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Article: Co-existing with saddam: Iraqi Christians fear war, decry sanctions.
- Article from:
- Presbyterian Record
- Article date:
- March 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Presbyterian Record. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The number of Christians living in Iraq, mostly Chaldean Catholic and Syrian Orthodox, has been dwindling for more than two decades. One exodus of Christians began during the prolonged Iran-Iraq war that stretched from 1979 to 1988. The short, violent Gulf War of 1991 was followed by 11 years of United Nations economic sanctions, which church leaders say have made life miserable and survival tenuous for many. Christians, once a notable minority in a land where, according to tradition, the apostles Peter, Thomas and Thaddaeus planted the seeds of the gospel, now constitute about three per cent of the nation's population, said a Catholic source.
Church officials in ...