Monthly Archives: April 2017

Pope’s Egypt visit set to “reknit” ties with Islam

  • Written by:

• But Islamic expert laments Muslims’ global silence over Christians’ persecution in Middle East by Islamist terrorist minority By Murcadha O Flaherty and John Newton POPE Francis has high hopes his visit to Egypt will help heal interfaith relations…

Read more

Former Iraqi refugee to graduate from University of Mary

  • Written by:

BLAIR EMERSON Bismarck Tribune The daughter of the first Iraqi family to arrive in Bismarck since Lutheran Social Services reopened its office here in 2009 is graduating from college this weekend. Merna Douri will walk across the stage at the University of Mary in Bismarck on…

Read more

In Egypt, Meeting with Sunni Muslim Leaders, Pope Francis Must Speak Up

  • Written by:

By Nina Shea — April 27, 2017 On Friday, Pope Francis travels to Egypt, the largest Arab country and home to the Copts, the Middle East’s largest Christian community. His principal purpose is to take part in an interfaith dialogue with Grand Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, who heads el-Azhar, the ancient center of Sunni Muslim learning.…

Read more

Iraqi Christians Slowly Return to War-Damaged Qaraqosh

  • Written by:

Alan Taylor Photos In Focus In August of 2014, ISIS militants swept through towns near Mosul, Iraq, taking control and forcing thousands to flee. Among the towns was Qaraqosh, which was Iraq’s largest Christian city with a population of 50,000. For more than two years, occupying ISIS jihadists tried to erase any evidence of Christianity…

Read more

Chaldean Center museum opens to public

  • Written by:

Hometown Life FRM 2 chaldean museum (Photo: Submitted) What is the Chaldean Cultural Center Museum? It’s a cultural center and museum where people can step into ancient Babylon and into…

Read more

Part I: ISIS exploited the marginalized minority groups of Iraq

  • Written by:

By Hannah Lynch and Chris Johannes 5 hours ago In summer of 2014, the ISIS group swept across northern Iraq leaving millions displaced and thousands killed, like this family in Shingal. Photo: Rudaw This series of special reports examines the struggles and path the survivors of ISIS — particularly minority groups in the Nineveh Plains…

Read more

Why The World Needs “The Promise”

  • Written by:

By: Slewo Oshana, Washington, D.C. Much digital ink has been spilled over the recent release of The Promise with the recent attempts by trolls of Turkish origin to bury the film in a sea of bad reviews. Now whether the film is bad or good is ultimately up to the eye of the beholder; however,…

Read more

They Were Screaming In Fear Of Being Left Without Food For Easter

  • Written by:

Nuri Kino, Contributor Independent investigative multi-award-winning reporter, filmmaker, author, Middle East and human rights analyst People fled their homes head over heels. Some of them barefoot, other in their pyjamas. They were given three choices; convert to Islam, pay extortion money (a so…

Read more

Displaced Iraqi Christians open sweet factory in Erbil

  • Written by:

World Watch Monitor Erbil sweet factory Some of the workers at Erbil’s new sweet factory. PICTURE: World Watch Monitor, 2017 In his new factory, surrounded by sesame seeds, pistachios and sugar, Rabeea dips his spatula into a large vat of honey-coloured syrup. He’s checking its consistency to see if…

Read more

Global persecution of Christians is ‘growing worse than ever’

  • Written by:

Nuns carry a large wooden cross into St. Joseph’s Cathedral April 14 in Hanoi, Vietnam, to celebrate Good Friday services. (CNS/Reuters/Kham) Michael Sean Winters | Apr. 25, 2017 Distinctly Catholic “The persecution of Christians is real. It is global in scope, brutal in its nature, daily in its…

Read more

Chaldean museum set to open May 2

  • Written by:

By Associated Press A museum dedicated to the history and culture of Chaldeans is opening in West Bloomfield Township. The Chaldean Cultural Center Museum at 5600 Walnut Lake Road is set to open…

Read more