44 images Created 16 May 2014
REPORTAGE: The Last Christians of Iraq
Christianity came to Iraq in the first century AD. The Christians of Iraq are believed to be one of the longest continuous Christian communities in the world. The two thousand year presence of Christians in Iraq is in danger of coming to an end.
In 2003, before the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States and its allies, there was an estimated 1.5 million Christians in Iraq, about 5% of the population. Fewer than 400,000 are thought to remain. In a single decade more than two thirds of Iraq’s Christians have fled the country. In recent years, the Christians of Iraq have been caught in the middle of Iraq's severe sectarian violence and Islamic fundamentalism. As a result, Iraq’s Christian community has become a victim of an open and systematic campaign to cleanse the country of its religious minorities.
The Christians who remain in Iraq have for the most part sought refuge in the historic heartland of Iraqi Christianity – the Nineveh Plain and parts of Kurdistan. In the relative security of these areas Christian communities attempt to preserve their culture, traditions and religious heritage despite the threats and their dwindling numbers. The seizure of Mosul and much of the Nineveh Plain by the Islamic State severely aggravated an already precarious situation, forcing many Christians to leave the country and to seek refuge in the United States, Canada, Sweden or Australia among other places
In 2003, before the invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States and its allies, there was an estimated 1.5 million Christians in Iraq, about 5% of the population. Fewer than 400,000 are thought to remain. In a single decade more than two thirds of Iraq’s Christians have fled the country. In recent years, the Christians of Iraq have been caught in the middle of Iraq's severe sectarian violence and Islamic fundamentalism. As a result, Iraq’s Christian community has become a victim of an open and systematic campaign to cleanse the country of its religious minorities.
The Christians who remain in Iraq have for the most part sought refuge in the historic heartland of Iraqi Christianity – the Nineveh Plain and parts of Kurdistan. In the relative security of these areas Christian communities attempt to preserve their culture, traditions and religious heritage despite the threats and their dwindling numbers. The seizure of Mosul and much of the Nineveh Plain by the Islamic State severely aggravated an already precarious situation, forcing many Christians to leave the country and to seek refuge in the United States, Canada, Sweden or Australia among other places
