As Iraqis Take Reins, Believers Face Uncertain Future
by Bill Fancher and Allie Martin
July 1, 2004
(AgapePress) - A U.S. military expert is calling the Bush Administration's decision to hand over control of Iraq Monday, ahead of schedule, a brilliant move. Still, the future of Iraq is a question mark, particularly for Christians in a nation rife with religious and ethnic conflict.Retired Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis is one of many military strategists who were pleased with the earlier than expected turnover of control to the Iraqi interim government. He says, "I think it was a good decision on the part of Paul Bremer and the president to really expedite this by moving it ahead a couple of days. And of course it took the terrorists and the jihadists off guard."
Maginnis feels it was just the right time to put the Iraqis in charge. He notes, "We had a prime minister biting at the bit, trying to begin the process of securing his country, and the fact that 80 percent of the people in Iraq had indicated through polling their confidence in the interim government."
Because of this, the military analyst feels the future holds great promise for the Iraqi people, and now that they are in control of their own government, the nation's recovery efforts should begin to show marked improvement. He also believes that having Iraqis making the decisions and running things in the country will go a long way toward restoring America's world image.
"I do believe that this is very positive," Maginnis says. "Certainly the Iraqi people say in their own polling that it's going to make a more secure Iraq than under the provisional coalition authority, and so I'm very optimistic that this is the right move."
Iraqi Christians Face Uncertain Future
But even if Iraq is on its way to recovery, it still has a long road ahead. Christians in the west are being urged to pray for a peaceful transition of power in this war-ravaged country that is still so severely plagued by terrorist violence. Meanwhile, Christians and ministry workers in Iraq are prayerfully watching and waiting to see what the future holds.
Open Doors, a ministry that serves the persecuted Church, has postponed all Christian training seminars scheduled in Iraq due to security concerns. However, ministry spokesman Jerry Dykstra says there are still many Christian outreaches taking place. For instance, he notes, "Open Doors is sending Christian literature into Iraq, especially for children and youth."
Dykstra mentions that Open Doors has a newly opened training center in Baghdad and has recently opened a bookstore as well. Also, he says the ministry "is offering English and computer classes and is putting together a mobile medical clinic in one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq."
Although the transfer of sovereignty has already taken place, the ministry spokesman notes that Iraqi Christians are still facing many uncertainties with the prospect of a new government. "It's kind of a bad news, good news situation," he says.
"The good news," Dykstra explains, "is that there's more freedom now that Saddam has been deposed; however, the bad news is that there's so much violence there that many Christians are afraid to come out of their homes."
There are an estimated 400,000 Christians in Iraq. The Open Doors representative says these believers are deeply concerned about the future of their country and whether they can openly worship their Lord, questions that, like many others, will not begin to be answered until Iraq holds its elections in January 2005.
