Iraqi Christians worship (file photo)
This type of militant Islamic activity has created more problems for Christians living there. Glenn Penner with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada, says, "With the rise of militant Islam (which was kept somewhat under control by Saddam Hussein), Christians in Iraq now have come under fire far more. And a good percentage of the Christian population now have actually emigrated and have left the country."
For Christians, the climate in Iraq has been a subtle shift. Penner says, "Christians were allowed to worship, probably with greater freedom then they may even today. But they were not allowed to evangelize. Now it's not illegal to evangelize so much, but that evangelization comes at a far greater risk of acts of violence against them by Muslim militants."
Many of these believers are now in Jordan and Syria. VOM-Canada is providing resources for believers there. "The literature and the Bibles that we [are] providing are particularly [being used] to help in their outreach to their Muslim neighbors," says Penner.
While many Christians have already left Iraq, Penner says, "I have no indication that the flow of Christians out of the Iraq is going to be stemmed at all. In many parts of the country there seems to be more of an urgency to get out. To be honest, I don't see anything getting better."
Unfortunately, the ones leaving are "often the ones that are able to leave, the ones that the church can ill afford to lose," says Penner. "[They are] sometimes ones that are better educated, the ones that have greater financial resources, the ones who are younger."
VOM-Canada needs your financial support to help Christians not only in Iraq but also outside the country. "They haven't gone to the Promised Land, and they find that out. And we also need to find ways of effectively ministering them as well, as they find themselves in a situation of being refugees with nowhere else to go."
Click here to help the Iraqi believers. Click on equipping the saints fund.
