A US State Department report on religious freedom and a warning early this week left Turkey unhappy. But not wrongly accused, say many. Nora Koloyan-Keuhnelian reports

Hagia Sophia (photo: Reuters)

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 by The Long Island Catholic Staff
Father Andrzej Halemba is seen in a 2017 file photo carrying a crucifix during a procession of the Christians in Qaraqosh, Iraq. (CNS photo/courtesy Aid to the Church in Need) Continue reading →

By Toufic Baaklini Enlarge Image
Turkish President Erdogan’s plan to convert the Hagia Sophia cathedral into a mosque has Christians on edge.AFP via Getty Images
From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire, the forerunner of modern Turkey, Continue reading →

The United States did not provide sufficient “evidence” of threat of an impending attack. Agnes Callamard reports the operation violates the United Nations Charter, but the international community has remained largely silent. Soleimani did not pose a threat to the US and the rest of the world. Continue reading →

The Church of Mar Behnam and Mart Sarah in Qaraqosh, Iraq celebrates Christmas Mass Dec. 25, 2018 before the church’s renovation. Credit: AFP/Getty Images Rome Newsroom, Jul 7, 2020 / 12:00 pm MT (CNA).- More Christian families left the Nineveh Plains than returned to their hometowns last year amid ongoing security concerns in Continue reading →

Lawk Ghafuri 
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi border forces and their Turkish counterparts will cooperate to “secure” border areas between the two countries, an army commander has told Rudaw. Continue reading →

Exclusive interview with Pastor Bashar Haddad on Mideast evangelism and Christians as peacemakers
by Ryan Jones 
Pastor Bashar Haddad today serves at San Jose Christian Alliance Church in Continue reading →

John Newton and Maria Lozano
Qaraqosh – image © Jaco Klamer ACN If the international community does not take immediate action, forced emigration could decimate what remains of the Christian population in the Nineveh Plains – a Catholic charity is warning in a fresh report out today. Continue reading →

Hind Al Soulia – Riyadh – A top Turkish court on Thursday ruled that the status of the Hagia Sophia, the world-famous Istanbul landmark which is now a museum after serving as a church and a mosque, will be announced with 15 days. Continue reading →

Iraq (International Christian Concern) – The Institute for the Study of Religious Diversity is attempting to change Iraq’s discourse toward religious minorities and recently published its first curricula. Established almost a year ago by Masarat, a Baghdad-based nonprofit, the institution will focus its educational programs toward Muslim Continue reading →

The Turkish president wants to turn Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. Destroying its dual Orthodox-Islamic heritage would be a blow to religious pluralism and tolerance.
By Richard V. Reeves, Mustafa Akyol Continue reading →

By Yusuf Begtas

In life, truth and reality often collide with each other, because internal frames of reference do not always fit external reference points. Since every person has a disntinct level of knowledge, each person’s capacity for perception and evaluation is different. A person can only ascribe meaning to the information suited to his own capacity. Continue reading →

By Yusuf Begtas  Syriac Language-Culture and Literary Association – Mardin

——————————————————————————————————————–Mardin is the name of an ancient civilization which has served as an abode of the truth of life, and of the life of truth. Mardin’s ancient civilization represents a virtual grammar Continue reading →

Front-line healthcare workers have to cope with the virus, equipment shortages, unpaid wages, and the risk of attacks from patients’ families. Some have to work 48-hour shifts. In Kurdistan hospitals, only coronavirus cases are treated. For one Chaldean priest, many sick people prefer to stay at home and avoid hospitals. Continue reading →

by Uzay Bulut
“On June 20, they even bombed the safe spot where the other villagers could go.” — Athra Kado, Assyrian rights advocate in Alqosh, Iraq, to Gatestone.
“We have been informed by the Turkish forces that ‘we’ll bomb whenever we want to’… Continue reading →

MLK-Ashuroyo  Orthodox Assyrian
ANKAWA, Iraq – A small ceremony this week marked the start of construction of the new Syriac school called “Meltho” in Ankawa, Erbil. The building of the school is under supervision of the Syriac Orthodox Church and supported by the Hungarian government Continue reading →

Niraj Warikoo Detroit Free Press
Bas and Tanya Robin at their Superior Buick Cadillac GMC dealership in Dearborn Friday, June 26, 2020.
Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press Continue reading →

Turkish airstrikes and ground troops are threatening areas in northern Iraq populated by Christians, Yazidis and Kurds trying to recover following 2014 attacks by Daesh militants.Initially, airstrikes shook Mount Sinjar, an area that is home to the Yazidi minority and where the militants carried out a genocide against the Yazidi community. Continue reading →

ANKAWA, Iraq – A small ceremony this week marked the start of construction of the new Syriac school called “Meltho” in Ankawa, Erbil. The building of the school is under supervision of the Syriac Orthodox Church and supported by the Hungarian government. Syriac Orthodox bishop of Mosul Daoud Sharaf and the Hungarian official Continue reading →

Syria (International Christian Concern) – On Monday, the terrorist group HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) detained one of its own former commanders for defecting. HTS raided the house of defector Jamal Zeina, better known as Abu Malek al-Tali, in Syria’s Idlib. Continue reading →