{"id":7075,"date":"2014-07-29T16:54:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T16:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/petition-calls-on-un-to-stop-christian-genocide-in-iraq-14141\/"},"modified":"2014-07-29T16:54:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-29T16:54:00","slug":"petition-calls-on-un-to-stop-christian-genocide-in-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/07\/petition-calls-on-un-to-stop-christian-genocide-in-iraq\/","title":{"rendered":"Petition calls on UN to stop Christian genocide in Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2014 \/ 10:54 am (CNA<\/a>).- Following the expulsion of Christians from the Iraqi city of Mosul by ISIS jihadists, a new petition calls on the United Nations to intervene in the country.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe last Christians have left Mosul, after the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria gave them a choice between conversion to Islam, ruinous taxation, exile, or death,\u201d said the petition, posted to the website CitizenGo.org.<\/p>\n

\tPosted on July 24, the petition had gained more than 133,000 signatures within five days.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe must not be silent while another genocide occurs,\u201d the petition said. \u201cWe must push for the international community to act on behalf of the Christians in Iraq.\u00a0 Their survival depends on it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\tChristians have been in Iraq for more than 1,500 years. Over 1 million Christians lived in Iraq before the 2003 U.S. invasion, but their numbers have now plummeted, and observers fear that they could soon be eliminated from the area altogether.<\/p>\n

\tExtremists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant \u2013 known as ISIS or ISIL \u2013 have taken over and imposed a strict version of Islamic law in territories they control.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\t\u201cWe are speechless, because what has happened is really unbelievable,\u201d Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Saad Syroub of Baghdad told Fides news agency. \u201cChristians have lived in Mosul for centuries and these families have suddenly been yanked out of their cities, their homes, their lives. We are very concerned about the future of Christians in this country.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tPope Francis has called for peace in Iraq, and offering prayers for the situation of \u201cour persecuted brethren\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThey are persecuted; our brothers are persecuted, they are driven out, they have to leave their houses without having the possibility of taking anything with them,\u201d the Pope lamented in his July 20 Angelus address.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tMany Christians have had to flee to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, whose governor Nawzad Hadi has promised them protection. However, according to U.N. estimates, there are some 2 million refugees fleeing the violence.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tFor this reason, the petition, created by the Catholic news site Aleteia.org, asks the United Nations and the Arab League to \u201cact immediately to save the Christian community in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPlease do not remain silent while genocide occurs right in front of your own eyes,\u201d the petition says.<\/p>\n

\tThe petition can be found at http:\/\/www.citizengo.org\/en\/9810-save-iraqi-christian-community<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2014 \/ 10:54 am (CNA).- Following the expulsion of Christians from the Iraqi city of Mosul by ISIS jihadists, a new petition calls on the United Nations to intervene in the country.<\/p>\n

\t“The last Christians have left Mosul…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nPetition calls on UN to stop Christian genocide in Iraq<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington D.C., Jul 29, 2014 \/ 10:54 am (CNA).- Following the expulsion of Christians from the Iraqi city of Mosul by ISIS jihadists, a new petition calls on the United Nations to intervene in the country. “The last Christians have left Mosul...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/07\/petition-calls-on-un-to-stop-christian-genocide-in-iraq\/\" 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