How did Saddam Hussein treat Christians?

The Baathist rule under Saddam Hussein kept anti-Christian violence under control but subjected some to “relocation programmes”. Under this regime, the predominantly ethnically and linguistically distinct Assyrian people were pressured to identify as Arabs.

What did Saddam Hussein think of Christians?

The regime was equally intolerant of any sectarian-led violence, says Dawisha. However, Christans were not a “favored community” under Hussein’s rule, Dawisha explains, “they were simply left alone.” As a result, these minorities did not rebel against him.

What was Iraq before the war?

Ottoman rule ended with World War I, and the British Empire administered Iraq as Mandatory Iraq until the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq in 1933. A republic formed in 1958 following a coup d’état. Saddam Hussein governed from 1968 to 2003, into which period fall the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War.

Why did the United States and its allies invade Iraq in 2003?

According to U.S. President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, the coalition aimed “to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.”

What was going on in Iraq before 2003?

From 1990 to 2003, Iraq was placed under a series of U.N. sanctions for Hussein’s violation of peace and nuclear agreements. The decades of international sanctions nearly crippled Iraq, even before the 2003 war began. Yet, well before the sanctions and the 2003 invasion, Iraq was known for its devotion to education.

What was Iraq called in Bible times?

In Biblical history, Iraq is also known as Shinar, Sumer, Sumeria, Assyria, Elam, Babylonia, Chaldea, and was also part of the Medo-Persian Empire.

What happened to Iraq’s Christian community?

The Christian community in Iraq is one of the oldest in the region, dating back about 2,000 years, well before the introduction of Islam. Since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, however, much the community has fled the country, diminishing its population within Iraq’s borders by about half.

Can a Muslim convert to Christianity in Iraq?

However, there have been cases in which Muslims have secretly adopted the Christian faith, becoming practising Christians, but are legally Muslims; thus, the statistics of Iraqi Christians does not include Muslim converts to Christianity. In Northern Iraq, Christians are allowed to proselytise.

What is the outlook for Christians in Iraq?

In Iraq though, the outlook for Christians remains bleak. Sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims persist and there are still unknown numbers of IS fighters hiding out in the north and west of the country.

Who are the non-Syriac Iraqi Christians?

Non-Syriac Iraqi Christians are largely Arab Christians and Armenians, and a very small minority of Kurdish and Iraqi Turkmen Christians. Syriac Christianity was first established in Mesopotamia, and the Church of the East and its successor churches were established in central-southern Iraq.