Iraq Number 16 on the Persecution Watch List Current Iraqi Population: 28,365,785 Current Christian Population in Iraq: 368,755

International International Religious Freedom Report 2008: Iraq

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally endorsed this right. However, other legal provisions are subject to interpretations that limit religious freedom.

Article 10 of the Constitution establishes the Government's commitment to assuring and maintaining the sanctity of holy shrines and religious sites and to guaranteeing the free practice of rituals in them. Article 43 of the Constitution states that the followers of all religious groups and sects are free in the practice of religious rites and in the management of religious endowments, their affairs, and their religious institutions. The second clause of Article 43 reiterates this by explicitly guaranteeing the freedom of worship and the protection of places of worship.

It is the Government's policy to protect the rights of all religious groups to gather and worship freely; however, in practice, the ongoing violence and instability impeded the ability of many citizens to exercise this right in some parts of the country.

Although Article 2 of the Constitution, which recognizes Islam as the country's official religion, mandates that Islam be considered a source of legislation and states that no law can be enacted that contradicts the faith's universally agreed-upon tenets. It also stipulates that no law can be enacted that contradicts the principles of democracy or basic freedoms, which include the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and religious belief and practice. Article 14 of the Constitution establishes that citizens are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, origin, color, religion, sect, belief, opinion, or economic or social status. Article 41 provides that citizens are free in their commitments to their personal status according to their religious groups, sects, beliefs, or choices. However, a 1972 law that is still in effect makes conversion of minor children to Islam automatic if one of the parents converts to Islam.

Religious groups are required to register with the Government. To register, a group must have a minimum of 500 adherents in the country.

The Government maintains three waqfs, or religious endowments: the Sunni, the Shi'a, and the Christian and Other Religions Endowments. The endowments were formed when the Ministry for Religious Affairs was dissolved under the Coalition Provisional Authority in August 2003. The endowments, which operate under the authority of the Prime Minister's office, receive government funding to maintain religious facilities.

The Government permits religious instruction in public schools. In most areas of the country, the curriculum of both primary and secondary public schools includes three class periods per week of Islamic Education, including study of the Qur'an, as a requirement for graduation. Non-Muslim students throughout the country are not officially required to participate in Islamic studies; however, some non-Muslim students reported that they felt pressure to do so. During the reporting period, there were no private primary or secondary schools operating with approval of the Government.

Many Islamic holy days are also national holidays, including Ashura, Arbai'n, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Maulid al-Nabi (the Birth of the Prophet Muhammad). Nawruz, a national holiday, is celebrated as a religious holiday by Baha'is. Christians reported that although Easter and Christmas are not national holidays, government policy recognizes their right to observe both holidays.

Under the country's civil law, there is no penalty for conversion. Article 1 of the Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 mandates that criminal penalties can be imposed only by civil law. Despite the Shari'a punishment for conversion from Islam to another religion, the penal code does not impose the Shari'a penalty, nor does it contain a similar penalty. The Law of Civil Affairs No. 65 of 1972 explicitly allows non-Muslims to convert to Islam. Article 41 of the Constitution provides that citizens are to be free in their commitment to their personal status according to their religious groups, sects, beliefs, or choices, as regulated by law. Article 42 of the Constitution provides that each person has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and belief.

At the end of the reporting period, national identity cards continued to note the holder's religion; however, passports do not.

US Department of State 2008 Human Rights Report: Iraq

The constitution proclaims Islam as the official religion of the state. While providing for full religious rights for all individuals "such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans," the constitution also stipulates that no law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam. While the government generally respected the right of individuals to worship according to thought, conscience, and belief, private conservative and radical Islamic elements continued to exert tremendous pressure on other groups to conform to extremist interpretations of Islam's precepts.

The government publicly called for tolerance and acceptance for all religious minorities on many occasions, and it established a high-level minorities committee to monitor and report on the situation of religious minorities. In September, the MOHR published a report on minorities which outlined the major demands of minority communities, discussed the legal rights of minorities, and recommended specific government actions for improving the situation of minorities. The government also undertook security operations against violent groups in Basrah, Baghdad, and Ninewa, the provinces with the greatest concentrations of minorities. Article 50 of the Provincial Elections Law guaranteed political representation for minorities.

Frequent attacks on places of worship, as well as sectarian violence, hampered the ability of citizens to practice their religion freely. On April 5, Father Adel Youssef, a Christian Assyrian priest, was killed in central Baghdad near his house. On July 12, Mullah Abbas Khadhim, a Shabak leader, was killed in Ninewa Province by unknown gunmen.

Religious groups are required to register with the government. The requirements include having at least 500 followers. Unlike previous years, non-Muslims did not report that the government disregarded their religious holidays. On December 20, the MOI sponsored a public Christmas event in Baghdad, which was well attended by Christians and Muslims.

Members of religious minorities continued to flee to the KRG to escape targeted violence, particularly against Christians. In October, violence against Christians in Mosul prompted over 2,000 families to flee to safe-havens in remote parts of Ninewa Province and the KRG. By year's end more than half the families had returned to their home.

During the year, there were allegations that the KRG continued to engage in discriminatory behavior against religious minorities. Members of these groups living in areas north of Mosul, such as Yazidis and Christians, asserted that the KRG encroached on their property and illegally built Kurdish settlements on the confiscated land.

Since the MOI's April 2007 cancellation of its regulation prohibiting issuance of a national identity card to those claiming the Baha'i Faith, six or seven Baha'is have been issued identity cards. There were reported implementation problems, limiting the numbers of Baha'is who received the identification cards.

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Religious extremists, including terrorist groups and special group members, targeted many individuals because of their religious identity. Others were targeted because of their secular leanings. Religious-based violence between Shia and Sunni Arabs continued to decline since mid-2007. The reduction in sectarian violence enabled Shia pilgrims to travel to Samarra and visit the remains of the Al-Askariya Shrine.

Sectarian attacks appeared to decline during the reporting period. All groups continued to report receiving death threat letters demanding they leave their homes. The government took action to restrain and punish violence and discrimination, such as focusing military operations in areas with heavy militia activity and providing more security for groups facing sectarian threats.

Religious leaders, groups, and centers were in several instances targeted for killings. In January, Christian churches and convents were the target of ten reported bomb attacks. On January 17, a Shia mosque in Baqubah, northeast of Baghdad, was bombed. Police reported eight dead and 14 injured among the worshippers who had gathered to observe Ashura, one of the Shia holy days. The same mosque had been targeted twice before. On February 15, two suicide bombers blew themselves up during Friday prayers at the Shia Jawad al-Sadiq mosque in Tal Afar, a Turkomen town 260 miles northwest of Baghdad. At least four persons were killed and 13 wounded. On April 6, Father Adel Youssef, an Assyrian Orthodox priest, was shot and killed in Baghdad's Karrada district. UNAMI received information that 17 Christians were victims of attacks and kidnappings in the first half of the year, resulting in at least 10 killings. Nine of the incidents were in Mosul; the others occurred in Basrah, Baghdad, and Kirkuk.

In October, 12 Christians were reported killed in Mosul. The attacks began after hundreds of Christians began protesting an initial parliamentary removal of guarantees of seats for minorities on provincial councils in Mosul and the surrounding area. According to UNHCR, 2,000 Christian families fled Mosul after the attacks. The government, UN, and NGOs provided prompt humanitarian assistance to the displaced. The government moved quickly to enhance security in Mosul following the attacks. On October 12, Prime Minister Maliki publicly denounced the killings vowing to take "immediate action to resolve the problems and difficulties faced by Christians in Mosul." Iraq's National Security Council set up a committee to assess the situation. In response to the violence and in support of ongoing ISF operations, the government dispatched two brigades of National Police and increased patrols around Christian neighborhoods. The prime minister also launched an investigation into the attacks; results of which had not been released by the end of the reporting period. According to UNHCR, violence has decreased in Mosul as a result of greater MOI presence, leading to the return of approximately half of the families that had left.

There were also kidnappings, with ransoms paid, of religious figures. On February 29, Archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church Paulos Faraj Rahho was kidnapped in Mosul; his body, along with those of his two guards and his driver, was found buried on March 13. On May 18, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the Central Criminal Court-Iraq sentenced Ahmed Ali Ahmed, an al-Qaida leader also known as Abu Omar, to death for Archbishop Rahho's killing; the sentence has not yet been carried out.

Sabean-Mandaean leaders reported that their community continued to be targeted by Islamic extremists. They reported forced conversions, forced hijab (head scarf) wearing by Sabean-Mandaean women, and kidnappings for ransom. While ransom payments secured the release of some victims, other victims, despite the payment, were killed or remained missing. On February 2, 10 members of a Sabean-Mandaean family died in a rocket attack on their house in the Alaza area in Kut after having received threats from Islamist militants. On September 8, armed men reportedly killed three Sabean-Mandaean family members, including a child, in their family store in Baghdad. In March the Mandaean Human Rights Group NGO reported 42 killings, 46 kidnappings, 10 threats, and 21 attacks against Mandaeans in the 13-month period beginning in January 2007.

Members of the Yazidi community reported that they continued to be targeted by Islamists and discriminated against by the KRG throughout the year. UNAMI reported that at least five Yazidis were killed in the first half of the year. A prominent Yazidi leader reported that Yazidis are restricted from entering the KRG and have to get KRG approval for finding jobs in Ninewa Province.

Islamist militants continued to target stores that provided goods or services considered to be inconsistent with Islam. Islamic extremists bombed, looted, and defaced liquor stores in Baghdad and elsewhere.

The country's Jewish population was virtually nonexistent as a result of emigration over decades. However, anti-Semitic sentiment remained a cultural undercurrent. A 2006 citizenship law, among other provisions, precludes Jews who emigrated from regaining citizenship.

For a more detailed discussion, see the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

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