What Iraqi Christians Want the American Government to Know

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Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2017

⏱️ 38 minutes

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Summary

June has been quite the month for Iraqi Christians in America. From CT’s report: "More than 100 Iraqi Christians arrested in immigration raids earlier this month will get to stay in the United States—at least for another two weeks, according to an order issued yesterday by a federal judge in Detroit." Of the more than 1,000 Iraqis who live in America, 300 of them were Christians slated to be deported later this summer, a move which provoked significant outcry from the community. “This is about the conditions we are sending people back to. We are imposing a death penalty through the back door,” said the lawyer of one of those affected. This news came just weeks after Vice President Mike Pence attended an event highlighting the plight of persecuted Christians. Pence also hosted the top leaders from churches in Iraq and Syria. “Mike Pence been really outspoken in support of our community. We couldn’t really ask anything better from the vice president,” said Martin Manna, the president of the Chaldean Chamber and Foundation in Detroit, Michigan. Finding a political home has been challenging for the Iraqi Christian American diaspora, said Manna. The community was frustrated at George W. Bush for invading Iraq but also blamed Barack Obama for not responding urgently enough to ISIS, which has terrorized Christians in their homeland. While President Trump promised to protect them, his administration has moved to deport Iraqi Christians in America. “It’s a very conservative community. It’s always faith first and family,” said Manna. “… Republicans—while they appreciate our Christian beliefs and they fight for us when we talk about the persecution of Christians—when you talk about immigration they seem to shut down. On the other side, when you talk to Democrats, they want to rally around social justice and immigration reform but when we talk about the persecution of Christians, it goes to a deaf ear.” Manna recently joined assistant editor Morgan Lee and editor in chief Mark Galli to discuss why Iraqi Christians originally immigrated to America, why longtime members of the community are at risk of deportation, and what their relationship with Arab Muslims looks like in their new country. Listeners may also want to check out Quick to Listen, Episode 27, which discussed why so few Syrian refugees have been Christians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.0	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion.
0:14.5	Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.
0:29.3	Music Michael Del Rosario at Apologeticsguy.com. You're listening to Quick to Listen. Each week we go beyond hashtags and hot takes to discuss a major cultural event.
0:36.3	I'm Morgan Lee and I'm assistant editor here at
0:39.0	Christianity today. I'm joined as usual by Mark Alley. Hey Mark. Hey, Mark. Hey, Morgan. How are you doing
0:44.2	this morning? Really good. How are you? Okay. I wish the sun would come out. It's a little
0:47.8	overcast today here. Agreed. And I'm feeling overcast. I'm hoping by the end of the podcast, I'll be jazzed to tackle the day.
0:54.8	You'll definitely be able to tackle that as we're in like an underground bunker with no natural
0:58.7	light right now. Exactly, yeah. Who is joining us today? It's Martin Manah. He is the president
1:03.6	of the Chaldean Chamber and Foundation in Detroit, Michigan. And if you're wondering what
1:07.8	a Chaldean is or who the Chaldeans are, they are one of the oldest
1:11.1	Christian groups in existence and are indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and parts of Iran and Turkey.
1:16.5	And we're going to learn more about them and some of the challenges they face in the United
1:19.7	States these days. Martin, how's it going? It's great, beautiful and sunny here in Detroit today.
1:25.1	Okay, there you go. Way to rub it in, buddy. Awesome. Well, thanks so much
1:30.1	for joining us. We're excited to talk with you today. So let's get into our topic at hand.
1:36.3	The Iraqi Christian community caught a brief break last week when a federal judge temporarily
1:41.2	banned immigration officials from moving ahead with their plans to deport around 300 people from the community.
1:48.1	ICE agents had begun rounding up dozens of community members, some of them while they left church and taking them to detention centers in Ohio.
1:55.4	Soon after the raids began, the community cried foul, pointing to the intense persecution that Christians have faced recently in Iraq, thanks to ISIS.
2:03.3	This is about the conditions we are sending people back to. We are imposing a death penalty through the back door, said the lawyer of one of those affected.
	...

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