BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — At least 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, terrified by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, officials said Saturday.

Christians protest in Mosul last month ahead of elections. An official says protests may have led to the attacks.

The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by the end of January, the deputy governor of Nineveh province said.

Deputy Gov. Khasro Goran said 13 Christians have been slain in the past two weeks inMosul, about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Fleeing Christians have sought refuge in monasteries and churches and with family members in other towns, an Interior Ministry official said.

The attacks began after hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, seeking greater representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.

Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, Nineveh’s governor, told The Associated Press that the exodus was “a major displacement.”

“Of course, al Qaeda elements are behind this campaign against Christians,” Kashmoula told AP.

The Interior Ministry official said the homes of three families were destroyed with explosives Saturday after the occupants left. No injuries were reported.

A week ago, leaflets were distributed in several predominantly Christian neighborhoods, threatening families to “either convert to Islam or pay the jizyah or leave the city or face death,” said the Interior Ministry official.

Historically, jizyah is a tax paid by non-Muslims in exchange for protection.

Goran said that a few days after the leaflets were passed out, gunmen set up checkpoints in parts of Mosul, stopping vehicles to inspect identification papers, searching for Christian names or other signs of religious affiliation. Many of the Christians killed were targeted in this way, he said.

Bashir Azoz, 45, told AP he fled his Mosul home after gunmen warned a neighbor to leave or be killed.

“Where is the government and its security forces as these crimes take place every day?” asked Azoz, a carpenter who is staying with his wife and three children in a town about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Mosul, according to AP.

The Rev. Bolis Jacob, of Mosul’s Mar Afram Church, told AP he couldn’t understand the attacks.

“We respect the Islamic religion and the Muslim clerics,” he said. “We don’t know under what religion’s pretexts these terrorists work.”

Goran said police have set up security checkpoints in Christian neighborhoods.

In response to the violence, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader al-Obaidi visited Mosul on Saturday morning, conducting meetings with local authorities and military commanders.

His spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, said that in addition to ordering more checkpoints in Christian neighborhoods, al-Obaidi ordered more troops deployed, additional security patrols and an increase in aerial surveillance of Christian areas.

Al-Obaidi also ordered more guards for Christian clerics, al-Askari said.

Update:

Christian families fleeing Iraqi city tops 1,000

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The number of Christian families who have fled the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in the past week has reached 1,350, authorities said Wednesday.

Displaced Christian families set up tents at Burtulla, 30 kilometers east of Mosul, Sunday.

Nineveh Deputy Governor Khasro Goran said the new numbers were provided by the provincial city’s office of immigration and displaced persons.

The families fled, reportedly frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, Iraqi officials said.

Fourteen Christians have been slain in the past two weeks in the city, which is located about 260 miles (420 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

In response to the attacks, authorities ordered more checkpoints in several of the city’s Christian neighborhoods.

The attacks may have been prompted by Christian demonstrations ahead of provincial elections, which are to be held by January 31, 2009, authorities said.

Hundreds of Christians took to the streets in Mosul and surrounding villages and towns, demanding adequate representation on provincial councils, whose members will be chosen in the local elections.

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani met with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on Sunday to discuss security, and Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi held a press conference with a group of local priests and bishops.

“The state, its security services and armed forces must take one stand so they can do their part in these conditions and protect our Christian brothers because they are our partners in rebuilding this nation,” al-Hashemi said

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced Wednesday that coalition forces recently killed al Qaeda in Iraq’s senior leader in northern Iraq.

Abu Qaswarah, also known as Abu Sara, was killed during an operation in Mosul on October 5, the military said.

The Moroccan native is second in command to al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, according to the military.

2 Responses to “Another reason we should have never went to war in Iraq!”

1. Wyatt says:

   October 11, 2008 at 7:57 pm

   Hey Phil,

   How much of your anti-war and anti-capital punishment theology is based on the C.H. Dodd / Karl Barth reinterpretation of scripture? What I mean, is how the “wrath of God’ is reinterpreted with the idea that no judgment exists, but only natural cause/effects of sin. Maybe I miss understand this stuff, or I’ve heard people quote Matt 7 too many times, “do not judge lest..” Or do you have a different source for your belief? I’m guessing you don’t think there is a “just war.”

   I say this, because I’m still trying to sort out what I believe about the sword that governments,etc.

   Good blog, keep them coming!

   Wyatt
2. phil says:

   October 11, 2008 at 9:18 pm

   Sounds like you’re being just a little too acusatory for my taste. It also sounds like you think Barth is some kind of heretic and false teacher. By no means am I a Barthian, and additionally by no means am I a Piperian (though they both have very good points at times).

   On the second point, I do believe in just war (as developed by Augustine!), but the Iraq war was evidently not “just” by any means at all. In fact, Christian prosocutions in Iraq have sky rocketed since Iraq was invaded, under false pretenses I might add (That was the point of the blog post.) The war was predicated on false information and then the justification was changed multiple times.

   As for anti-captial punishment, it’s a thought I’ve been convicted about based on theology. I think Barth was actually for capital punishment.

   I’m not afraid to call people out on bad theology, heresy, and also unjust war.