Islamic fundamentalism cause of Mideast Christian exodus, Jesuit says

Published: 2004-09-13

CAMALDOLI, Italy (CNS) -- On Aug. 1, bombs ripped through five Catholic churches in Baghdad and northern Iraq. In the six weeks that followed, some 10,000 Iraqi Catholics fled the country, said Jesuit Father Samir Khalil Samir. The events in Iraq offer a compressed illustration of a trend throughout the Arab world, where Christian populations have dwindled in the face of conflict and growing Islamic fundamentalism, Father Samir said. Father Samir, an Egyptian-born expert on Islam who runs the Center for Arab-Christian Documentation and Research in Beirut, Lebanon, spoke Sept. 11 at an interreligious conference at the monastery in Camaldoli. Father Samir said the latest exodus of Iraqi Catholics was not simply a response to the church attacks, but also a reflection that work was disappearing for Christians in the country. Almost all those who left in August were Chaldean Catholics, and many are seeking to emigrate to the United States or Australia, where they have relatives, the priest said.

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