{"id":1526,"date":"2007-06-08T09:08:45","date_gmt":"2007-06-08T09:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html"},"modified":"2007-06-08T09:08:45","modified_gmt":"2007-06-08T09:08:45","slug":"just-say-no-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Just say no"},"content":{"rendered":"

The "Ninevah Plan" is a schema to purportedly protect some Christian populations in Iraq – specifically, this:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

The Plains of Nineveh contain a series of Christian villages (approximately twenty), in which most people speak the Syriac dialect known as \u201cSureth.\u201d  The area has always been under the jurisdiction of Mosul \u2013 about 30-25 km away \u2013 which is the area\u2019s cultural, commercial and ecclesiastic hub.  The Plains are surrounded by Arab, Shedac, Yezidi and Kurdish villages.  Some 120,000 Christians live there.<\/p>\n

Having an independent zone has been something of a national dream for the Assyrians dating back to World War I; subsequently, in the 1970s, various Christian politicians and religious leaders called for an autonomous province, but this dream was never achieved!<\/p>\n

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein\u2019s regime and, above all, in 2006, many Christian nationalists outside and within Iraq, having seen the experience of autonomous Kurdistan, see the Niniveh Plains as a possibility for achieving a safe haven.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

AsiaNews has been running articles strongly critical of the plan, Here<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Groups of politicized Christians in the United States and Europe are seeking to exploit the tragic religious persecution underway in Iraq to accelerate the creation of an \u201cAssyrian enclave\u201d in the Plains of Niniveh, on the border of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.  The plan, however, does not have the support of Catholics in the country and abroad, who refer to it as a \u201cdiabolic and dangerous\u201d plan, the debate over which \u201crisks creating a division\u201d among Christians.<\/p>\n

Closing the Christian community into a ghetto\/buffer-zone between Arabs and Kurds in the north seems, for some, the only solution for salvation.  According to local AsiaNews sources, the utmost is being done to make this convincing: religious leaders are being duped, the press is being manipulated; even suffering and sorrow are being exploited.  The latest example is the murder of Fr Ragheed Ganni, Chaldean priest, whose death, along with that of three friends, is at the centre of a media circus in Iraq that even Iraqis themselves are saying is \u201cexcessive.\u201d  An AsiaNews source says. \u201cRagheed, who lived and died in Mosul, sacrificed himself for the exact opposite: for peaceful coexistence, for the future of the Church in Iraq, not abroad, not caged within political or territorial borders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever since the anti-Christian campaign has become violent enough to be in the spotlight of international media, more and more articles and television coverage speak of what would be the unavoidable necessity, at this point, of creating a safe haven for this minority. Yesterday, an article of the Eastern Star News Agency (a Sweden-based Assyrian agency) compared the situation of the \u201cAssyrian people\u201d (a term that is meant to include Chaldeans and Syriacs) to that of the Kurds under Saddam: they need protection.  And they go on to say that: \u201cAssyrians are calling more and more for an autonomous Christian region in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those in favour<\/p>\n

The project for an \u201cAssyrian ghetto\u201d is strongly supported by the Christian diaspora in the United States, which holds a lot of sway over the Baghdad Patriarchate, by Evangelicals and by Kurdistan\u2019s Finance Minister, Sarkis Aghajan, who over the last year has donated large sums of money for the reconstruction of numerous villages and churches in the north.<\/p>\n

In October 2006, American Catholic bishops wrote to Condoleezza Rice to urge Washington to consider the possibility of creating a new \u201cadministrative region\u201d around Niniveh, connected directly to the central government in Baghdad, which \u201ccould provide Christians and other minorities with greater safety and offer more opportunity to control their own affairs.\u201d  And given that numerous Christians are seeking refuge in the country\u2019s north, the document also suggests collaboration between the U.S. government and Kurdish authorities to ensure the security of Christians in these areas.<\/p>\n

It is expected that the Vatican will express its position on this matter on the occasion of the forthcoming meeting \u2013 set for June 8 \u2013 between President George W. Bush and the Pope.<\/p>\n

Those against<\/p>\n

Various prominent figures of the Church, as well as ordinary members of the faithful, have, for some time, been pointing out the risks of a \u201cNiniveh Project\u201d.   In comments to AsiaNews a few months ago, Monsignor Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, acknowledged the need for an \u201cend to the violence\u201d but was nevertheless puzzled about the idea.  \u201cThe Plains of Niniveh,\u201d he explained, \u201care surrounded for the most part by Arabs: Christians would be a handy and vulnerable buffer between Arabs and Kurds.  In my opinion, it would be much better to work at the level of the constitution and the single states to guarantee religious freedom and equal rights to the members of all faiths over the entire territory, for Christians too who live throughout Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

and here:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

The Christian message is a universal one, which appeals to all men in all ages:  \u201cGo, therefore, and make disciples of all nations\u201d (Mt 28, 21). Jesus of Nazareth was criticised because of his openness to all peoples, which created unease within the Jewish community of the time. A Christian, born of this truth, makes \u201chis homeland\u201d there where he is called to live, bringing to that land the message of truth and of salvation.<\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s Christians have always been present, in all areas of the nation:  from North to South, from East to West. Historical data is abundant and difficult to counter; it is confirmed in every history book and by experts on the History of Iraq. Among them all I choose to quote Fr Albert Abouna\u2019s books on the history of the Church, a reliable academic and excellent scholar on Iraq\u2019s ecclesial history.<\/p>\n

Christians have long sought to live in peace within the greater community, by earning other peoples respect through their example of a peaceful existence.  Down through the centuries they actively participated in the building of the nation and in the restoration of it\u2019s\u2019 culture, proving themselves true citizens, without ever lending their support to an ethnic or religious utopia.  Rather they attempted to show their complete openness to human values wherever they could be found.<\/p>\n

Today Christians can be found in Basra, Emara, Baghdad, Ramadi (Falluja), Samara, Kirkuk, Mosul, Erbil, Dihok\u2026 This fact proves that Christian conscience is motivated by a desire to be children of the land, brothers and sisters to all men and women, citizens of this country. All of these terms (land, brother, and country) indicate the universal aspect, the openness to others, which are at the heart of the Christian message.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The "Ninevah Plan" is a schema to purportedly protect some Christian populations in Iraq – specifically, this: The Plains of Nineveh contain a series of Christian villages (approximately twenty), in which most people speak the Syriac dialect known as \u201cSureth.\u201d  The area has always been under the jurisdiction of Mosul \u2013 about 30-25 km away…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nJust say no - Via Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Just say no - Via Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The "Ninevah Plan" is a schema to purportedly protect some Christian populations in Iraq – specifically, this: The Plains of Nineveh contain a series of Christian villages (approximately twenty), in which most people speak the Syriac dialect known as \u201cSureth.\u201d  The area has always been under the jurisdiction of Mosul \u2013 about 30-25 km away…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Via Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-06-08T09:08:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"awelborn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Just say no - Via Media","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Just say no - Via Media","og_description":"The "Ninevah Plan" is a schema to purportedly protect some Christian populations in Iraq – specifically, this: The Plains of Nineveh contain a series of Christian villages (approximately twenty), in which most people speak the Syriac dialect known as \u201cSureth.\u201d  The area has always been under the jurisdiction of Mosul \u2013 about 30-25 km away…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html","og_site_name":"Via Media","article_published_time":"2007-06-08T09:08:45+00:00","author":"awelborn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html","name":"Just say no - Via Media","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-06-08T09:08:45+00:00","dateModified":"2007-06-08T09:08:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#\/schema\/person\/aea2dcda1635c9c2d6030d9c7595725a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/06\/just-say-no-1.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Just say no"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/","name":"Via Media","description":"Amy Welborn","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#\/schema\/person\/aea2dcda1635c9c2d6030d9c7595725a","name":"awelborn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/9f2\/9f2100183464289fedc5b8a621c15110x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/9f2\/9f2100183464289fedc5b8a621c15110x96.jpg","caption":"awelborn"},"description":"Amy Welborn was born in 1960, the only child of a now-retired professor of political science, a teacher-librarian-artist mother,deceased since 2001, was a teacher, librarian and artist. The Catholicism comes from her side. Amy grew up in a number of places - Indiana - Washington, DC - Lubbock Texas - Arlington, Virginia - DeKalb, Illinois - Lawrence, Kansas - and Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family settled in 1973. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then the University of Tennessee where she majored in history. She received an MA in Church History from Vanderbilt University, where she wrote a thesis on the changing role of women in 19th century American Protestantism, and the ways Scripture was used to justify those changes. She worked as as a teacher in Catholic high schools and a Parish Director of Religious Education and started writing for the diocesan press - the Florida Catholic - in 1988. Amy has written columns for Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic News Service at times over the past twenty years. Her articles have been published in venues ranging from Our Sunday Visitor to the New York Times to Commonweal. She has written 17 books. 18, if you included the as yet tragically unpublished novel. Amy has five children, ranging in age from 26 to 4 and was married to Michael Dubruiel, who died unexpectedly in February 2009. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/author\/awelborn"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}