anticipating the first Friday Prayers of Iraq’s many Muslims since Saddam Hussein’s eldest sons were killed earlier in the week by U.S. forces.
Residents of a Christian district in Baghdad said they no longer believe the shots come from Iraqis shooting in the air to celebrate the death of Uday and Qusay, who played a key role in what was arguable one of the Middle East’s most brutal regimes.
Like American soldiers and other foreigners, Iraq’s minority Christians have become targets for attacks carried out by loyalists of the former regime as well as Muslim extremists, BosNewsLife has established.
Following Washington’s release late Thursday, July 24, of pictures showing the human remains of the two brothers, there was concern that Muslim leaders opposing Western reforms would encourage their faithful in Mosques Friday, July 25, to increase violence against what some see as "Western invaders". A new audio tape aired on Arabic television networks with what is believed to be the voice of Saddam Hussein, added to concerns.
"IRAQI JUNGLE"
The former Iraqi president can be heard warning "foreign occupying forces" that they will not be safe. "Its like a jungle here," said a visible shaken 45-year old Naman Louis, a Christian kiosk owner in the Iraqi capital, who sells soft drinks and air time for satellite phones.
Louis told BosNewsLife he buried a colleague this month, after he was shot dead by Muslim radicals "for selling beer". "I was just drinking tea here near the door when the shots were fired two weeks ago," he said.
He spoke as a further three U.S. soldiers were killed in Northern Iraq Thursday, July 24, apparently by remnants of the old regime, while American troops shot and killed two Iraqis here in Baghdad after they apparently refused to stop their car at a checkpoint.
KALASHNIKOV
Louis, who now carries a Kalashnikov rifle and other weapons, called it "a miracle" that he is still alive. "God is watching over me."
Yet Louis admitted he often feels "hopeless", as his family struggles to survive, amidst increasing "anti-American and anti Christian" sentiments. There is also his pain "of not being able to sleep at night."
Like many other Christians, Louis was forced to serve in the army of Saddam Hussein during the war against Iran in the 1980s and the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. "I was fighting most of my life. My best years I lost," Louis said. "Let’s pray…"
SPIRITUAL ANSWERS
His small shop serves as a meeting point for those seeking spiritual and emotional answers to the years of fear and violence under Saddam Hussein and the , still ongoing, wide spread looting that followed his downfall. Even some Muslims, including at least one diplomat, come to the shop to talk. And to be reminded of Christ’s compassion.
"Just five days ago gunmen burst into our Embassy," explained Khurshid A Chawdhey, the Senior Council Officer of the Bangladeshi Embassy. "When the first man knocked at the door, we thought it was the engineer who had worked for us. But all of a sudden three other men burst into our house, and they put their guns on our heads," he said.
"They said: "don’t shout and give all money and all things. They pushed us inside our store room and throw us, just like anything. They tied our hands and legs saying "you have more money, please give it or we will kill you," Chawdhey explained BosNewsLife, his voice trembling.
"They took everything, the satellite phone, two thousand dollars, the laptop, watches, the television, three cars…We feel no longer secure here and are thinking of leaving this country. There is no functioning police and the Americans are not ready to listen to us." He said he have heard similar stories from Indian and other diplomats. "The night is heaven for the gunmen."
BIBLICAL HOPE
However the violence has apparently encouraged people in Iraq to read the Bible. "I am reading more and more the Bible, and am searching for Jesus Christ," explained 27-year old Fatih Shwani, a Kurdish man whose family is Muslim.
"I had a difficult childhood, as Kurdish people were experiencing massacres and at schools were pressured to give up their identity," he added. Shwani, who was confronted with the Bible through mission organizations active in Iraq, believes “love and peace” is still possible in this troubled nation of roughly 22 million people.
War veteran Louis seemed to agree. "Christians don’t like to fight. Believe me, I know what I am talking about…" Christian shops closed early that day, as American military vehicles were seen racing through the streets near an Orthodox church for fear of new attacks.
Two U.S. military vehicles briefly stopped when an BosNewsLife reporter passed a car, with an Iraqi man showing off his latest rifle. Some American officials have warned of guerrilla warfare in Iraq. "Here in Iraq we live on a time bomb, any time there can be an explosion…", Louis said.
