Iraq
Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, during Christman celebration in Baghdad on December 24, 2025. Photo: Iraqi PM's office.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, has come under criticism for using the word “normalization” during a Christmas celebration in Baghdad—a term widely associated with normalizing relations with Israel and prohibited under Iraqi law.
“Mr. Prime Minister, there is talk about normalization, and I hope that the new government will ensure that normalization is in Iraq and with Iraq,” Cardinal Sako said in his speech at St. Joseph's Chaldean Cathedral in Baghdad on Wednesday.
Speaking at the same event, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani responded to the Christian leader.
“In Iraq, we do not need normalization; rather, we need brotherhood, love, and coexistence. This is a moral, religious, constitutional, and legal commitment that governs our relationships. The term ‘normalization’ does not exist in the Iraqi lexicon, because it is linked to an occupying entity that stands against land and humanity, and which all heavenly religions reject,” said Sudani, referring to Israel.
The Iraqi parliament passed a bill in 2022 which criminalizes relations with Israel. The main part of the bill bans “the establishment of diplomatic, political, military, economic, and cultural relations and any other sort of relations with the invading Zionist entity.”
The penalties stipulated by the law range from life imprisonment or temporary imprisonment up to the death penalty for those convicted under its provisions.
The normalization of ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords is a US-led joint Middle East peace initiative. Four countries - the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Bahrain, and Morocco - have announced normalization agreements with Israel, with America's support.
The United States is seeking to expand the initiative by bringing in additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also reacted to Cardinal Sako’s statement.
“Normalization is a crime, and Iraqi law prescribes punishment for it. Anyone who promotes it or calls for it—whoever they may be—will not escape punishment,” he said. “The competent official authorities must swiftly carry out their duties; there will be no place for normalization or its legitimization in Iraq.”
The Cardinal’s office said in a statement on Thursday that he did not mean normalization of relations with Israel.
“The normalization he referred to is not political normalization with Israel. His Beatitude has repeatedly condemned the brutal aggression against Palestine (Gaza),” read the statement.
“Rather, what he meant was civilizational and cultural normalization with Iraq. Abraham is from Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq), the cradle of civilizations. Iraq is a vast museum from Basra to Zakho. Therefore, the government should pay attention to this, attract tourists to Iraq, and make this a fundamental economic resource, since oil will eventually run out,” explained the office.
Iraq is among the countries that openly and strongly support the Palestinian cause, with some pro-Iran armed groups in the country having targeted US and Israeli interests in the region over the issue.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment