Protesters gather near Mosul at a demonstration yesterday against recent attacks on Christians

BAGHDAD // The murder of a Christian man and his two sons, gunned down in their Mosul home on Tuesday, has underlined the precarious situation facing Iraq’s minority groups as the country prepares for a national election.
The killings of Aishwa Maroki, a 59-year-old Assyrian Christian, and his two sons, aged 31 and 25, brought the number of Christians killed since mid-February to eight, and yesterday prompted Pope Benedict XVI to call on the Iraqi authorities to improve security. Promises from the government to hold an inquiry into the incident have done little to soothe the anger felt by Iraq’s Christians, who point out that the killers never seem to be brought to justice.
That frustration spilt into the streets of Baghdad yesterday, with dozens of Christians protesting the killings.
Demonstrators, carrying Iraqi flags, called on the international community to safeguard their rights.

Search:  http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100301/FOREIGN/702289858/1135

Supporters of Iraqi Christians demonstrate in St. Peter's Square

Vatican City, Feb 28, 2010 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- After the Angelus on Sunday, the Holy Father exhorted the international community to do “everything possible” to give Iraqis a future of “reconciliation and justice." His words against anti-Christian violence in Iraq were well received by Iraqi demonstrators in St. Peter's Square.  Pope Benedict XVI related the "profound sadness" he felt upon learning of the killings of Christians in Mosul last week. He added that he has followed the violent events perpetrated against unarmed victims with "great preoccupation." The pontiff said that during the "intense meditation" of the spiritual exercises of the last week he prayed often for the victims.  "Today, I wish to unite myself spiritually to the prayer for peace and for the restoration of security, promoted by the Council of Bishops of Nineveh," he added. The bishops of the Syro-Catholic, Syro-Orthodox and Chaldean Churches in Mosul made a plea for government protection for Christians and religious minorities in a letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister this week.

Search: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope_benedict_calls_for_end_to_anti-christian_violence_in_iraq/

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 1,000 minority Christians, many holding olive branches, marched in protest near the restive city of Mosul on Sunday to urge the Iraqi government to act decisively after a series of killings.

At least eight Christians have been killed in the last two weeks in the turbulent northern city, 390 km (250 miles) north of Baghdad, prompting Pope Benedict to appeal on Sunday for Iraq's Christians to be better protected. Two of those attacked had gone missing, their bodies later found dumped in the street with gunshot wounds. Others were shot dead in the street, near their homes, or at their place of work. Some 683 Christian families, or 4,098 people, fled Mosul between February 20 and 27 following the attacks, a United Nations report said on Sunday. The murders came just weeks before Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, which has the potential to help cement an end to seven years of war or plunge a still-divided country into a new cycle of violence.

Search: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61R23H20100228

Protesters demanded the government bring the killers of Iraqi Christians to justice

           

MOSUL, Iraqi — Violence against Christians in northern Iraq continues to intensify as the country's March 7 parliamentary elections draw closer. A Christian man and his two sons were murdered Feb. 23 in Mosul when armed gunmen stormed their home, news services reported.  "It was a bloody day [Feb. 23] in Mosul," an Iraqi worker of Open Doors reported. "In one house all the family members were killed — five people,” he continued. “First the attackers drove by and shot from their car. Then they forced themselves into the house and gunned down the entire family. They even threw two bodies outside the house as a cruel warning for others."
The violence is worsening the flight of Iraqi Christians from the country, said Emil Shimoun Nona, the Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, according to news reports.
"It is very difficult to live in this kind of situation," Nona said. "It is panic, panic always. The Christians don't know what will happen to them. It is the same everywhere — in the office, at school or even at home. They don't know if somebody is going to kill them." Nona succeeded Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped and murdered in March 2008. "For years Christians have been targeted in Mosul and the surrounding area," said Open Doors USA President/CEO Carl Moeller. "It is one of the most violent areas in Iraq. The massacre of an entire family and the other murders is horrible. It is getting more violent they’re every day."
While Iraq in general has grown more peaceful over the past two years, violence is an almost daily occurrence in Mosul, where Arabs, Kurds and al-Qaeda extremists are fighting for control. The country's minority Christian community often is targeted by the factions who want to intimidate them from voting or by al-Qaeda militants who want to derail elections. Iraqi law reserves a small quota of seats in parliament for Christians.

Search: http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Mar10/Art_Mar10_13.html

Christian families in Iraq are fleeing the northern town of Mosul in droves after a string of unprovoked murders left at least 10 believers dead, a ministry working with persecuted churches have reported.

In less than two weeks, five Christian individuals, including two students, and a family of five were gunned down. The intense violence has struck deep fear in the tiny Christian community causing some 40 to 50 families, each with an average of five members, to flee Mosul in the past week, according to Open Doors, which has workers in Iraq.
“For years Christians have been targeted in Mosul and the surrounding area,” said Open Doors USA President/CEO Carl Moeller. “It is one of the most violent areas in Iraq. The massacre of an entire family and the other murders is horrible. It is getting more violent there every day.”

Search: http://au.christiantoday.com/article/iraqi-christians-flee-mosul-after-attacks/7720.htm

RIKSFÖRBUNDET Assyriska riksförbundet i Sverige kallar härmed till ordinarie årsmöte lördagen den 20 mars 2010 kl. 12:00 i Norrköping.

Varje medlemsförening ges möjlighet till att skicka två ombud till årsmötet.

Ombuden anmäls till ARS kansli av föreningsstyrelsen i respektive förening antingen per mail till eller brevledes till Assyriska Riksförbundet i Sverige, Box 180, 151 06 SÖDERTÄLJE . Anmälan ska ha inkommit till ARS kansli senast den 10 mars.

Andressen till lokalen för årsmötet är Assyriska Kulturföreningen i Norrköping, Bäraregatan 2, 603 60 Norrköping.

Källa: http://hujada.com/article.php?ar=1514

                             

Search: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=35594

Siyasetçi ve yazar Orhan Miroğlu 19 şubat 2010 günü istanbul Mezopotamya Kültür ve Dayanışma Derneğini ziyaret etti. Dernek yönetim kurulunun daveti üzerine gerçekleşen ziyarete Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediye Başkanı Osman Baydemir'in basın danışmanı Şeyhmus Diken de katıldı.   

   Dernek üyelerinden Dr.Josef Atuğ'un sunumuyla başlayan etkinlikte daha sonra Orhan Miroğlu 1915 ve sonrasında Süryani halkının yaşadığı zorluklardan kesitler sunduğu"Affet Bizi Marin"adlı yeni kitabının yazılış öyküsünü dinleyicilerle paylaştı. Aslen Midyatlı bir mihallami olan Miroğlu Süryani halkıyla olan güçlü bağlarını ve bu halkın çektiği acıları anlattığı duygu yüklü konuşmasında zaman zaman gözyaşlarını tutamadı. Süryani halkına karşı 1915 te yapılan zulüm ve sonrasında devam eden baskıların tarihte çok acı bir şekilde yer ettiğini belirten Miroğlu, seyfodan önce yüzbinlerce Süryani-Asuri'nin yaşadığı Mezopotamya ve özellikle Tur-Abdin bölgesinden bu halkın bütün izlerinin silinmesini isteyen güçler olduğunu ve Mor Gabriel manastırına karşı açılan arazi davalarını da bu kapsamda değerlendirmek gerektiğini belirtti.

Kaynak: http://www.suryaniler.com/haberler.asp?id=646

Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi (BDP) grup başkan vekilleri Bengi Yıldız ve Ayla Akat Ata, Mıhellemilerin yaşadıkları sorunların tespiti ve çözümü amacıyla "Meclis Araştırması" yapılması için Meclis Başkanlığına başvurdu. Mardin, Batman, Siirt ve özellikle Midyat'ın çevresinde Turabdin diye anılan bölgede yaşayan halk topluluğu olan Akad kökenli Mıhellemiler'in yaşadıkları sorunların tespit edilmesi ve çözülmesi amacıyla Meclis başkanlığına önerge verilmesi Mıhellemiler'i sevindirdi. Meclise sunulan önergede, "Bu halkın kendine has bir dili, adetleri ve kültürü vardır. Mıhellemiler, Arap ya da başka kimlikler adı altında bir denge unsuru olarak kullanılmaktan, yerleşim yerlerinin isimlerinin değiştirilmesinden, kendi kimlik ve kültürlerinin hukuki olarak tanınmamasından ve devlet tarafından korunup geliştirilmemesinden rahatsızlık duymaktadırlar" denildi.

Kaynak: http://www.midyathabur.com/haber_detay.asp?haberID=6976

Eine richtungsweisende Konferenz in Bagdad hat die Ursachen der Gewalt gegen Christen und andere Minderheiten thematisiert. Möglichkeiten der sicheren und würdigen Rückkehr von Flüchtlingen in ihre Heimat wurden ebenfalls besprochen.

gw. “Bis zur Konferenz am 11. Dezember ist alles wieder renoviert”, hatte uns Ali Bassam, Direktor des al-Mansour Hotels in Bagdad im November 2009 versichert. Nur einen Monat zuvor war der graue, 15-stöckige Betonklotz im Zentrum der irakischen Hauptstadt von einer Autobombe durchgeschüttelt worden, die mehr als 150 Menschen in den Tod riss und 500 weitere verletzte. Die meisten Fenster des Gebäudes zerbarsten, in den Stockwerken regneten Gipsbrocken der Stuckdecken auf die Gäste.  “Schauriges Schweigen der Christenheit”  Die von CSI zusammen mit der irakischen Menschenrechtsorganisation Hamorabi organisierte Konferenz unter dem Leitmotiv “Für eine sichere und würdige Rückkehr der Flüchtlinge” stand unter der Schirmherrschaft des irakischen Vizepräsidenten Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Sie begann mit einer Schweigeminute für alle irakischen Opfer von Gewalt und Terror im Land. “Wenn es den Christen gut geht, dann geht es dem Irak gut”. Mit diesen Worten zitierte die internationale CSI-Präsidentin Annette Walder zu Beginn ihrer Ansprache einen irakischen Dichter. Sie bedauerte insbesondere das “schaurige Schweigen der weltweiten Christenheit”, wo Solidarität mit den Opfern doch eigentlich das Gebot der Stunde sein müsse. “Die irakischen Christen gehörten zum Land wie das Wasser des Tigris”, erklärte William Warda, Vorsitzender der irakischen Menschenrechtsorganisation Hamorabi. Er bezeichnete die Christen des Landes als eine Heilsarmee im Hintergrund, die sich stets für das Wohl aller Iraker eingesetzt habe. “Am meisten schmerzt mich”, ergänzte Warda, “dass es heute eine andere, im Geheimen agierende Armee gibt, die nichts als Tod und Zerstörung bringt”.

Search: http://www.csi-schweiz.ch/irak_csi_christen_stimme.php

Aktuellt: Aktioner

Riksdagen ska preliminärt den 17 mars 2010 rösta om huruvida Sverige ska erkänna folkmordet 1915 på armenier, assyrier/syrianer/kaldéer och pontiska greker i osmanska Turkiet under första världskriget. Den aktuella motionen heter 2008/09:U332. Genom att fylla i ditt namn, efternamn och ort kan du skicka ett meddelande och påminna riksdagsledamöterna om sanningens värde. Vänligen observera att IP-adressen för din datorn kommer att loggas för att hindra försök till spamming. Varje meddelande behöver godkännande från administratörn för att förhindra missbruk.

Efter att ha läst texten kan du fylla i dina uppgifter och klicka på Skicka.

Rubrik: Erkänn Folkmordet 1915 för vad det är!

Härmed vill jag uppmana dig att den 17 mars rösta för ett erkännande av Folkmordet 1915 på armenier, assyrier/syrianer/kaldéer och pontiska greker (motion 2008/09:U332).

Erkännandet av sanningen om Folkmordet 1915 är inte endast en viktig fråga för de berörda minoriteterna, utan även ett rätt steg i demokratiarbetet i ett Turkiet som vill bli medlem i EU. Det är också viktigt att Sverige, som ett internationellt ansett land i fråga om demokrati och förkämpe för mänskliga rättigheter, ska värna om sanningen istället för att förneka den.

Ett erkännade, förutom dess internationella värde, skulle även välkomnas oerhört mycket av de cirka 100 000 armenier, assyrier/syrianer/kaldéer och pontiska greker som idag bor i Sverige. Flesta av oss är ättlingar till folkmordets offer och har under alla dessa år strävat för åtminstone en moraliskt upprättelse i frågan genom att få ett erkännande om folkmordets realitet.

Behöver ni veta mer om Folkmordet 1915 och de uppgifter som anges i motion 2008/09:U332 kan ni besöka http://www.folkmordet1915.se för mer information och material.

Med vänliga hälsningar,

Källa: http://www.folkmordet1915.se/aktuellt_aktioner.html

İsveç Parlamentosu, 17 Mart'ta içinde sözde Ermeni soykırımının da bulunduğu önergeyi oylayacak

İsveç Parlamentosu, 17 Mart'ta yapılacak oturumda, sözde Ermeni soykırımı olmak üzere Asuri, Süryani, Keldani, Pontus ve daha birçok sözde soykırımın kabul edilmesiyle ilgili önergeleri oylayacak. Sosyal Demokrat Parti, Sol Parti ve Çevre ve Yeşiller Partisi 17 Şubat Çarşamba günü ortak bir dış siyaset bildirisi yayımlayarak, sonbaharda yapılacak seçimlerde kazanırlarsa uygulayacakları politikaları açıkladı.

Bildiride Türkiye'nin Kopenhag kriterlerini yerine getirdiğinde AB'ye girme hakkının açıkça destekleneceği belirtildi. Üyelik görüşmelerinin ise etnik ve dinsel azınlıkların hakları dahil olmak üzere insan haklarına saygı gösterilmesi konusunda somut talepler tamamlanarak yürütüleceği vurgulandı. Bildiride DTP'nin kapatılması şiddetle eleştirilirken, ''Bizim hükümetimiz iktidara geldiği takdirde bütün soykırımlar kabul edilecek'' denildi.

Kaynak: http://www.beyazgazete.com/haber/2010/02/26/isvec-parlamentosu-17-mart-ta-icinde-sozde-ermeni-soykiriminin-da-bulundugu-onergeyi-oylayacak.html

In 2007 militants kidnapped Mazen Ishoa, an Assyrian Catholic priest living in Mosul, along with another priest as the pair made their way home from a funeral. Pope Benedict made an appeal for their safety, and the two were later released.

On Feb. 23 gunmen again upended Ishoa's life, entering the home where he lived with his parents, and killing Ishoa's two brothers and his father. Ishoa's own whereabouts were not disclosed after the shooting. An Iraqi in Mosul, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said the family had chosen to remain in Mosul despite threats from Islamic militants,

Search: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16477

Rome, Italy, Feb 26, 2010 / 01:03 pm (CNA).- Various Iraqi bishops have issued a joint message denouncing the continual wave of Islamic violence against Christians in the country, which has left five people dead in the past week. The bishops are demanding that the government take concrete steps to stop the slaughter.

In an interview with the Fides News Agency, Syrian Catholic Archbishop Georges Casmouusa of Mosul called for authorities to “fully assume responsibility for protecting the Christian presence in Mosul.  International intervention is necessary to force the central and local governments to act immediately.”  The fifth and most recent victim, a 57-year-old Christian orthodox man, was found dead two days ago. This surge in violence moved the bishops to call for greater intervention by the local government.  Archbishop Casmouusa provided Fides with a copy of the message which he signed together with Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Gregorios Saliba, and Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Emile Nona.  The message denounced the violence against “our Christian sons and daughters in the city of Mosul,” with the killing of innocent and peaceful people, thus revealing “a premeditated plan to pressure the Christian Churches to carry out a particular agenda.” 

search: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/iraqi_bishops_urge_government_to_halt_slaughter_of_christians/

Government-tolerated persecution occurs even in Turkey, the most secular and modern country in the Muslim world, where around 110,000 Christians make up less than a quarter of 1 percent of the population -- but are discriminated against nonetheless. The persecution is not as open or as brutal as what happens in neighboring Iraq, but the consequences are similar. Christians in Turkey, who numbered well over 2 million people in the 19th century, are fighting for their continued existence.

It's happening in the southeast of the country, for example, in Tur Abdin, whose name means "mountain of God's servants." It's a hilly region full of fields, chalk cliffs, and centuries-old monasteries many. It's home to the Syrian Orthodox Assyrians, or Aramaeans as they call themselves, members of one of the oldest Christian groups in the world. According to legend, the Three Wise Men brought the Christian belief system here from Bethlehem. The inhabitants of Tur Abdin still speak Aramaic, the language used by Jesus of Nazareth.

Search: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,680349-3,00.html

     

Kaynak: http://www.internethaber.com/sinema-gunlerinde-yarina-bir-harf-233702h.htm?interstitial=true&interstitial=true

Mgr Nona speaks of an “unending Via Crucis”. The archdiocese helps the refugees with basic necessities, but "the situation is dramatic." The prelate will go to Baghdad to seek the intervention of the central government. Mgr Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk, will launch a "demonstration and a fast" to remember "the massacre of Iraqi Christians."

Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan. Credit: Sryo-Catholic Diocese of Mosul.

Beirut, Lebanon, Feb 25, 2010 / 01:48 pm (CNA).- The Patriarch of the Syro-Catholic Church sent an urgent letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister on Wednesday pleading for government intervention to establish peace and security for Iraqi Christians, especially those in Mosul. The message is accompanied by news of peaceful protests from the area's Christians in the coming weeks. Translated portions of the text written by Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, based in Beirut, Lebanon, to Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri Al-Maliki were sent to CNA by a priest from Mosul. "We are writing you now with injured hearts because of the painful news we are receiving, especially from Mosul where the tendency of Christians being the target of 'anonymous' criminals has increased considerably," writes the Patriarch in the message. Of Christians in Mosul, he relates, "they are killed, sacrificed and attacked in the streets, in schools and also in their own homes, this only because of their religious affiliation which is different from the affiliation of the majority who live in that city."  Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan also expresses his disbelief at the "excuses from those in charge of the government." These excuses, he charges, are "nothing more than complicity for the plan to empty Mosul of Christians who have lived there for so many centuries."

Search: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/patriarch_pleads_with_iraqi_prime_minister_to_protect_christians/

Mordet på tre kristna i Turkiet för tre år sedan har ingen koppling till eventuella planer på en statskupp i landet. Den slutsatsen drar en turkisk domstol. Domstolen avvisar det krav som ställts från offrens jurister att undersöka sambandet med den påstådda konspiration mot landets regim, en affär som gått under namnet Ergenekon. En del av denna konspiration skulle vara att nationalister vill utrota alla kristna.

Källa: http://www.dagen.se/dagen/article.aspx?id=203960

Iraks regering lovade på torsdagen att tillsätta en utredning och öka säkerheten i staden Mosul, där åtta kristna dödats de senaste två veckorna inför de kommande valen.

- Regeringen fördömer attackerna på kristna, som utgör ett av inslagen i vår befolkning, och har beslutat att genomföra en utredning, sade regeringens talesman. - Regeringen kommer att förstärka säkerhetsåtgärderna för att motverka sådana angrepp, med kraft agera mot terroristkrafterna och förhöra människor som jobbade vid vägspärrarna i närheten av de platser där attentaten ägde rum, sade talesmannen.

Källa: http://www.dagen.se/dagen/article.aspx?id=203982

WASHINGTON (BP)--Violence against Christians in northern Iraq continues to intensify as the country's March 7 parliamentary elections draw closer.
A Christian man and his two sons were murdered Feb. 23 in Mosul when armed gunmen stormed their home, news services reported. Eight Christians have been killed in the city in the past two weeks.
The violence is worsening the flight of Iraqi Christians from the country, said Emil Shimoun Nona, the Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, according to news reports. 
"It is very difficult to live in this kind of situation," Nona said. "It is panic, panic always. The Christians don't know what will happen to them. It is the same everywhere -- in the office, at school or even at home. They don't know if somebody is going to kill them."

Search: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=32377

İsveç Parlamentosu, 17 Mart'ta İçinde Sözde Ermeni Soykırımının Da Bulunduğu Önergeyi Oylayacak

İsveç Parlamentosu, 17 Mart'ta yapılacak oturumda, sözde Ermeni soykırımı olmak üzere Asuri, Süryani, Keldani, Pontus ve daha birçok sözde soykırımın kabul edilmesiyle ilgili önergeleri oylayacak. Sosyal Demokrat Parti, Sol Parti ve Çevre ve Yeşiller Partisi 17 Şubat Çarşamba günü ortak bir dış siyaset bildirisi yayımlayarak, sonbaharda yapılacak seçimlerde kazanırlarsa uygulayacakları politikaları açıkladı.
Bildiride Türkiye'nin Kopenhag kriterlerini yerine getirdiğinde AB'ye girme hakkının açıkça destekleneceği belirtildi. Üyelik görüşmelerinin ise etnik ve dinsel azınlıkların hakları dahil olmak üzere insan haklarına saygı gösterilmesi konusunda somut talepler tamamlanarak yürütüleceği vurgulandı. Bildiride DTP'nin kapatılması şiddetle eleştirilirken, ''Bizim hükümetimiz iktidara geldiği takdirde bütün soykırımlar kabul edilecek'' denildi.
İsveç'te yaşayan ve şimdiye dek Sosyal Demokratlara, Sol Parti'ye ve Yeşiller ve Çevre Partisi' ne oy veren Türkler ise sözde soykırım konusundaki tutum nedeniyle Muhafazakar Parti'ye oy vermeye hazırlanıyor. Protesto için boş oy kullanmanın iyi seçenek olduğunu savunanlar da az değil.

Kaynak: http://www.beyazgazete.com/haber/2010/02/26/isvec-parlamentosu-17-mart-ta-icinde-sozde-ermeni-soykiriminin-da-bulundugu-onergeyi-oylayacak.html

Försäsongen har börjat lyckat för ­Assyriskas George Makdessi. Men själv har talangen större uppgifter än Superettan för ögonen.
– Får jag chansen så tar jag den, säger Makdessi som både Chelsea och ­Newcastle visat intresse för.

För ett år sedan ville engelska premier league-klubben Chelsea, en av världens ­största klubbar, att han skulle komma till London och provträna. De hade fått upp ögon­en för honom när han repres­enterade P91-landslaget. Men en skada satte stopp och höll George Makdessi borta från fotbollen i sex ­månader. Men nu är både George och intresset från Chelsea och även Newcastle i full gång igen. I Assyriskas tre första träningsmatcher har han fått mycket speltid och berättar att han har ­ständig kontakt med de ­engelska storklubbarna.
– Ja, vi har kontakt via mejl och jag har spelat in en video som de sett och blivit intress­erade. Deras scouter vill komma hit och se mig spela.

Källa: http://lt.se/sport/1.746997-chelsea-vill-ha-assyriskas-supertalang

Konferans Çağrısı Osmanli Döneminde Süryaniler

kaynak: http://trf.nu/atilla/Konferans%20Cagrisi.pdf

" Syrianer under Ottomanska Perioden & Historiska Fakta "

Syrien entledigt sich im Westen der aramäischen Sprache, berichtet die FAZ. Die Sprache Jesu scheint nicht mehr willkommen, Literatur und Postkarten wurden in Klöstern und Kiosken eingezogen.

Auch wenn das Neue Testament in griechischer Sprache verfasst wurde, sprach Jesus aramäisch. Darum, so «PI-News», nennt Jesus den kleinsten Buchstaben «Jota», seinen Vater «Abba» und schrie am Kreuz «Eloi, Eloi, lema sebachtani - Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen!» Damals seien im Aramäischen die gleichen Schriftzeichen verwendet worden wie im Hebräischen. Heute scheint dies in Syrien nicht mehr erwünscht. Einem Bericht der «Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung» zufolge wird aramäische Literatur in Syrien eingezogen. Lange habe Syrien als tolerant gegenüber der christlichen Minderheit gegolten. Aramäer würden nun aber Gegenteiliges berichten: In den beiden Bergdörfern Maalula und Dschubbadin nordwestlich von Damaskus wird von der christlichen Bevölkerung bis heute Neuwestaramäisch gesprochen und geschrieben, eine Spätform des Aramäischen, das vor 2000 Jahren Jesu Muttersprache war

Islamic extremists are pushing to eliminate ancient Christian communities in Islamic lands.

( Catholic Online) - Across the Middle East where Christianity was born and where Christians have maintained a presence for 2000 years, Christianity is in decline, most dramatically in Iraq. Against the enduring beauty and attraction of the Gospel, this decline is due to an alarming rise in political, jihadist Islam that is systematically annihilating Christians all over the world.
It is a persecution few dare name, because to do so means confronting powerful religious and political realities that have defied resolution for millennia and rising, popular anti-Christian sentiment worldwide. Christians are simply not seen as victims at all.
Iraqi Christians are part of historic indigenous communities that have been in the area now known as Iraq since nearly the time of Christ; they predate Islam by several centuries. The Christian community took root there after the Apostle Thomas headed east in the year 35.
The majority are Chaldean Christians, the largest concentration of which remain in Baghdad, Iraq. There are ten Chaldean dioceses in Iraq, four in Iran, and four others in the Middle East. The Chaldean, (East Syrian), liturgy is in use there, along with a number of Latin customs, and their liturgical language is Syriac.
But now after nearly 2,000 years, Iraqi Christians are being hunted, murdered and forced to flee – persecuted on a biblical scale in Iraq's religious civil war. These brothers and sisters in Christ who can trace their history in the region back some 2,000 years have fled to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and to northern Iraq by the hundreds of thousands to avoid certain martyrdom.

Search: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=35553