Exclusive Interview with Archbishop of Mosul on Genocide against Christians

Christians have inhabited Mosul and the Plains of Nineveh in Northern Iraq for over 2,000 years.  Yet by early June 2014, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul, Mgr Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf was the last bishop remaining in Mosul, and ISIS (the Islamic State) was pounding at the gates of the city.  Within the week, the city had fallen to ISIS, and Archbishop Sharaf was forced into exile.

This week the ACLJ’s European affiliate, the European Centre for Law & Justice (ECLJ), hosted a reception for Archbishop Sharaf at our office in Strasbourg, France. Addressing the audience of more than 200 people, the archbishop called for an end to the genocide of Iraqi Christians and a restoration of a Christian home in the Nineveh Plains.

Archbishop Sharaf denounced the “genocide” that has been allowed to continue in plain sight in Iraq for years. He described the situation of his people there and concluded, “We Syrians, are the original inhabitants of this land, then we became a minority and now we are merely refugees in our own country.” As an explanation of the genocide, he emphasized how little regard this society has for Christians, “Christians are cheap people, you can kill them, they count for nothing.” The archbishop deplored the destruction of families and communities provoked by this genocide and the exodus, affirming that “the demon first attacks the families to destroy people and the church.”

He also described the difficult living conditions of the more than 5,000 refugee families living in exile in Erbil, Iraq.  He notably reported that no single Muslim defended them when they were offered the choice between converting, leaving or dying. Even his neighbor, to whom he generously provided electricity for years, was the first to destroy the cross at the top of the cathedral.

He told the French audience that we should be on our guard against radical Islam and that Europe should not be naïve about the nature of this radical enemy. He concluded his speech by calling Europe to keep its Christian soul alive and to the French people, “defend your country otherwise they will take it from you”.

Archbishop Sharaf vigorously called the ECLJ and all citizens to ask their governments and international institutions to act in order to permit Christians to be able to return to Mosul and the Nineveh Plains to reestablish a Christian home under international protection. He proclaimed, “Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds: they all have their territory. Christians, must also have a right to live in peace, they need a secured home”. He insisted that “powerful countries may stop ISIS if they want to. The creation of a safe area for Christians to come back is achievable if the international community supports and protects such an area.”

The ACLJ and the ECLJ are deeply committed to the international recognition of the genocide ISIS is perpetrating. Our ACLJ and ECLJ petitions for the recognition and action against the genocide have gathered over 574,000 signatures. Since our call to action, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Obama Administration have all now acknowledged the genocide being committed by ISIS. We are now advocating at the United Nations for their official recognition of the genocide and for the institution to take measures so that Christian refugees may come back home with international protection.