideast in recent years as increasing numbers seek to move to the West, saying they feel increasingly unwelcome in the Middle East and want a better life abroad.
But the exodus has been particularly stark in Iraq - where sectarian violence since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion has often targeted Christians.
The AP found that hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled.
The situation holds practical implications for Iraq’s future. Christians historically made up a large portion of the country’s middle class, including key jobs as doctors, engineers, intellectuals and civil servants.
The last official Iraqi census in 1987 found 1.4 million Christians in the country. Now, according to the 2008 U.S. State Department report on International Religious Freedom, that number has dropped to between 550,000 and 800,000.
Source:
AP News : News : Times Record News