Grenade Thrown at Church Injuring One

30 June 2004

A Catholic church in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul is in shock after a grenade was thrown at a church, injuring one person. According to Aid to the Church in Need, two individuals threw the grenade from their car at the Holy Spirit Chaldean Catholic Church on the morning of June 26. The sister of Father Ragheed, the parish priest, has been taken to hospital with unknown injuries.

According to Catholic leaders in Iraq, attacks against Christians have been increasing recently. About a dozen Iraqi Christians have been killed in the past year by the "Al-Wahabe" militant movement. The Al-Wahabe movement held significant power in the former Iraqi government and has been causing problems for Christians for years. There is hope that the violence may decrease as Iraq's new administration takes control, but this is by no means a certainty.

Pray for healing for the injured woman. Pray that Iraq's new administration will be able to restore order and will allow freedom of religion for all people in Iraq.

For more information on the persecution of Christians in Iraq, click here.

Iraq

Current Ministry Projects
VOMC is partnering to teach and equip persecuted Christian women sewing skills so that they can provide a sustainable source of income for their families and give them the opportunity to be witnesses for Christ through their new businesses. VOMC partners to provide biblical training on discipleship and the theology of persecution to Muslim Background Believers.

Project Funds: Women’s Ministry, Equipping the Saints, Underground Church
Country Information
Population
41,266,109 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Arab (75-80), Kurdish (15-20), other (5)

Religion (%)
Islam (95-98), Christianity (1), other (1-4)

Leader
President Latif Rashid (2022)

Government type
Federal parliamentary republic

Legal system
Mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law

Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Iraq
Pray for the protection of the remaining believers in Iraq during this time of upheaval and danger. May many churches and Christian relief organizations seize the opportunity to provide greatly needed assistance and ministry to the numerous suffering people of this war-torn nation. As God’s work of healing, provision and restoration takes place, pray that a stable democratic government will be established.