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The Iraqi Kurdistan Christianity Project

Project Overview

The Iraqi Kurdistan Christianity Project examines the important efforts, progress and challenges of providing religious freedom for all people in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Christians around the world are concerned about the safety, security, and well-being of Christians who live in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.  Unfortunately, most Christians in the West do not know much about the Christian communities in these regions.

The Iraqi Kurdistan Religious Freedom Project seeks to study these issues, and to build bridges between and among the Christian communities of the West and their counterparts in Middle East. The Project began with a June 2011 fact-finding trip to Iraqi Kurdistan, and has continued with an intensive survey of the region with mapping and data analysis, an international conference of top scholars and analysts, and a delegation of leading American religious leaders to the KRI – all designed to lay the groundwork for a longer-term, sustained effort to create linkages between these communities.


Further Reading

  • Law School Conference Presents Status Report on Iraqi Christian Communities READ HERE
  • Washington Post Op-Ed READ HERE

  • Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C.

    Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., greets students at the International Private School, led by Bishop Rabban Al-Qas, in Duhok (November, 2012).

  • First Communicants in Ainkawa

    First Communicants in Ainkawa

  • Arch Bishop Warda with mitre at Feshkhbour open air mass.

    Arch Bishop Warda with mitre at Feshkhbour open air mass.

  • Girls with Lourdes headscarfs during open air mass at Feshkhabour

    Girls with Lourdes headscarfs during open air mass at Feshkhabour

  • Mariam from Tilah

    Mariam from Tilah

  • Ancient 1400 year old church at Marbena Monastery in Harmota near Koysinyaq

    Ancient 1400 year old church at Marbena Monastery in Harmota near Koysinyaq

  • Robaboyan Monastery high up in the Zagros mountains

    Robaboyan Monastery high up in the Zagros mountains

  • Bishop Rabban

    Bishop Rabban

  • Preparing for the Ainkawa Survey

    Preparing for the Ainkawa Survey

  • A man from the Chaldean Village of Navkandal

    A man from the Chaldean Village of Navkandal

  • A mare and her foal on the road to Bedial

    A mare and her foal on the road to Bedial

  • Remnants of of an ancient Jewish temple in Sharanish

    Remnants of an ancient Jewish temple in Sharanish

  • The Abbot of Mar Matteo Monastery discussing an ancient Syriac Christian plaque.

    The Abbot of Mar Matteo Monastery discussing an ancient Syriac Christian plaque.

  • A view from the ancient Mar Matteo Monastery, established in 364 A.D.

    A view from the ancient Mar Matteo Monastery, established in 364 A.D., perched high on a ridge overlooking the Ninewa Plain

“I have a confession to make…I fell asleep on the way here.  When I awoke, there was singing and dancing, and I thought to myself – I’m home.  And I am home.  For we are always home when we are together, when we are with believers.  I know that you have suffered, but you are strong for your faith.  I know that the Lord loves you, and I know that you love the Lord.  I see it in your faces.  I hear it in your songs and when you laugh.  So do not be afraid, for the Lord is with you.  That is what has made you strong throughout your history.  And it’s not just I that feel at home with you here – the Lord feels home with you here.” ~ Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

Maps

View our project findings on an interactive Google Map

VIEW MAPS

Downloads

Project downloads: Detailed Maps, reports and booklets

DOWNLOADS

Conference

Presentations from The Catholic University of America

FIND OUT MORE

Photos

A collection of photographs taken during fieldwork

VIEW GALLERY