Future bleak for Christians in Iraq

Despite all the differences and controversies that engulf our nation on a daily basis, all of us would have to agree that the United States is a special place.

After all, in a little over a week, we once again will demonstrate to the world how an orderly transfer of power takes place when we elect a new president.

Some of these transfers have been bumpy in the past (like the 2000 election), but our ability to do this makes us unique in the world. There may be some more bumpiness in the coming days as allegations of voter fraud have surfaced, but our country will work through it.

Additionally, many of the fundamental liberties we enjoy are only a dream to many people outside our country.

Countries like Venezuela have clamped down on the media in recent months, and though we all grumble about the U.S. media, most of us would agree that a free press is one of our most important building blocks.

If we only got our news from outlets run by the government, many politicians would run amuck without any accountability. Many already do, but the numbers would certainly rise without watchdogs.

Additionally, religious and spiritual freedom is one of our nation's greatest traits.

While there seems to be a growing intolerance in our nation toward Christianity, most Christians can worship freely as can people of other faiths. The only opponent most spiritual people have to conquer is their own apathy about attending a worship service.

However, many people around the world are not so lucky. Recently, there were reports of widespread attacks against Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

Until recently, Mosul was one of the few semi-safe havens for Christians there, but that has all changed. Provincial election laws were recently changed after community protests that resulted in the removal of an article that would have provided representation to Christians and other minorities, according to a McClatchy Newspapers report.

This means what little protection that existed for Christians is gone, and it is pretty much open season on them. Dozens of murders have happened there since.

The Iraq War has been a controversial issue for quite some time, but it continues to amaze me how little attention is devoted to the plight of Christians there. After all, if we feel religious freedom is such an important right, shouldn't we be putting more pressure on the government there to improve this?

After the billions of dollars that we have spent and the thousands of American lives lost, I don't think it is asking too much that people be allowed the courtesy of going to church without the fear of being murdered in the street.

Of course, the obvious response to this is that we can't force our culture down the throat of another country. Just because something may be important to Americans, it doesn't mean it will be important to Iraqi citizens.

Still, these types of situations are frustrating because Iraq isn't the only place where crimes like this are taking place.

This type of persecution is taking place all over the globe from the Middle East to Asia to Africa.

The real answer is that Christians shouldn't rely on the government to pressure other countries to ease religious restrictions. Christians should be proactive and become involved in the process.

Prayer and financial support of organizations that help fight this problem are all steps people can take to help ease this situation.

A person never knows how much he can help until he takes that first step.