Christianity faces ‘extinction’ in Iraq

An Iraqi archbishop has warned that Christianity could be extinct in his country within five years unless the West sends troops to defeat Islamic State (IS).

The Archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda, told parliamentarians on Monday at the House of Lords that the total eradication of Christianity was, for the first time, an imminent concern.

“If we do not preserve Christians, there are five years [left] for us to speak about the Christian presence in Iraq. We have already lost so many Christians in Iran, Palestine, now in Iraq, Syria. We need your help,” said the archbishop, adding: “We have to ask – what if we lose Christians from Iraq? Until now nobody has asked the question.”

He was reiterating a call made at the Church of England’s General Synod in London on Tuesday, where he received a standing ovation led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, when he told members: “We are now facing the extinction of Christianity in our homeland.”

The 125,000 Christians forced to flee their homes in the Nineveh Plain – many of whom have sought refuge in Erbil and elsewhere in Iraqi Kurdistan – had undergone “their own paths of Golgotha”, added the archbishop.

Last week, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child reported that Christian and Yazidi children had been crucified, beheaded and buried alive by IS fighters.

MPs and peers packed a House of Lords committee room as Archbishop Warda begged Britain to step up its military intervention in Iraq. He called four times for military intervention, saying: “It is very hard for me as a Catholic bishop to say we have to advocate military action, but there is no other option. This is worse than what happened in Afghanistan. More and more young people are trying to fight with Daesh [IS], so we all have responsibility.”

Christians were collateral damage in the fighting between Sunni and Shia Muslims, he added, in conflicts that would create “a monster”, saying: “Everyone is using our lands to clear up issues. But it’s going to be very difficult to control. I believe they are playing a very dangerous game.”

His week-long visit, during which he was to preach at a Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Wednesday evening, coincided with a conference in Erbil where delegates from 32 countries were to discuss the genocide and ethnic cleansing of minorities in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales, during a six-day trip to Jordan last weekend, told Syrian refugees, including Christians, that he prayed for them every day.