IRAQ: CHRISTIANS FLEEING FORCED CONVERSIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VATICAN 000099 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/WE LARREA; NEA/I, DRL/IRF E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/21/2017 TAGS: PREL MOPS PGOV KIRF PHUM IZ SW VT SUBJECT: IRAQ: CHRISTIANS FLEEING FORCED CONVERSIONS REF: A. A. BAGHDAD 1975 ¶B. B. VATICAN 0074 ¶C. C. 06 VATICAN 00219 ¶D. D. 04 VATICAN 00712 ¶E. E. 03 VATICAN 5628 VATICAN 00000099 001.2 OF 003 CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher J. Sandrolini, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy Vatican. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Summary: Monsignor Philip Najim, Representative of the Chaldean Catholic Church to the Holy See and the Chaldeans' European representative, told us in a May meeting that Christians were continuing to flee Iraq in large numbers due to an active campaign of forced conversions to Islam and the continued violence directed toward priests, nuns, and churches. Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly is now more favorably disposed to the establishment of a Christian enclave in Kurdistan as a last gasp attempt to keep the faithful in Iraq. The Chaldean Church is also taking steps to establish an active pastoral effort in countries such as Sweden where there is now a large Iraqi Christian refugee population. Najim also asked the USG to take steps to protect Christians in Iraq, stating that the loss of Christianity in Iraq will be a loss for all. Meanwhile, a Rome memorial service for slain Iraqi priest Ragheed Ganni focused Holy See attention once again on the threat to Christian communities in Iraq. End Summary. -------------- Iraqi Chaldeans Fleeing Forced Conversions -------------- ¶2. (C) Monsignor Philip Najim, the Chaldean Catholic Representative to the Holy See, told us in a May meeting that the Chaldean Church in Iraq was slowly vanishing due to the steady barrage of violence it faces on a daily basis. As reported in reftels, the targeting of priests, nuns, and churches by extremist and criminal elements in Iraq has decimated the Chaldean Church and its faithful, leading to a disproportionate outward migration flow of Christian refugees from Iraq. (Note: UNHCR reports that while Iraqi Christians comprise three percent of Iraq's population, they accounted for as high as 40 percent of registered refugees fleeing Iraq early on and now they make up closer to 20 percent of the total). �0A; ¶3. (C) Najim described how the Christians in Al Dorha and other areas of Baghdad are targeted for forced conversion to Islam by extremists who cruise neighborhoods announcing on megaphones that Christians must convert or face death. In "more tolerant" areas, said Najim, Christians are told that they must either convert to Islam or pay the tax of "jizya." According to Najim, most Christians with any financial wherewithal had already left Iraq, and there are only about seventy-five Christian families left in Al Dorha, an area that had been almost fifty percent Christian as late as 2003. -------------- -------------- Christian Autonomous Zone in Kurdistan "Better Than Nothing" -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Patriarch Delly is becoming more and more concerned about the very existence of the Church in Iraq and is now favorably disposed to the creation of an autonomous zone in northern Iraq for Iraqi Christians, said Najim. The Minister of VATICAN 00000099 002.2 OF 003 Finance for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is funding the construction of houses for Chaldeans fleeing Baghdad within an existing Christian enclave in Kurdistan, he said. Najim indicated the Patriarch has switched his stance on a Christian autonomous zone in northern Iraq because "a Christian village in Iraq is better than nothing at all." -------------- Tending to the Faithful in Sweden -------------- ¶5. (C) Najim described how the Patriarch had recently reassigned five priests to Sweden from their shuttered parishes in Baghdad to look after recently-arrived Chaldean Christians refugees in Sweden. The Church's biggest challenge is to minister to those Chaldeans who have fled Iraq for countries where there is no established Church presence, Najim explained. "Our work in Sweden is an example of how we are attempting to maintain contact with our faithful outside Iraq," he said. ¶6. (C) Najim estimated that Sweden had taken in over twenty-five thousand Chaldeans during the last few years. "We are very appreciative to the government of Sweden for accepting our people," said Najim, "but we are also very concerned about whether we will be able to tend to their needs in Sweden." He described a GoS integration program for Iraqi refugees that ties a monthly stipend for housing and food to attendance at Swedish culture and language classes. Najim voiced concern that Chaldeans would "lose their faith" as they assimilated into Swedish society. He also mentioned concerns about an active group of evangelical Muslims in Sweden targeting Iraqi Christians for conversion. -------------- Christians Play a Vital Role in Iraq -------------- ¶7. (C) Najim implored the USG to take whatever action was possible to help preserve the Chaldean community in Iraq, noting the vital role played by Christians in Iraqi society, and the traditional tolerance of Christians in Iraq. He noted that Christian schools, which were normally 20 percent Christian students and 80 percent Muslim, were considered the best in Iraq and successfully produced a very well educated professional class that continues to contribute to Iraqi society. He added that Jesuit-run Baghdad College had produced many of the most capable leaders and professionals in Iraqi society (e.g. Ayad Allawi, Ahmed Chalabi, Adel Abdul Mahdi, Laith Kubba, and Kanan Makiya). Najim also pointed out that the Holy See depends on the Chaldeans for any communications and dealing with the Orthodox Churches in the Middle East. "If the Chaldean Church disappears from Iraq, we will all lose," Najim concluded. -------------- Memorial Service Highlights Christian Plight -------------- ¶8. (SBU) A June 7 memorial service for Chaldean priest Father Ragheed Ganni, slain June 3 in Mosul, again focused Holy See attention on the plight of Christians in Iraq. Father Ganni had resided at the Pontifical Irish College while studying in Rome, VATICAN 00000099 003.2 OF 003 and had a wide network of friends and colleagues. A packed chapel at the Irish College included members of the Holy See diplomatic corps, several cardinals, and officials from the Vatican Curia (bureaucracy). Several media outlets were also on hand reporting on the widespread grief of the congregation, and the sense that Christians were under attack in Iraq - and becoming an endangered species. Though we understand subsequent reports indicate that Ganni's death may have been a car-jacking gone bad rather than a targeted killing, the community has no doubt that Ganni was killed for his faith. Some mentioned to us previous threats that he had received from Islamists. -------------- -------------- Pope Benedict Voices Concern for Iraqi Christians -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) Pope Benedict XVI received Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, in Rome June 21. The Pope observed that "particularly in Iraq, the homeland of so many of the Assyrian faithful, Christian families and communities are feeling increased pressure from insecurity, aggression and a sense of abandonment. Many of them see no other possibility than to leave the country and to seek a new future abroad. These difficulties are a source of great concern to me". Patriarch Delly was also present at the Pope's June 21 audience for the Aid Agencies of the Oriental Churches. The Pope repeated his concern for Iraq and the Holy Land and called on participants to ensure that their intervention in favor of the suffering populations become more incisive. He also renewed his condolences for the recent killing of priests in Iraq. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) We have heard and reported many times in the past on concern from Najim and Vatican officials for the survival of the Christian community in Iraq, but preoccupation here has reached a new level. As presented by Najim, the Patriarch's change of heart on the autonomous Christian zone in Kurdistan is an indication of the desperation Chaldeans feel to do anything they can to maintain a presence in Iraq. With both the Pope and Secretary of State Bertone raising the issue with President Bush SIPDIS in their June 9 meeting, Najim is not alone in his concern. ROONEY