Iraq Christians on edge as cartoon row escalates

[ECH1969]

Iraq's Christians are bracing for attacks on their ancient community, fearful that deadly bombings of their churches last month were linked to Muslim fury over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad published in Europe.

"The church blasts were a reaction to the cartoons published in European papers. But Christians are not responsible for what is published in Europe," Louis Sako, the Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk, told Reuters in the northern city.

"Innocent people were killed because of these cartoons ... this is terror," he said, referring to car bombings at several churches last month."

Tracing their ancestry to ancient Mesopotamia, Christians are deeply attached to Iraq but worry that the rage over the cartoons will only bring them more violence.

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=6437184&cKey=1138966527000

[wtmusic]

1. Religion making another profound contribution to society

:puke:

[FloridaPat]

2. The only thing to bring violence to these poor people is a cartoon?

Not the invasion of their country by a bunch of radical Christians?

[ECH1969]

3. The pathetic thing about all of this is the controvery

Has seemed to have energised the Arab world even more then the Iraq invasion.

[Igel]

4. There's a difference?

Uppity Xians are uppity Xians. If Xians offend, you punish the group you have, not the group you'd want. The Iraqi Xians know their history, and what they've lived through. Under Saddam they didn't keep their proper place.

No different from Ukrainians engaging in a pogrom because a Jew acted inappropriately, or from klansmen attacking a black neighborhood because of an uppity black talking to a nice white woman.

[smirkymonkey]

5. What a mess religion has made of this world.

sigh.