Iraq is home to one of the oldest continuous Christian populations in the world, and is frequently referenced throughout the Bible. Christianity was brought to Iraq in the 1st century by St. Thomas the Apostle. Iraq’s Christians continue to speak Aramaic, the same dialect spoken by Jesus. 

Most of Iraq’s Christians live in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains, a disputed territory located in the northern part of the country. They are a community often forgotten by the Western world.  For centuries, they have endured varying cycles of indignities and atrocities, including multiple genocides that have plagued them since the 13th century.  

Before 2001, Iraq’s Christian community numbered over 1.5 million. Today, less than 165,000 remain due to displacement caused by violence and oppression. SWIC seeks to stand in this gap, providing grants for assistance projects which help Iraq’s Christians obtain the resources necessary for safe, secure, and stable lives. 

Pictured: a Christian woman dances in traditional Assyrian clothing. 

Pictured: a bombed home in a Christian village.

“…religious taunts, random killings…slaughtering hostages en masse…”

Iraq’s Christian community have significantly suffered as a result of militia violence. The first wave of violence occurred  from 2003-2006. It coincided with the US invasion as well as a surge of conflict between competing factions (such as al-Qaeda affiliates). These factions would often target minority groups. Before 2003, Iraq’s Christian community was estimated to have 1.5 million members. Afterwards, only 600,000 remained, according to church leadership at that time and further reported by the US State Department in its 2007 Religious Freedom Report.

Another wave of violence occurred in 2010 following a deadly attack by an al-Qaeda affiliate against a church in Baghdad. At least 50 Christians were massacred and scores more injured on All Saints Day in what was considered the worst targeted attack against Christians since the war began in 2003. The Guardian reported at the time how “survivors spoke of religious taunts, random killings and then a gunman slaughtering hostages en masse as the Iraqi army stormed the church to end the four-hour siege.”

Many Christians sought sanctuary in new homes as a result of this violence.

Al-Qaeda’s successor, the Islamic State (ISIS, also known as Da’esh or ISIL), conquered the Nineveh Plains and declared a genocide against all religious minorities, including Christians. The United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh (UNITAD) said in a November 2022 investigative report that “The evidence collected thus far has strengthened preliminary findings that ISIL commissioned acts constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Christian community in Iraq, including, but not limited to, forcible transfer, persecution, pillage, sexual violence and slavery, and other inhumane acts such as forced conversions and intentional destruction of cultural heritage.”

As a result of this genocide, Iraq’s Christians again had to flee to safety.

Pictured: displaced Christians stand in line, waiting to receive food and other provisions.

“…crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Christian community in Iraq…”

Pictured: Christians gathered at an Easter Vigil. 

“…actions committed by ISIS against Christians…as crimes of genocide…”

The US State Department’s 2022 Religious Freedom report noted that “Yezidis, Christians, and local and international NGOs reported continued verbal harassment and physical abuse from members of the PMF, a state-sponsored organization composed of approximately 60 mostly militia groups… reports of societal violence, mainly by Iran-aligned militia groups, continued. Members of non-Muslim minority groups reported abductions, threats, pressure, and harassment to force them to observe Islamic customs… (Meanwhile Iraq’s) law characterizes certain actions committed by ISIS against Yezidis, Christians, Turkmen, and Shabak as crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity.”  

In other words, these safety concerns are often directed towards the competing militias who were once unified enough to defeat ISIS, but after the fact have exploited Iraq’s complex emergency situation as means of competing for various territorial control.

While Iraq’s local governance may be lacking the necessary protection measures, an international framework does exist which provides legal vocabulary for the experiences Christians face. This vocabulary calls these experiences persecution, restrictions on religious freedom, and a type of human rights violation.