Health & Fitness
Praying for Christians Facing Persecution
Persecution takes many forms – from oppression and discrimination to denial of constitutional and internationally acknowledged freedoms.
The term ‘Middle East’ is defined here to include the countries from Mauritania through to Iran and from Sudan and Somalia to Turkey. It is almost impossible to provide exact figures, but the total Christian population forms about 3% (12 million) of the region’s inhabitants. Of this 3%, approximately 65% are Orthodox, 20% are Catholic are 15% are Protestant. There are known Muslim-converts or groups of converts in all of the countries in the region.
Greetings in the name of Jesus, the eternal Rock.
Iraqi Christians have requested urgent prayer as the situation in Mosul and surrounding areas deteriorates.
Islamist militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS), an al-Qaeda off-shoot group, began their violent take-over on Friday 6th June. ISIS now has full control of Mosul, Iraq's second city. The International Organisation for Migration estimated on Wednesday 11th that half a million residents had fled from the violence, many attempting to find refuge in the nearby Kurdish provinces of Northern Iraq.
Hundreds of Christian families are amongst those fleeing the area, and at least one Assyrian church in Mosul has been burned down in the recent violence. Christians feel particularly vulnerable, especially in light of the treatment of Christians in the Raqqah province of northern Syria where ISIS has also established its authority. Recall that, in February 2014, ISIS commanders in Raqqah forced Christian community leaders to sign a contract agreeing to a set of stringent conditions. These included the payment of a special tax (known as jizya), conduct of Christian rites only behind closed doors so as to be neither visible nor audible to Muslims, and adherence to Islamic commercial, dress code and dietary regulations.
Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh plain is the traditional heartland of Iraq's Christian communities. Many Christians fled to this region when forced to leave Baghdad and other areas in recent years. Christians are alarmed at the ISIS take-over of Mosul, fearful that this will further accelerate the decline of the Christian presence in Iraq.
Iraqi Christians urge us to pray, asking that:
a. The Christians of Mosul will know the close presence of Jesus, the guidance of the Spirit and the protection of the Father
b. Those who have chosen to remain in the city would not be subjected to violent or unjust treatment
c. Humanitarian assistance would reach all who are in need, whether having been displaced or remaining in Mosul
d. Christians throughout Iraq will know the peace and presence of Jesus each day, and will remain faithful to him and clear in their testimony
e. The Iraqi authorities will act decisively to improve security for all citizens of Iraq.
f. Those who are perpetuating the conflict would know the Spirit's conviction of sin and come to understand the depths of Jesus' forgiveness.
I am quoting freely from reports citing "Middle East Concern" as the source of the information.
Middle East Concern (MEC) is based in the Middle East. It is an Association of established Christian agencies and individuals advocating the human rights of the Christian communities in the Middle East and North Africa, within the general human rights context in the region.
MEC recognizes the link between Christian faith and human rights, sees religious liberty as the cornerstone of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and believes that protection of fundamental liberties is an integral part of social and economic development.
