Foreword Iraqi Christians Should Remain in Their Land
FOREWORD IRAQI CHRISTIANS SHOULD REMAIN IN THEIR LAND TO UPHOLD THEIR MILLENNIAL MULTI-HERITAGE Christianity entered Mesopotamia (called later by the Arab Mos- lems ‘Iraq’) at the end of the first century and at the beginning of the second century. From these early origins, the new faith wit- nessed a remarkable spread in the land of the two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates. Churches were established, schools and dispensa- ries were built. The sixth century witnessed a burgeoning of mo- nasticism, with many monasteries being established around Bagh- dad and in the southern region of Ḥira (now famous for the holy Shi’ite cities of Najef and Karbala) as well as in the north around Mosul. Before the coming of Islam, Christians formed a major component of the population. However, over the centuries, many converted to Islam, either by force or through economic pressures, due to the onerous taxation which Christian communities were obliged to pay for the privilege of maintaining their faith. Some people perhaps were attracted to the faith, thinking that Islam was in reality a Christian sect. By the ‘Abbasid era, Christians became a permitted minority i.e. a dhimmi community, with all its privileges and restrictions. In spite of this status, which severely limited in many ways how Christians could function in the new Muslim state, they collaborated and found a modus vivendi. Muslims were taught by the Qur’an to consider Christians and Jews, as ‘people of the book’ and as such, recognized the val- ues of their practices, which included prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage.
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