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MINISTERING TO THE ASSYRIANS |
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A Western Assyrian Christian, Ken Joseph Jr., has just made a trip to Baghdad, Iraq, to minister to what he calls "The Forgotten Christians of Iraq." Joseph, an American who now lives in Japan, said in a message to prayer partners around the world, "Thank you for praying! You didn't know it but you were praying for us in Baghdad, Iraq. We were not able to talk about it until now but we have been in Baghdad delivering supplies to the precious Assyrian Christians and ministering and setting up a network to distribute relief once the situation calms. "We were the only foreigners in the city of Baghdad without a Government agent. All foreigners in Baghdad are required to have a government agent with them at all times. We had none and had complete freedom to travel and stayed with family members, as I am Assyrian. "The people were incredibly kind - taxi drivers, coffee shops refusing to be paid, hugs on the street - it was wonderful! "Our hearts were broken with the suffering of the people but also touched by the strength of the Church. We didn't want to leave but met with the head of our tribe who asked us to go and let people know the situation of the Assyrian Christians. "We are now back in Amman (Jordan) and preparing to return as soon as the road between Amman and Baghdad is opened again. We were able to take nearly 14 hours of video footage. The video was discovered at the border but it was miraculously handed back! "God is truly a miracle working God and one of my students was working with a UN Agency so we were completely protected and able to work out of the UN Offices and the Church." Joseph then asked for pray for "the precious Assyrian Christians suffering as we speak" and also "for the first of the Japanese volunteers as they come to help bring relief from Jordan into Iraq. Please pray for the work in Japan as we are gone for an extended time." WHO ARE THE ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS? In an article written for the ASSIST News Service, Ken Joseph Jr., said, "While the Kurds of Northern Iraq are well known, for some reason almost completely ignored in the current discussion are 1.2 million Assyrian Christians living, many in their historic lands in Iraq. "Scattered through Iraq, but primarily near the city of Nineveh, currently known as Mosul, these remnants of the great Assyrian Empire and the only who still speak the language of Jesus - Aramaic - are frozen in time, once again the victims of circumstances beyond their control. "It is their history that is little known. It was to them that Jonah came to bring the message of repentance and they repented. It was to them that the Apostle Thomas came and their King Abgar repented for his people and Assyria in the first century became the first Christian Nation. "The Assyrian Empire ended in BC 612 and the Assyrian Monarchy was abolished in the 4th Century.
"It is them that according to the famed historian Kenneth
Scott LaTourette in his book 'The History of Christianity' became, 'The
largest missionary force in history.' They carried Christianity as far as
China and Japan with recent discoveries most recently in the Peoples
Daily, Chinese Government newspaper dating to AD 86. "But the Assyrians because of their Christian faith have suffered greatly in an area that is almost completely Muslim. Oppressed by the Persians, Mongols, Turks, Kurds and Arabs, in World War I they lost nearly two thirds of their population including their Archbishop and spiritual leader." Joseph went on to say that currently the Assyrian Christians in Iraq are centered in three main areas - approximately 200,000 in Northern Iraq, approximately 1,000,000 in Central Iraq, mostly in Baghdad and a third smaller group of a few thousand in Southern Iraq. Another approximately 4 million Assyrian Christians are outside of Iraq primarily in Iran, Syria, Jordan, Canada, US, Australia and Europe. According to Wilfred Alkhas, who edits a magazine for the Assyrian Diaspora, "One of the little known facts concerning the Middle East is the role of the Christians. Before the rise of Khomeini in Iran, Islam was generally a tolerant religion. Large groups of Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and others lived peacefully in majority Muslim populations for generations throughout the Middle East." Joseph added, "Now, though particularly under the 'No-fly zone' protected by the British and US Military, churches are being rebuilt and the Assyrians have built 40 schools and nearly 8,000 children are being taught Aramaic for the first time in generations. "Another problem that has plagued the Christians of Iraq is an Iraqi government program to 'Arabize' all citizens. Human Rights organizing say that the Assyrian Christians as with other minorities in the region have suffered under the Arabizatoin programs. Although they are not Arabs they have been forced to sign national correction forms that require them to renounce their ethnic ideates, religion and declare themselves to be Arabs. "According to Hania Mufti of Human Rights Watch, it is a form of ethnic cleansing by clearing an area of its ethnic minorities. "Following the radicalization of Islam, though according to sources in the Assyrian Diaspora, perhaps up to 70% of the Christians in the Middle East have left finding it impossible to live under the oppression of radicalized Islamic states. "The reality of the current situation in the Middle East is in many ways more economic than political, as the economic system has basically collapsed giving rise to young men with no hope for a job and a future willing to give their lives for radical ideas that in normal economic times would be unheard of. "One reason for the regions economic depression is that the Christians ran most of the small businesses in the Middle East, which kept the local economies growing. Their departure was in many ways what triggered the present economic collapse. "Muslim law prohibits payment of interest, which is essential to borrow money to create business. Therefore Christian owned small grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants and other small businesses exerting disproportionate leadership. As Christian businessmen fled persecution to Europe and America their businesses in the Middle East closed throwing many Muslims out of work."
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