Iraq’s Christians cling to hope, despite decades of sanctions, violence and persecution, says Tom Westcott.
After two decades of political instability and religious sectarianism, Iraq’s diminished Christian minority still faces challenges, with the two-year anniversary of the Pope’s visit marred by an arson attack and a new law banning alcohol sales.
Iraq has one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world, but the 2003 US-led invasion and overthrow of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ushered in a period of instab-ility and sectarian violence which saw the country’s former 1.5 million Christians dwindle to local estimates of just 200,000.
