The American Spectator

At Large

(Page 2 of 2)

A systematic effort to impose Islamic law has most affected Christian women, who have been ordered to adopt Islamic dress, including the veil. In one instance, the al-Mahdi Army (loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr) drafted a letter warning that "special committees have been established to follow up on this matter." Individual Christian women have been attacked, with some murdered or disfigured with acid.

Christian businessmen have proved to be prime targets. One aspect of the problem is simple crime: Christian entrepreneurs are thought to be wealthier and more likely to have rich foreign relatives. Moreover, explains BetBasoo, "Assyrian businesses are systematically targeted and attacked, particularly businesses that are perceived to be 'un-Islamic'." At most risk are liquor stores, cinemas, music stores, and retailers who sell radios and televisions.

Even universities have not provided safe havens for Christians. Christian students have been beaten, shot, and threatened with expulsion. Women have been ordered to veil themselves and stop attending classes. In the city of Mosul, BetBasoo writes of a letter sent to church leaders which "announced Muslims' intention of killing one person in every Christian family, as punishment for the women not covering their heads and going to university. This followed pressure from Islamic extremists against all women in Mosul requiring them to cover their head with the hijab." These demands were preceded by attacks on individual women.

p>Today there is no safety even in Christian neighborhoods, since Islamist forces can invade them with impunity. Whatever the virtues of the current U.S. military surge, safeguarding Christians is not among them. Writes BetBasoo: br> /p>

In early March, 2007, al-Qaeda moved into Dora, a predominantly Assyrian neighborhood in south Baghdad, and began imposing strict Islamic law. The Christian Assyrians were being forced to pay the jizya, the poll tax demanded by the Koran which all Christians and Jews must pay in exchange for being allowed to live and practice their faith as well as being entitled to "Muslim protection" from outside aggression.

br> Those who remain are subject to Islamic practices, such as use of the veil by women and disconnecting satellite dishes. The only other alternatives offered were death or flight -- or delivering a daughter or sister to the mosque for marriage to a local Muslim man. Reports BetBasoo: "Families that could not pay this sum were told to send one family member to the mosque on Friday to announce their conversion to Islam. Families who refused to do this were told they must leave their homes immediately and not take any of their belongings with them because 'your properties belong to the mosque.'" Families who did leave were charged an "exit fee." A majority of Christians fled from several areas, as jihadists applied the tactics used in Dora to other neighborhoods.

THREATENED CHRISTIANS APPEALED to both the Iraqi government and U.S. military, without result. "Nobody really cares," one of them despaired in an email to the Assyrian International News Service. And nothing in the behavior of the authorities contradicts that assertion.

Perhaps most disappointing is the behavior of Kurds in their territory. Although friendly to the U.S., the Kurdish authorities routinely intimidate and victimize the Christian minority. Property has been confiscated; resources such as water have been diverted from Christian to Muslim communities; Christian villages have been blockaded; young Christian women have been kidnapped; and individual Christians have been harassed, mistreated, beaten, and murdered.

BetBasoo includes as an appendix a chronological listing of murdered Assyrians, including short biographies and photos of many of the victims. This turns them into real people rather than numbers.

He concludes his report with photos of ruined churches. It is an appropriate end, for it illustrates what the sustained attacks on the Christian community really mean: the eradication of an entire religion and people from Iraq. Islamic fundamentalists once feared that the U.S. invasion of Iraq presaged an attempt to convert Muslims to Christianity. In fact, it has triggered a sustained if not exactly organized campaign to convert, kill, or exile Christians from their historic home in a majority Muslim nation.

Unfortunately, the worse the situation in Iraq, the less hope there is to save Iraqi Christians. The Assyrian community has called for creation of a protected enclave, though its survival after a future U.S. military withdrawal is doubtful. While American troops remain on station, however, Washington has an obligation to protect the most vulnerable minorities, especially those who have aided America.

Equally important, the U.S. should welcome Christians fleeing the violence. Muslim refugees may have some hope of returning to a future Iraq that becomes stable if not liberal. The Assyrians are far less likely to find a tolerant and tolerable environment. With Jordan and Syria overwhelmed with fleeing Iraqis, it is time for America to open its doors. These are, after all, people who favor the U.S., have been endangered because of American policy, and have no where else to go.

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Television, Business, Religion, Islam, Environment, Law, Military, Iraq