Category Archives: History

On this tenth anniversary of 9/11, Via Meadia reflects on one the most painful unintended consequences of that day – the decimation of Iraq’s once significant minority religious groups. Before the invasion of Iraq – which, despite the changing rhetoric used to justify it, would not have happened without the 9/11 attacks – about 1.5 million Iraqis were members of a non-Muslim faith. Mostly Christians, along with some lesser-known groups like Mandaeans and Yazidis, these unfortunates have been victim to determined campaigns of sectarian cleansing by bands of both Sunni and Shiite thugs.

This campaign of extermination and intimidation has largely worked. Large scale bombings of churches and Christian-owned liquor and video stores, assassinations of clergy and local leaders, and kidnapping and rape of young women have taken their toll, including several high profile attacks this past month. Comprising at least 5% of Iraq’s population before the 2003 invasion, well over half of these Christians and others have fled their ancestral homes. As the country has stabilized in the past few years, the toll of violence against minorities and stream of refugees has continued. Even as the Shia-dominated Iraqi government has enhanced its control, it has done little to rein in the targeting of weak Christian, Mandean, and Yazidi communities.

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