Tensions have surged in Iraq between the government and the Christian community after President Abdul Latif Rashid earlier this month cited constitutional grounds to revoke a special presidential decree formally recognizing Cardinal Sako and granting him powers over Christian endowment affairs, with members and leaders of the marginalized community deeming the move as an attack on their status and on Sako, a highly respected figure in his community and the head of the Chaldean Church in Iraq and worldwide.
Rashid’s decision came amid mounting pressure from Rayan al-Kildani, leader of the nominally Christian Babylon Movement, a party and militia affiliated with the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The decision led the cardinal to withdraw from his patriarchal residence in Baghdad and relocate to a monastery in the Kurdistan Region.
“We are disturbed by the harassment of Cardinal Sako … and troubled by the news that he has left Baghdad. We look forward to his safe return. The Iraqi Christian community is a vital part of Iraq’s identity and a central part of Iraq’s history of diversity and tolerance,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing.
“We are concerned that the cardinal’s position as a respected leader of the church is under attack from a number of quarters, in particular a militia leader who is sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act,” he said, adding that Washington is “in continuous contact” with Baghdad on the matter.
The Iraqi presidency in a statement last week defended the decision to revoke the presidential decree, saying it had no basis in the constitution since presidential decrees are issued only for those who work in government institutions, ministries, or governmental committees.
On Monday, Rashid reiterated his position of revoking the decree during a meeting with the Vatican’s charge d’affaires in Iraq.
The repeal of Presidential Decree for His Eminence Cardinal Sako is not an attack on the Chaldean Church nor Iraq’s much valued Christian communities. The decree simply has no constitutional backing, and does not impact His Eminence’s status or ability to conduct his duties. https://t.co/4YL4r0DhIK
— Abdullatif J Rashid عبد اللطيف جمال رشيد (@LJRashid) July 17, 2023
“We have engaged with them [Iraqi government] … and we certainly hope that they reserve that decision and the cardinal will be able to safely return to Baghdad,” Miller said, calling the decision “a blow to religious freedom.”
Sako and Kildani have long been involved in a war of words, with the patriarch condemning the militia leader as an individual who does not represent the interests of Christians despite his party winning four of the five quota seats assigned for Christians in the 2021 Iraqi parliamentary election. His candidates were extensively and openly backed by Shiite political forces affiliated with Iran.
Kildani has accused Sako of getting involved in politics and damaging the reputation of the Chaldean Church.
The Babylon Brigades, the paramilitary wing of the Babylon Movement, “is presented as a local Christian force but has been recruited largely from Shia Muslim communities in Baghdad’s Sadr City, al-Muthanna, and Dhi Qar,” and its objective is domination of the Nineveh Plains, a March profile of the brigade by the Washington Institute concluded.
The brigades have been accused of illegally seizing historic Christian land in Nineveh province after the Islamic State (ISIS) group was driven out of the area. Human rights abuses committed by the group ultimately led to the United States Treasury sanctioning Kildani in 2019 for the abuses as well as corruption.
On Thursday morning, Christians in Ainkawa, a Christian-majority district situated at the northern edge of Erbil city, protested the president’s move against Cardinal Sako, which they dubbed a “clear and utter violation” against their community.
Iraq’s Christian community has been devastated in the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian warfare prompted followers of Iraq’s multiple Christian denominations to flee, and attacks by ISIS in 2014 hit minority communities especially hard.
Fewer than 300,000 Christians remain in Iraq today, a staggering fall from over 1.5 million who used to call Iraq home before the 2003 American invasion.
