Rimon Metti's family will go to Christian services on Christmas Day, but his relatives will be praying for their own survival and marvelling whether this is their last holiday season in Baghdad. If they had any grounds for optimism about the later of their faith in Iraq, it disappeared this year amid repeated attacks on fellow believers.
Metti's tree stands in the niche of his house, decorated with decorations and tinsel. Pennants of a smiling Santa cling from a beam. Just the decorations bring brief Christmas cheer.
Metti's tree stands in the niche of his house, decorated with decorations and tinsel. Pennants of a smiling Santa cling from a beam. Just the decorations bring brief Christmas cheer.
His world changed Oct. 31, when Islamic militants took parishioners hostage at a Baghdad church. At least 58 people were killed in the siege. A week later, bombs went off in Christian neighborhoods in the capital.
A group linked to Al Qaeda took responsibility for those attacks and threatened more violence against Christians. It repeated those threats Tuesday. The next day, a council representing the country's Christian denominations advised followers to call off Christmas festivities, and many church leaders in major cities said they would not put out decorations or hold evening services. Metti said Friday that he would attend only the service on Christmas morning and avoid the Christmas Eve Mass. His goal is simple: survival. Priests and Christian politicians are calling for this Christmas to be one of mourning for the faithful killed in October.
