Iraqi Christians Plead for Your Prayers
Fearful Iraqi Christians Plead for Your Prayers
Open Doors issues urgent call to prayer for believers under threat in Mosul
It’s not easy to make contact with Brother Yassr. He must keep a low profile because his work with persecuted Christians in northern Iraq makes him a prime target for the extremist groups operating there.With the horrific events of recent months, Yassr needs to be even more careful. Since September 2008, radical factions in the city of Mosul have been targeting Christians.
But despite the risks, Yassr has managed to keep in contact with Open Doors colleagues outside Iraq. The reports he has sent us in recent months are chilling.
Killed in cold blood
Yassr tells us that terrorists in police uniforms are patrolling the streets of Mosul, setting up rogue checkpoints in what appears to be an organized campaign to force the city’s Christians to flee. One brother was stopped in the street by militia men who demanded to see his identity card. Seeing he was a Christian, the extremists shot him in cold blood.As many as 20 Christians have been killed in this way in Mosul in recent days. “Among the fatalities is a 15-year-old who played in the street with his Muslim friends, an elderly man, and even a man in a wheelchair,” says Olaf, Open Doors coordinator for Iraq. “Having ‘Christian’ on your ID card is enough to get you killed!”
Fear tactics
Other fear tactics are also being used by the extremists. Yassr tells us, “In one Christian neighborhood, a car with a speaker system drove through the streets, blaring out the message, ‘All Christians leave the city immediately, otherwise you will be killed!’”As a result, Christians have been fleeing Mosul in droves. One Open Doors contact tells us that around 2,000 Christian families fled the city in a matter of weeks. Fearing for their lives, many abandon their homes under cover of night, and leave with only the clothes on their backs.
“There are also people who want to flee Mosul, but just can’t,” Yassr tells us. “I recently asked an anxious father why he didn’t flee the city with his family. He responded that they did not have a car or any money… and simply had no choice but to stay.”
Christians plead for your prayers
Olaf and Yassr, together with other Open Doors staff people, are seeking ways to support the fleeing Christians, and indeed those who remain in Mosul. Emergency relief aid like food, blankets, and cookers have already been provided to 200 families. But much more needs to be done.In response to the desperate situation, Open Doors is issuing an urgent call to prayer for Mosul. Please do intercede for our brothers and sisters, asking the Lord to strengthen and sustain them.
Moreover, let’s pray as our brothers and sisters in Mosul have asked us to! The following is a message to you from one Iraqi brother:
“We are praying for those Christians who live in safer areas, that they remember and do as Jesus asked: ‘I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward’ (Mark 9:41).”
Comments