The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada today announced a special call on the Canadian Church to pray for Christians and other minorities who have been, since June of this year, brutally targeted by the militant Islamic fundamentalist terrorist group IS (The Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS or as “Al-Qaeda in Iraq”).
The EFC is calling on Canadian Christians to specifically pray for those directly affected by the attack on religious liberty and the related refugee humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Congregations could offer special prayers this Sunday, August 17, 2014, or whenever possible.
On July 19, 2014 Christians in Mosul (the ancient city of Nineveh, second largest city in Iraq) were given the ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay a Jizya (punitive religious tax), flee their homes and businesses, or die by the sword. Thousands of Christians fled to regions under the protection of Kurdish Peshmerga troops 70 km away.
The IS group is responsible for the recent attack, capture, starvation and even reported beheadings of hundreds of innocent civilians in northern Iraq – including women and children. According to an analysis complied by US intelligence agencies, IS has long had plans to seize power and create a fundamentalist Islamic state in Iraq. Currently, the group’s reign of terror and religious genocide is sweeping across the northern area of the country toward the autonomous Kurdish region in the northeast where many of the Iraqi Christians have fled for refuge.
On August 6 and 7 in the city of Qaraqosh (location of the largest concentration of Christians), Kurdish Peshmerga troops who had been protecting the Christians were assaulted by IS militants and subsequently left their posts. Some 90,000 Christians and religious minorities were then forced to flee the city on foot.
The displacement of so many of Iraq’s innocent citizens is pressing on an already enormous refuge situation in the Kurdish region where the UN Refugee Agency has estimated that 1.2 million people have been displaced by fighting this year. Recent reports suggest that some refugees are being prevented from reaching safer areas based on race or religion.
Canada has pledged $5 million in aid for displaced civilians in Iraq forced to flee by advancing IS forces. The money will be used to buy hygiene kits, blankets, cooking materials and food to aid the thousands of people who have been forced from their homes.
Pray for:
- The safety of Christians and other minority groups in Iraq who are fleeing the attack by the IS.
- Pray that they find safety and aid. Pray for international governments and leadership as they discern the most effective response to the growing violence of the IS, and how best to defend, protect and aid Christians and minority groups in Iraq.
- Pray for comfort for those who have family directly affected by the situation in Iraq, or who have lost loved ones to the violence.
- Pray for missionaries and humanitarian aid groups who serve in Iraq and surrounding regions who may be directly impacted by the recent violence.