[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 4 (Friday, January 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E58]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IRAQ'S STRUGGLING CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

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                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 9, 2009

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, I would like to share with our colleagues a 
letter I sent yesterday to Secretary Rice regarding the plight of 
Iraq's struggling Christian community.
  It is my hope that people of faith throughout the country contact 
both the incoming and outgoing administrations and urge immediate 
action to protect this ancient community, some of whom still speak 
Aramaic, the language of Jesus.

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                  Washington, DC, January 8, 2009.
     Hon. Condoleezza Rice,
     Secretary of State,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Secretary Rice: Millions around the world just 
     celebrated Christmas. In churches and homes throughout our 
     own country children learned of Mary, Joseph, a census, a 
     stable--of Nazareth and Bethlehem and other far away places. 
     These lands of old that are found throughout the Bible are 
     still home to ancient Christian communities with deep 
     spiritual and cultural roots. In fact, with the exception of 
     Israel, the Bible contains more references to the cities, 
     regions and nations of ancient Iraq than any other country.
       The patriarch Abraham came from a city in Iraq called Ur. 
     Isaac's bride, came from northwest Iraq. Jacob spent 20 years 
     in Iraq and his sons (the 12 tribes of Israel) were born in 
     northwest Iraq. A remarkable spiritual revival as told in the 
     book of Jonah occurred in Nineveh. The events of the book of 
     Esther took place in Iraq as did the account of Daniel in the 
     Lion's Den.
       Tragically Iraq's ancient Christian community is facing 
     extinction on this administration's watch. According to the 
     U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 
     Iraq's Christian population has fallen from as many as 1.4 
     million in 2003 to between 500,000 and 700,000 at present. 
     USCIRF also reports that ``while Christians and other 
     religious minorities represented only approximately 3 percent 
     of the pre-2003 Iraqi population, they constitute 
     approximately 15 and 20 percent of registered Iraqi refugees 
     in Jordan and Syria, respectively, and Christians account for 
     35 and 64 percent, respectively, of all registered Iraqi 
     refugees in Lebanon and Turkey.''
       It is critical to note, as the figures above indicate, that 
     the violence and intimidation that Iraq's Christians and 
     other ethno-religious communities have faced is targeted. In 
     July 2008, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration 
     & Refugee Services said this about the minority religious 
     communities: ``These groups, whose home has been what is now 
     Iraq for many centuries, are literally being obliterated--not 
     because they are fleeing generalized violence but because 
     they are being specifically and viciously victimized by 
     Islamic extremists and, in some cases, common criminals.''
       We need a comprehensive policy or even a point person at 
     the embassy in Baghdad to address the unique situation of 
     these defenseless minorities. An article in Christianity 
     Today by Philip Jenkins described what was happening this 
     way: ``What we are seeing then is the death of one of the 
     world's greatest Christian enterprises.''
       I urge you, in your final days as Secretary of State, to 
     take dramatic action on behalf of this hurting population and 
     a good starting point is the recent recommendations put 
     forward by USCIRF. I respectfully request a response from 
     you, rather than the assistant secretary for Legislative 
     Affairs.
       Best wishes.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.

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