Iraq

From a different angle

It may be Christmas here in the UK, the time for the larger of the Christian calendar celebrations. But in Iraq, Christmas is not the Big One. For Iraq's 800,000 strong Christian population, Easter is the biggest festival of the year. They call it 'the Major Feast' (Christmas is 'the Minor Feast') and celebrate it with a special Passion play in churches across the country that is unique to Iraqi Christians.

It's one of the oldest Christian communities in the world having been already well established by the time of the first major schism in 431 A.D, and has survived the coming of Islam, the sacking of Genghis Khan and the Mongol hordes, and the vicissitudes of life in modern Iraq.

One monastery dates back to 363 A.D. when a pilgrim called Matthew arrived as a hermit and founded it. It housed 7,000 monks at its height. But after the 9th century it suffered from repeated attacks as different military rulers swept through the area and today the large complex houses only two monks and a bishop.

But this monastery is famous throughout Iraq. Saddam Hussein's late uncle, Adnan Khairallah, who was for many years defence minister, went there in 1979 and asked for his wife to bear a child. The family are Sunni Muslims, but it's quite common for people in the Middle East to visit shrines of different religions. Khairallah's wish was granted, he told Saddam about the monastery, and the President went on two visits in 1980 and 1981.

And Iraqi Christians - many of them from the city of Mosul an hour's drive away - flock there at the big Christian festivals like Easter.

Father Adda Khidr Ablahad Al-Qiss is a small, jovial man with twinkling eyes and an extremely public appreciation of the generosity of President Saddam Hussein to his cliff-hanging monastery. "He gave a large donation to the monastery and we are still benefiting from it. We have used it to rebuild and repair the monastery. He offered to put everything right inside the monastery and out - except for the most ancient parts, which he ordered should stay as they were so people could see how old they were," Father Adda said. "The monastery is open to all sects and religions. We pray that God will always keep President Saddam Hussein and preserve him.”

That was in April 2003.

Of course, Father Adda couldn't very well say anything else about Saddam even if he wanted. Everyone knew the penalties of public criticism in Iraq.

But it is now, Christmas 2005. And there are increasingly good reasons for thinking that Iraq's Christian minority might genuinely think their community's position may have been better under Saddam secular régime than it might be under a successor regime dominated by a collection of religious groupings who’s intent is a Muslim state.