31st July, 2014
Christian leaders in New South Wales have called on the Australian government and international community to act to stop persecution of Iraq’s Christian community.
Rev Dr Ross Clifford, president of the NSW Council of Churches, joined with other church leaders in calling for an end to the "severe human rights abuses" taking place in Iraq and asked for Australian Christians to pray for peace and justice.
"In the name of Jesus, we call on our federal government to oppose this brutality in the strongest terms," he said, describing the persecution of Christians in northern Iraq by Islamic extremist group IS as "a trampling of the basic human right of religious freedom".
IS last week reportedly gave an ultimatum to Christians living in Mosul, saying they had to either convert to Islam, pay a fine known as jizya or "face the sword". They also reportedly blew-up the tomb of Jonah and have been marking Christian property with the Arabic letter ‘N’, standing for followers of the ‘Nazarene’ or Christians.
Dr Glenn Davies, Anglican archbishop of Sydney, said it was an outrage that a community established in the early centuries of the Christian era should face expulsion because of their faith.
"In the same area where God sent the prophet Jonah to turn back the people of Nineveh from their evil ways, we pray for a turning back of the evil which has come upon the Christians of Mosul, stripped of their livelihood, property and possessions. The Australian government, the international community and the UN must not stand by which such persecution continues unabated."
– DAVID ADAMS
