Shafaq News
In a land where civilizations were born, and religions lived
side by side long before the borders of modern states were drawn, Iraq’s
Christian presence endures like an old bell—weathered by centuries, cracked by
violence, yet still echoing.
Here, where prayer once rose in many languages, Christmas
was never a fleeting ritual. It became a memory layered with faith, joy, loss,
and survival. For Iraq’s Christians, the season now carries the weight of
history and the uncertainty of a future that has steadily narrowed.
Roots Before Borders
Each year on December 25, Christians around the world
commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, a religious and human occasion
officially adopted in the fourth century AD. In Iraq, the date resonates
differently, bound to a community whose roots predate the modern Iraqi state by
centuries.
To coincide with Christmas, Shafaq News examined the current
reality of Christians in Iraq, tracing their historical presence, demographic
decline, and the challenges threatening their survival. Academic and expert on
religious diversity in Iraq, Saad Salloum, outlines a story that stretches back
nearly two millennia—one marked by continuity, transformation, and repeated
ruptures.
Christianity entered Mesopotamia in the first century AD,
spreading among Syriac, Assyrian, Chaldean, and Armenian communities. Over
centuries, Christians established deep roots in cities such as Mosul and the
Nineveh Plain, as well as Baghdad and Basra. They played a prominent role in
education, culture, and commerce and contributed to building modern Iraqi state
institutions.
For much of Iraq’s modern history, Christians lived across
most provinces. That geographic spread began to collapse after 2003.
Read more: Christians of Iraq: Where did they go?
A Map that Keeps Shrinking
Waves of violence and terrorism following the US-led
invasion reshaped Iraq’s social fabric, with Christians among the most heavily
affected. Large numbers moved north to the Kurdistan Region, particularly to
Erbil and Duhok. Others sought refuge in neighboring countries such as Jordan,
Lebanon, and Turkiye, while a significant portion migrated to Europe and the
United States.
This movement was not gradual. It was abrupt, cumulative,
and often permanent. Entire neighborhoods emptied. Long-standing social and
economic networks unraveled. Local civil society institutions—schools, clinics,
charities, and professional associations—lost a community that had been deeply
involved in sustaining them.
According to the latest circulating estimates, Salloum says
the number of Christians remaining in Iraq today ranges between 200,000 and
250,000, compared with more than 1.5 million before 2003—representing a
demographic decline of nearly 85% over two decades.
The variation in figures, he explains, reflects more than
statistical uncertainty. Political, psychological, and social factors all play
a role. In some cases, numbers are inflated to avoid spreading fear and despair
among Christians still inside the country or to preserve a sense of reassurance
and communal stability.
In others, population estimates are used to support
political or legal demands, particularly those tied to parliamentary
representation, quota allocations, and minority rights.
Faith under Attack
For Iraq’s Christians, recent Christmas seasons have been
overshadowed by trauma.
Since 2003, the community has faced repeated attacks,
culminating in one of the darkest moments of its modern history. In October
2010, Al-Qaeda gunmen stormed the ‘’Our Lady of Salvation Church’’ in central
Baghdad, taking dozens of worshippers hostage before opening fire. Sixty people
were killed, and dozens were wounded in one of the deadliest attacks ever
carried out against Christians in Iraq.
Moreover, according to a report issued by Iraq’s High Commission
for Human Rights in March 2021, around 1,315 Christians were killed between
2003 and 2014. And during ISIS control of Mosul between 2014 and 2017, around
130,000 Christians were displaced, and 161 were kidnapped.
Despite this history, Christian leaders continue to stress
that the community remains an integral part of the Iraqi national fabric.
The Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk and Al-Sulaymaniyah,
Archbishop Yousif Thomas, told Shafaq News that Christians are “an inseparable
part of the authentic components of the Iraqi people, with a deep-rooted
history and an active national presence.
In the absence of precise census data, he estimates the
Christian population at about 500,000. Like other minorities, he notes,
Christians face religious persecution alongside social and political
marginalization.
The most dangerous challenge, Thomas warns, is existential:
persistent insecurity and forced displacement driven by religious identity,
particularly at the hands of extremist groups. He further called for strengthening
coexistence and social peace and for guaranteeing the rights of all Iraqi
components without discrimination to protect the country’s religious and
cultural diversity.
Hollowed Holiday Joy
Iraq officially recognizes 14 Christian denominations,
concentrated in Baghdad, Nineveh Province, northern regions, and the Kurdistan
Region. The Chaldean, Syriac, Assyrian, and Armenian churches are the most
widespread.
In Baghdad, there are three Greek Orthodox churches and four
Coptic Orthodox churches, alongside 57 Greek Catholic churches across various
provinces. A small Protestant presence also remains.
Yet numbers do not capture the emotional weight of loss.
Christian citizen Tony Zaya says Christmas no longer feels
as it once did. Widespread migration has scattered families, leaving
celebrations punctuated by absence rather than gathering.
The joy, he explains, has become incomplete. Anxiety over
the future—limited job opportunities, declining services, and persistent
instability—hangs over daily life. Still, Zaya stresses that Christians remain
attached to their land and Iraqi identity and look toward a state that
guarantees security, equality, and full rights for all citizens.
For Haya Zakaria, this year’s Christmas arrives burdened
with memories of fear, displacement, and lost safety. Protection, fair
representation, and preserving historical presence in ancestral areas remain
unresolved challenges.
She describes a lingering sense of marginalization and a
lack of serious attention to daily suffering, at a time when genuine support is
urgently needed to ensure dignity and stability. Yet despite everything, she
says, “Christians continue to mark their holidays with prayer, love and peace,
holding onto hope that security will return and that Iraq will one day allow
all its citizens to celebrate freely in a country that respects diversity and protects
everyone’s rights.”
Amid these challenges, moments of international solidarity
have offered hope. One such moment came in March 2021, when the late Pope
Francis visited Iraq on a historic first journey. The pontiff issued a
humanitarian call to silence weapons and listen to the voices of peace,
signaling international support for coexistence and the protection of religious
minorities.
At the constitutional level, Iraq’s legal framework formally
guarantees these principles. Article 125 ensures administrative, political,
cultural, and educational rights for various nationalities. Article 41 affirms
Iraqis’ freedom to follow personal status laws according to their beliefs,
while Article 43 guarantees the right to practice religious rituals and manage religious
endowments and institutions, as regulated by law.
Read more: Iraqi Kurdistan’s pluralism: A living model of coexistence
Stolen Heritage
Beyond violence and displacement, Christians have faced
another crisis since 2003: the systematic seizure of their properties.
The community laments that Christian-owned homes and lands
became easy targets for influential actors and armed groups that exploited weak
protection and the absence of justice, using forgery, intimidation, and
political influence to impose new realities. These abuses extended beyond
material loss, accelerating the emptying of historic Christian areas and
pushing thousands more families toward migration.
Justice Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi explains to Shafaq
News that special attention is given to minority properties, particularly those
belonging to Christians. All related transactions are subject to strict
procedures designed to prevent manipulation or forgery and protect owners’
rights.
‘’Any transaction involving Christian properties receives
special handling, including formal communication with the Christian Endowment
Diwan, which verifies the legitimacy of sales—whether conducted directly or by
proxy—and checks all financial details and documentation,’’ he adds.
Approval is granted only after receiving an official
“confidential” letter from the endowment confirming the validity of procedures.
The transaction is then referred to the relevant sub-department and
cross-checked with the Civil Status Directorate, including verification of
barcodes and legal data.
Laibi points out that powers of attorney must be issued
either to close relatives or licensed lawyers as an additional safeguard. Files
related to Christian properties, he says, receive close monitoring at every
stage as part of the ministry’s obligation to protect minority rights under the
law.
However, estimates point that more than $20 billion worth of
public and private Christian properties have been seized since 2003. And
despite repeated announcements by successive governments about forming
investigative committees, tangible results remain elusive.
According to previous statements by Christian clerics, armed
groups continue to exert dangerous influence over large numbers of Christian
properties—leaving one of Iraq’s oldest communities still searching for justice
and a secure future in the land it helped shape.
Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.
