Archbishop kidnapped in Iraq

A Chaldean Catholic archbishop was kidnapped in Mosul earlier today. According to reports gunman killed three people in abduction of the archbishop, who was taken after celebrating a Mass at a local church.

According to the Associated Press report:

"An aide to Iraq's Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, leader of the church, said he did not know who was behind the kidnapping of the 65-year-old archbishop.

'We pray for his release as soon as possible,' said Archbishop Andreos Abouna. 'This act of abduction against a Christian clergy member will increase our fears and worries about the situation of Christians in Iraq.'

Last year's International Religious Freedom Report from the U.S. State Department noted that Chaldean Catholics comprise a tiny minority of the Iraqi population, but are the largest group among the less than 1 million Christians in mostly Muslim Iraq.

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi Christians have been targeted by Islamic extremists who label them 'crusaders' loyal to U.S. troops."

Read the rest here.

Posted by Nicholas Knisely on February 29, 2008 9:46 PM | |
Comments (2)

This is tragic and painful. We and Christians and Muslims of goodwill should pray for the Archbishop, for those who were killed, and for this struggling Christian community.

But let's also remember that atrocities like this, when perpetrated by Muslim extremists are calculated to fuel anti-Muslim prejudice in the West. Christian and Muslim extremists want to incite regional and global confrontation. We'll hear one part of that as Christian fundamentalists and radio shock jocks cite this as further proof of a culture war between the irreconcilable opposites of Christian civilization and Islam. The 'Christian' in that equation is no more a caricature than the 'Islam'

We need other voices. Christian and Islamic peacemakers to reject violence in the name of God.

A year ago in Ethiopia our Ethiopian Orthodox guide told us that shortly before our visit Muslim extremists had surrounded a church on the border with Somalia one Sunday and killed the whole Christian congregation. A very short time later people appeared selling videos of the massacre on the streets of Addis Ababba. Within the day, the Orthodox Partiarch, the Catholic Archbishop, and the chief Imams of Addis appeared together on Ethiopian national television telling people, 'Don't buy this video. Ethiopian Christians and Muslims have been friends for centuries and these extremists are peddling this video to make us enemies.'

Overwhelming, our guide told us, Muslims and Christians shunned the video vendors.

Posted by Donald Schell [TypeKey Profile Page] | March 1, 2008 12:17 AM

Thinking of this cruel event, and wanting to remind myself of Islamic events in a very different vein (not violent, but courageous and very, very much part of our global struggle for peace among people who worship one God) I recalled this that I'd came across on a friend's blog yesterday:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7264903.stm

Not surprisingly, religious struggles come down to exegesis, interpretation, and practice.

Posted by Donald Schell [TypeKey Profile Page] | March 1, 2008 12:49 AM

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