President Nechirvan Barzani congratulated the community in a statement, reiterating that they will preserve “the culture of coexistence, acceptance, and forgiveness among all religious and ethnic components of Kurdistan and Iraq.”
“We view the role and position of our Christian borthers and sisters with respect as they are an ancient and ethnic component of Kurdistan and Iraq, and have throughout history actively participated in building, protecting, and developing the country,” he added.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also sent his congratulatory message to the community.
“With the arrival of Easter, I extend my warmest wishes to the Christian community in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the world. I hope that this holiday brings peace and prosperity to all communities in the Region and Iraq,” read a statement from PM Barzani’s office.
“On this occasion, I reiterate the Kurdistan Regional Government’s commitment to promoting peaceful coexistence, forgiveness, and religious freedom in the Kurdistan Region,” he added.
The Kurdistan Region is predominantly Muslim, but prides itself on freedom of religion.
Churches of different denominations can be found across many cities and villages.
Christians all over the Kurdistan Region will attend masses on Saturday, marking the eve of Easter. The community will return to the churches on Easter Sunday, marking the resurrection of Jesus.
When the Islamic State group (ISIS) seized control of vast swathes of northern Iraq in the summer of 2014, thousands of Iraqi Christians fled their homes, seeking shelter in the Kurdistan Region. Churches in Ainkawa took in many of their brethren before they were resettled in camps or emigrated abroad.
Iraq’s Christian community has been devastated in the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian warfare prompted followers of Iraq’s multiple Christian denominations to flee, and attacks by ISIS in 2014 hit minority communities especially hard. According to data from Erbil’s Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda in 2021, there were more than one million Christians in Iraq before 2003. Fewer than 300,000 remain today.
There are around 7,000 Christian families residing in Ainkawa, making up more than 50,000 people, and according to Warda it is the largest Christian community in the Middle East.
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