For nearly two millennia, Iraq’s Christians have been a thread in Mesopotamia’s history. From the monasteries of Nineveh to the churches of Baghdad and the mountain villages of the north, they preserved traditions that predate Islam. Their language, art, and liturgy carry the heritage of vanished civilizations.
Today, their story is one of endurance–a people striving to remain visible in a land where faith and history are entwined, yet survival grows ever more uncertain.
Vanishing Act
Before the 2003 war, Iraq’s Christians–mostly Chaldean Catholics, Assyrians, and Syriac Orthodox–were estimated at between 1.2 and 1.5 million, concentrated in Baghdad, Mosul, Basra, and northern towns across the Nineveh Plain. Over two decades, their numbers fell to under 250,000, according to church and humanitarian estimates.
The decline began after the US invasion, when instability unleashed a wave of sectarian killings, kidnappings, and intimidation. Churches were bombed, priests assassinated, and families forced to abandon their homes.
By 2014, the community was already hollowed out. When ISIS seized Mosul, Christians faced an ultimatum: convert, pay a special tax, or risk death. Homes were marked with the Arabic letter “N” for Nasrani–Christian–signaling targets for confiscation. Thousands fled overnight to the Kurdistan Region, leaving behind churches, schools, manuscripts, and ancestral homes.
In Qaraqosh, Iraq’s largest Christian town, entire neighborhoods were emptied. ISIS looted homes and burned churches, turning the city’s Al-Tahira Cathedral into a shooting range. The Monastery of Mar Behnam, dating to the fourth century, was destroyed, highlighting the attempt to erase the community’s identity.
During the ISIS years, around 120,000 Christians found refuge in Erbil and surrounding towns, where church institutions provided temporary housing, schooling, and aid. Others crossed into Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkiye, or sought asylum in Europe, Australia, and North America.
When Mosul and Nineveh were liberated in 2017, hopes of return emerged–but few returned. Reconstruction funds were limited; many properties were destroyed or seized; and competing security forces controlled different areas, creating uncertainty for returnees.
As of 2025, humanitarian agencies estimate that fewer than half of those displaced have returned, with most relying on local protection units or church-organized initiatives.
Read more: http://www.aina.org/news/20251009132449.htm
By shafaq.com & aina.org
