Christians of Iraq

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Updated list of Opression and Murders of the Assyrians in Iraq Not reported by the International Press

---- Two Iranian Christians arrested in Mashad. One is the daughter of a murdered Christian clergyman   October, 4, 06 One of the two is a convert from Islam. There has been no news about them for days. Iranians are increasingly looking favourably to Christianity, tired to hear hateful and war-like preaching. Mashad (AsiaNews/ANS) – An Iranian woman and her husband, a Christian convert from Islam, were arrested by Iran’s secret police in Mashad (north-eastern part of the country). Their relatives have reported that they have had no news about them for several days now. Fereshteh Dibaj, 28, is the daughter of an Evangelical minister, also a convert from Islam, assassinated in 1994. Her husband Amir Montazemi, 35, converted to Christianity at the age of 20. According to the “Pray for Iran” website, at “about 7:00 am local time on Tuesday September 26, 2006, several men from the Iranian secret police raided their apartment and confiscated their computers, Christian literature, and other items they thought may be of interest to them.” Before being taken away, Amir had a chance to quickly phone his mother to ask her to come and take their six-year-old daughter, Christine (see photo). By the time she arrived, Amir and Fereshteh had already been forced into the police car and two agents were still searching the flat. They hold the grandmother that the couple was being taken to a certain police station, which later turned out not to be the case. Instead they were taken to a secret police station belonging to the Revolutionary Guards. The search for the missing couple proved fruitless. On September 28, the authorities informed Amir's parents that husband and wife were to appear before a revolutionary court, but failed to provide more precise information. Fereshteh and Amir lead a house church in Mashad, one of the holiest cities of Iranian Islam and a popular Muslim pilgrimage destination. The pastor of their church, Rev Hussein Soodmand, was hanged in December 1990 as a convert from Islam who refused to recant. When Fereshteh was six years old, her father Mehdi Dibaj was arrested and charged with apostasy. He was sentenced to death but spent more than nine years in prison until international pressure secured his release from prison. A few months later, he was abducted and killed. Fereshteh’s brother, Issa Dibaj, who lives and works in Great Britain, has called on people to spread this news abroad about has happened to them to make sure that the rest of the world “knows about this and cares.” Issa has come to terms with his father’s death and forgiven his executioners. He is very hopeful about Christianity in his country. “The average Iranian is fascinated by this message of love,” he said. “They look at their own religion and see nothing but fighting and hatred. Then they see Christians who love each other, who are so joyful; they see the difference immediately and they want to know how to become like that. The government doesn’t like this.” www.asianews

Who are the Christians of Iraq? Tishrin 1 = October Two Iranian Christians arrested in Mashad. Oct. 4, 06 Car Bombs at the Christian Assyrian shopping district in Baghdad killed 16, injured 87 Oct. 4, 06 30 Christian families receive threats to leave Mosul - Iraq Oct. 2, 06 Mr. Sarkis Aghajan, the Finance Minister of the Kurdistan regional Government Asks for more rights for the Assyrians Oct. 2, 06 Ealool = September National Council of Churches Ignores Christian Suffering Sept. 29, 06 Violence Against Christians Grows in Iraq Sept. 29, 06 EP Report Drops Genocide Clause, Calls for Investigation Sept. 28, 06 Nenveh Essa, 21, studied accounting, Dies in Car Accident Sept. 27, 06 Kurds and Arabs Vie for Control of Mosul Sept. 26, 06 Iraq ensnared in quest to escape Arab politics Sept. 25, 06 Two Assyrian churches attacked in Mosul and Baghdad Sept. 25, 06 Turkey invites Assyrian and Armenian dignitaries to meal that breaks daily Muslim fast. Sep. 25, 06 Dutch Lawmaker May Remove Assyrian Genocide Reference in Report on Turkey Sept. 25, 06 Tense Time for Christians in Iraq Sep. 24, 06 Assyrian Church Bombed in Baghdad; 2 Dead, 17 Injured Sept. 24, 06 Assyrian Police Officer Murdered in Mosul Sept. 24, 06 Assyrian-Swedish journalist investigates the arrest of the Assyrian-Georgian General Sept. 21, 06 Muslims react to the speech of Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 20, 06 Iraq: International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Sept. 19, 06 Fear Strikes Iraq's Christians Over Pope Words Sept. 19, 06 Assyrian Cultural Day Sept. 19, 06 When Iraqi Christians Vanish, Locals Pay the Price Sept. 18, 06 Dozens Dead in Kirkuk Bombings Sept. 17, 06 Book Exhibit in Baghdeda Iraq Sept. 17, 06 Second Assyrian Christian Killed in Retaliation for Pope's Remarks Sept. 17, 06 The Hellenic, Armenian and Assyrian Communities in the Late Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Sept. 16, 06 'I Felt God Was With Me,' Says Released Assyrian Priest' Sept. 15, 06 Two Assyrians Killed in Separate Terrorist Attacks Sept. 15, 06 Rosie Malek - Yonan Documentary, My Assyrian Nation on the Edge Sept. 14, 06 Two Assyrians Killed in Separate Terrorist Attacks Sept. 14, 06 Kirkuk: The potential spark for civil war Sept. 14, 06 Sabri Atman in Sweden Sept. 14, 06 Assyrian Candidate Gains Republican Endorsement Sept. 13, 06 Priest Abducted in Baghdad Was Threatened and Tortured Sept. 13, 06 Assyrians Accuse Kurdish Authorities of Discrimination Sept. 12, 06 Priest Kidnapped in Baghdad Released Sept. 12, 06 Turkey's refusal to acknowledge the Assyrian, Armenian genocide Sept. 10, 06 Rosie Malek - Younan; The Assyrian Woman of the Year Sept. 10, 06 Lebanese Bishops Chastise Hizbullah, Back Siniora Sept. 6, 06 A Feast Awaits At Annual Assyrian Festival Sept. 6, 06 Prominent Assyrian Christian Leaves Iraq. Says Work Situation 'Intolerable' Sept. 5, 06 Turkey's terror against Christians in Midyat Sept. 4, 06 Syria; Sanctuary for Iraq's Displaced Christians Sept. 3, 06 August = Tubbakh Assyrians honour the Lt General Sir Stanley Savige KBE CB DSO MC ED August 31,06 Assyrian archaeologist resigns amid threats by the fundamentalists August 31, 06 Assyrians: from Bebar Khan to Saddam Hussein (a new book) August 28, 06 Donny George of Iraq's State Board of Antiquity, Heritage Flees to Syria August 28, 06 A New Film by Lina Yakubova August 27, 06 PM Maliki urges tribal unity in Iraq August 27, 06 Lebanese Bishops Appeal for a Stop to the Christian Exodus August 24, 06 Iraqi Christians Caught in the Crossfire August 23, 06 Assyrian Universal Alliance, Australian Chapter Meeting in Canberra August 23, 06 Iraqi Christians on Edge After Priest's Kidnapping August 23, 06 The Secrets Of Mustafa Barzani In KGB Archives August 23, 06 Pope urges release of priest in Iraq August 20, 06 Heading Toward an (Inevitable) War in Kirkuk August 20, 06 TWO CHALDEAN PRIESTS KIDNAPPED IN BAGHDAD August 18, 06 Confiscation of the Assyrian villages by the Kurds August 18, 06 The Kurdish Democratic Experiment: an Assyrian Tragedy August 17, 06 Assyrians Experience Slow Cultural Revival In Southeastern Turkey August 17, 06 Lebanese Bishops Call for Single National Leadership August 16, 06 Lebanese Cardinal Concerned About Christian Exodus August 16, 06 In Turkey non Muslims are listed as Foreigners August 14, 06 Murdered Assyrians in Iraq in August August 14, 06 Why Can't A Christian Be More Like A Muslim? Revisited August 13, 06 Peter W. Galbraith's 'The End of Iraq' August 12, 06 Babylon the Great lives August 12, 06 We Don't Want a Proxy War in Lebanon:' Cardinal Sfeir August 10, 06 Go-ahead for dam that will drown history August 9, 06 750,000 Christians Caught in Middle East Crossfire August 8, 06 Arabist Indoctrination At Middlebury College August 8, 06 Middle-Eastern conference: from worship to ‘reunion’ August 8, 06 Hezbollah Uses Christian Villages As Shields in Missile Attacks August 7, 06 Family Pays Ransom in Iraqi Kidnapping August 7, 06 Johanns meets with Iraqi leaders to help rebuild agriculture August 6, 06 Half of all Christians have fled Iraq since 2003, says Baghdad bishop August 4, 06 Christian Persecution Groups Express Concerns for Mideast Believers August 3, 06 Assyrians and Australians will honour Captain Savige for his world war one help August 3, 06 Nuri Kino Wins Swedish Award of: good role model for the youth Aug 1, 06   Archives June, July 06 March April May 06 January- February 06