Iraqi Christians Have Pessimistic Future Outlook
by Chad Groening
January 20, 2004
(AgapePress) - An international Christian organization believes that Iraqi Christians will have at most a two-year window to operate in the open before an Islamic government assumes power and forces those believers underground.Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian ministry dedicated to the persecuted Church, has had several teams visit Iraq, including one that just recently returned. Todd Nettleton of VOM says Iraqi Christians have expressed gladness over the fact that Saddam Hussein has been removed from power. The dictator's removal has resulted in believers in Iraq being able, for the time being, to operate out in the open.
However, Nettleton says Iraqi Christians are not confident about their long-term prospects. "They talk about a two-year window of relative freedom while U.S. troops are there, during the transition to a new government," he says.
But according to the VOM spokesman, Iraq's Christians believe that once the U.S. forces are gone, the situation for believers in that country will probably change. "They recognize that at some point there is going to be a government; it will likely be an Islamic government, and their freedoms will likely be curtailed."
So the Iraqi Church members' outlook, Nettleton says, is a practical one. "Their attitude is, 'Hey, we've got a two-year window. Let's do as much as we can while we can be out in the open, and let's prepare for the days when we have to go back underground.'"
Nettleton notes that Iraqi Christians comprise less than 3% of the country's population, and the small community has been devastated by war and more than two decades of Saddams's tyrannical rule.
