ACN News Interview: Monday, 7th July 2014 – IRAQ
An interview with the Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk Yousif Mirkis, by Oliver Maksan of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. (Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk Yousif Mirkis © Aid to the Church in Need)
Q) Your Excellency, do you fear the end of Christianity in Iraq?
Quite definitely. We are in the process of disappearing, just as the Christians in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and North Africa have disappeared. And even in Lebanon they now constitute a minority.
Q) What would Iraq lose with the disappearance of its Christians?
The social ecology would be destabilised. Every society needs all its components. This was seen in Germany eighty years ago: at that time a group was also shut out of society. In Iraq we are experiencing a new 1933. I see a lot of parallels with Europe between the wars. Just as Germany was unstable prior to 1933 following its defeat in the First World War, so the Arab world has come apart at the seams since 1967. At that time we Arabs lost the Six-Day War against Israel. The effect of this has been traumatic up to the present day. Just as the First World War produced the Second, so the defeat of ’67 is the origin of the current crisis.
Q) Under which the Christians in particular are suffering.
The Christians are part of a humiliated society. They’ve worked hard and made their contribution. Look at Lebanon or Syria. And of course also here in Iraq. It’s important to know that there were no Christian ghettos in Iraq. Christians have been present in all areas of society. They have the highest literacy rate. Before 2003 Christians made up only 3 per cent of the population. And yet nearly forty per cent of the medical specialists were Christians. And the proportion of Christians in engineering occupations was exactly the same. I think that’s quite impressive. In addition we provided a major portion of the intellectuals, writers and journalists. These were educated people with a western orientation. The Christians were the engine of Iraq’s modernisation.
Q) What are the reasons for this major contribution?
The reasons are historical. The churches have traditionally maintained many schools and hospitals. Furthermore the Christians were always open-minded, multilingual and oriented towards the west. That accounts for the high level of education. But with the continuous emigration we are of course losing our dynamism.
Q) And the exodus has been accelerating for ten years now.
Yes, it’s not easy to be a Christian in Iraq today. Prior to 2003 we represented about three per cent of the population. Today we are perhaps one per cent. You know, Iraqi history goes in cycles. About every ten years we experience a new problem which causes believing Christians to leave. I was born in 1949, one year after Israel was founded. This traumatised the Middle East. Then our Iraqi king was assassinated. But the Christians had it good under the monarchy. They enjoyed a lot of freedoms. Then the king’s murderer, who had become the country’s president, was himself killed. And his murderer suffered the same fate. Then there was the 1967 war against Israel, the Iran-Iraq war and so on. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned everything. All this generated instability and emigration.
Q) But surely a new situation has arisen with the ISIS terrorists and their hatred of Christians, hasn’t it?
Yes. But I would put this in a broader context. The antagonism between the west and the Islamic world has replaced the confrontation between the west and the Soviet Union. It is a war between the modern and the retrograde. For example, the Salafists refer back, even in their name, to their seventh century ancestors, whom they wish to imitate.
Q) The Christians’ orientation towards the west is certainly also a reason why the extremists harbour such hatred for them. Do you agree?
Yes. That is one of the roots. But the jihadists don’t only hate them, but also all those who do not agree with their world view.
Q) But how can we combat this extremism intellectually?
The best antidotes are dialogue and culture. The more culture a country has the less susceptible it is to fanaticism. My hope is with the young generation. I have always endeavoured to shape them. For instance, I have published not only a Christian magazine aimed at adults, but also one for children. In this we focussed on love of God and one’s neighbour, respect for others. 15 per cent of my readers were Muslims. They appreciated what we were doing. The Iraqi people are not innately fanatical. Like the Islamic world as a whole they have been hijacked by fanatics. And now they can’t move.
Q) But given their dwindling numbers do the Christians have the strength to conduct this dialogue and make their cultural contribution?
We are in dialogue with the Muslim elite. Whenever we meet at conferences we are like brothers. But the problem is that the Iraqi elite have themselves become marginalised. To a certain extent a massacre of the intellectuals has taken place over the past few years. For example, since 2013 more than 180 university professors have been killed in attacks. A large portion of the medical specialists have left the country. It is not only we Christians who have been weakened, but also the Muslim elite. And this has disastrous consequences.
Q) Have you already become resigned to your defeat in Iraq?
No, I’m only trying to be realistic. But there is still the faith that hope brings. I myself will not be going. But what am I supposed to say to young people who ask me in this situation for reasons why they should stay? In the past ten years we have lost a bishop and six priests. In addition there are about a thousand of the faithful who have died in attacks. I can understand why they are going. Not everybody shares the faith and the hope.
Q) But in view of the current situation in Iraq, what social contribution can the Christians make?
We must listen to the words of Jesus and be the salt of the earth. The diocese of Kirkuk is now, for example, preparing a relief operation to provide food to Muslims who have fled to Kirkuk from the areas occupied by ISIS. This is not intended as a proselytising action. But they should know that their Christian brothers love them. And many of the faithful are donating to this even though they have to scrimp and save to do it. This is our role.
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