Beneath the rubble of news about bombings, hostage-taking and political wrangling in Iraq lies a more positive picture of fledgling evangelical churches, Compass Direct news service reported.
Beneath the rubble of news about bombings,
hostage-taking and political wrangling in Iraq lies a more positive
picture of fledgling evangelical churches, Compass Direct news service
reported.
In the northeast, Iraqi Kurdistan offers a haven for
Christian activity as two rival Kurdish governments grow in their
toleration of Muslims becoming Christians, the recent Compass Direct
report stated. In the south, the evangelical church is growing rapidly.
The report comes even as many observers worry that
the proposed Iraqi constitution to be voted on this fall will not offer
adequate religious freedom guarantees.
It also comes on the heels of an earlier mass exodus
of Christians from the Mideast nation. Many of those now are returning
to the country, but others still are leaving.
Still, some signs of positive steps can be found.
In Baghdad, 15 evangelical congregations have
started since the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Compass
Direct reported. Officially, only two evangelical churches – both
Presbyterian and led by Egyptian nationals – existed in the capital
during Hussein’s rule. Now, there are Baptists, Methodists and
Christian and Missionary Alliance congregations, all led by local Iraqi
pastors.
“The people are open like never before,” said
Ghassan Thomas, a Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor in Baghdad.
“It is because we have no peace. … Many of them are frightened,” he
said. “When the hostages are killed, often a Koranic verse is used to
justify it. So, many Muslims are scared of their own God. When we
preach that God is love, it is so liberating to them.”
Compass noted that Southern Iraq is deemed too
dangerous for foreign Christian workers, so, most have pulled back to
the more stable Iraqi Kurdistan. More than 4 million Kurds reside in
this northern mountainous region, which has enjoyed autonomy since
1991. Two Kurdish political factions control the area – the Kurdish
Democratic Party and newly-elected Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Kurdish refugees are flooding back to the area,
where there is little street crime and where the activities of Islamic
extremists have been curtailed. This has brought prosperity to the
area, which is one reason the respective administrations have improved
their defense of religious freedom as a step to courting Western
investment.
In addition, Kurds have suffered themselves at the
hands of Islamists in the past and have no love for them, observers
point out.
Two evangelical denominations are found in the area.
The Kurdish Evangelical Church is comprised of
Kurdish and Arabic Christians, from both Muslim and Christian
backgrounds. Meanwhile, the Kurdish Language
Evangelical Church is exclusively Kurdish-speaking and made up
primarily of Kurds.
Of course, Kurdish Muslims who become Christians
still face persecution from their families – but not as much from the
state, one pastor noted.
Kurds represent 25 percent of the Iraqi population –
and their influence is seen as key to the future of the country. Though
Sunni Muslims, the Kurdish people are one of the least observant
Islamic groups in the Middle East. Because of past abuses, observers
also say the Kurds will resist a constitution that is too Islamic.
Another point of light for the Iraqi church is that
many of the 40,000 or so Christians who fled last August have returned
to the country. Yet, as many as 10,000 remain in refugee camps in
Jordan and Syria.
“(And) It’s not the end of the world that so many
Christians have fled, because it has spread the Iraqi church over the
world, and the new communities established in America and Australia are
providing many resources we would not have received if we had all
remained in the land,” one Christian leader in the country suggested.
Of course, the news is not all positive.
Iraq remains a country in crisis, Compass Direct
reported. At a recent conference for 70 Iraqi pastors, all had to
travel early in the morning to avoid trouble on the roads. And although
they emphasize that the streets gradually have become safer since the
beginning of the year, church meetings throughout the south are held at
4:30 in the afternoon – with everyone at home behind locked doors by
7:30 for fear of insurgent and looting activity.
Law and order still has not been adequately
restored, nor have basic services, Compass Direct reported. In some
ways, patience has run out with the failure of American and British
forces to restore stability after two years. “The goodwill has
completely gone,” one pastor said.
Middle-class Christians also are fleeing the country
in alarming numbers, as those in such professions as medicine are
targets for kidnapping and extortion. Some newer evangelical churches
have been decimated as a result.
The Iraqi churches also face internal challenges,
with Compass Direct noting that some ministers from the historic
churches have bullied the new evangelicals.
Also, although the evangelicals are skilled in
evangelism, the church is young and immature, leaders report. It has
not proven itself adept at discipling believers or training leaders,
observers point out.
Some church leaders see the splitting of the
evangelical churches into so many new (and often foreign-backed)
denominations as an indication of disunity as well, Compass Direct
reported. Indeed, not all missionary aid is well spent, leaders
acknowledge. Some pastors even have used foreign support to buy
expensive cars and upgrade their lifestyle, leading to envy among other
pastors.
Still, the mood among 70 evangelical pastors who gathered in the spring was guardedly optimistic.
Indeed, Thomas tells of an incident that occurred
when he received death threats written on cardboard after erecting a
sign outside his church that said, “Jesus is the Light of the World.”
On the cardboard was scrawled, “Jesus is not the light of the world.
Allah is, and you have been warned.” It was signed, “the Islamic Shiite
Party.”
Thomas loaded up a van full of Bibles, medicine and
children’s gifts from a Christian relief agency and drove to the
headquarters of the Islamic Shiite Party. There, he demanded to be able
to deliver the gifts to the sheik.
He introduced himself to the sheik as a pastor.
“We respect you,” the sheik said.
Thomas said, “Christians have love for you, because God is love; our God is a God of love.”
Again the sheik replied, “We respect your God. We respect Jesus.”
This was the opening Thomas sought. He told the
sheik, “If you respect Jesus, would you let me read you his words?” He
took out his Bible and read the words of Jesus from John’s Gospel – “I
am the light of the world.” Then, he brought out the cardboard with the
death threat.
The sheik read it and looked ashamed, Thomas said.
After a moment’s pause, he said: “We are sorry. This will not happen
again. You are my brother. If anyone comes to kill you, it will be my
neck first.” The sheik even attended Thomas’ ordination as the pastor.
“No one is expecting the situation to improve for
the better quickly,” Thomas said. “But we believe that God is moving in
these times, and that the future will be more peaceful, especially if
Christians will befriend good Muslims and work together.” (RNS)