Iranian militia target Christians for illegal seizures of property in Baghdad
By Michael Ashcraft and Mark Ellis
The homes, belongings and finances of Iraqi Christians are being
seized by Muslim militia backed by Iran, Christian members of the Iraqi
Parliament said.
The military units, directed by Iranian advisers, are supposedly combating ISIS in a loose coalition with the U.S.
“Their claim is that the property of a non-Christian is halal, meaning it can be seized,” said Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sacco to the Arab daily Al Hayat.
When they lose their properties, the Iraqi Christians are forced to
flee and resettle elsewhere. There are Assyrian, Chaldean and Syrian
minorities being affected by the seizures in Baghdad and Erbil, the
Foreign Desk reported. Militia have forced entry into homes and
businesses in upscale parts of Baghdad using falsified documents.
On the move, people who have lost their homes due to the lawlessness and war in Iraq.
“We are begging, once again, appealing to the conscience of
government officials and authorities from Sunni and Shiite states in
order to do something meaningful to safeguard the life and dignity and
property of all Iraqis, because they are human,” Sacco said.
Tom Harb, co-chairman of the Middle East Christian Committee, said
Middle East Christian NGOs have long been reporting that the
Iranian-backed militias are conducting their raids in regions outside of
the domain of ISIS and are displacing Christians.
Dr. Walid Phares, an adviser to the U.S. Congress, told The Foreign
Desk that the U.S. administration has partnered with the Iranian regime
and indirectly helped these militia to attack Christians.
Until the ISIS forced them to abandon their homes, Iraq’s minority
Christians boasted being one of the oldest Christian communities in the
world with communities in Baghdad, Basra, Erbil and Kirkuk. The
Assyrians lived in towns and regions around the Nineveh Plains in the
north until ISIS displaced them.
In 2014, the Islamic State announced that all Christians under its territories must pay a minority tax, or jizzyah,
of approximately $500 per family, convert to Islam or be put to death.
Later, the decree was rescinded, and Christians had to leave the
caliphate or die without an option to pay the tax and remain in their
homes.
At that time, Christian homes and properties were painted with the Arabic letter N, or nun, for nassarah, which means “Christian” in Arabic.
According to Sacco, there are no Christians left in Mosul for the first time in Iraq’s history.
“In the long run, the U.S. should help establish an autonomous area
for the Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syrians in their homeland Nineveh
Plains, near Mosul and help the Yazidis establish their own area in
Sinjar,” Phares said.
Phares also urged Washington to demand more from its anti-ISIS
partner, Iraq, who receives aid, funding and training to evacuate
militias, to now protect the empty homes and return Christians to
Baghdad.
Source: Godreports