Iraqi Churches Targeted by Terrorists; Open Doors Calls for Prayer
by Allie Martin
August 4, 2004
(AgapePress) - A series of attacks at Christian churches in Iraq have heightened the fear and anxiety level of the Christian minority in that country. The bombings by Islamic terrorists took place at five Christian churches, resulting in the deaths of at least 11 worshippers.Carl Moeller is president of Open Doors USA, a ministry that serves the persecuted Church worldwide. He says the situation for Iraqi Christians is volatile. "We had been getting some reports from our workers there," he explains, "that the Christians were fearing this might come about, because Christian churches make such inviting soft targets for the forces that would introduce chaos to Iraq."
Upon seeing and hearing news reports about the bombings, Moeller says, "we realized that this coordinated attack had taken place, and that was a response to some of the things we'd been fearing."
The series of lethal attacks by Muslim terrorists against Christian churches in Iraq has prompted Open Doors USA's president to call for increased intercession. He notes that among the biggest things affecting believers in all of this is how "this just increases the opportunity for fear to take hold into Christians' lives."
The head of the U.S.-based ministry says Open Doors is praying along with millions of other Christians around the world "that the Church in Iraq will stand strong, and the ... believers there would be equipped to endure this difficult time."
Moeller estimates that about a half-million Christians live in Iraq, where they are affected by the threat of violence and persecution. While the current situation is already dangerous for members of the Church in Iraq, he says the emergence of a fundamentalist Islamic government in that country could lead to a mass exodus of Christians.
