Canon Andrew White, known as the "Vicar of Baghdad" says the time as come where Christianity is over in Iraq. (AP Photo/Samir Mizban)
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By Hollie McKay, Published
March 21, 2017
He
is one of the world’s most prominent priests, but Canon Andrew White – known as
the “Vicar of Baghdad” – has reached a painstaking conclusion: Christianity is
all but over in the land where it all began.
“The
time has come where it is over, no Christians will be left. Some stay
Christians should stay to maintain the historical presence, but it has become
very difficult. The future for the community is very limited,” White told Fox
News this week. “The Christians coming out of Iraq and ISIS areas in the Middle
East all say the same thing, there is no way they are ever going back. They
have had enough.”
Thirty
years ago, there were approximately 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. The number
dwindled to around 1 million after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, and a
year ago it was estimated that there were less than 250,000 left. Numbers have
continued to decline as families flee, and today even approximate figures are
difficult to obtain.
“If there is anything I can tell Americans it
is that your fellow brothers and sisters are suffering, they are desperate for
help,” he said. “And it is not just a matter of praying for peace. They need a
lot – food, resources, clothes, everything. They need everything.”
For
decades, Christians endured persecution in Iraq by hardline extremists as
infidel “people of the book” – but their fate became significantly more dire in
2014 after ISIS overran Mosul and the many ancient Christian villages
surrounding the city. Thousands of families overnight were forced to flee their
home, and while some have sought refuge in the northern Kurdish region, many
have left the country altogether.
White
earned his moniker serving as the vicar of St. George’s Church, Baghdad – the
only remaining Anglican Church in the Iraqi capital – until November, 2014 when
he was ordered by the Archbishop of Canterbury to leave for security’s sake as
the ISIS threat burgeoned.
Much
of ministry over the years centered on humanitarian endeavors – yet his do-good
desires have come with controversy.
Last
June, White came under criticism and was suspended by the board of trustees as
president of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation (FRRME), the charity
he founded in 2005 to bridge sectarian divisions and provide emergency relief
to those affected by war. The suspension came after he made a Facebook post
about freeing Yazidi sex slaves from ISIS, raising questions as to how that was
achieved and if the terrorists were paid off.
The
post also prompted an investigation of the foundation by the Charity
Commission, the official charity regulator in England. As a registered UK
charity, the organization is not permitted to engage in hostage release
negotiations and it is against the law to pay ransoms to designated terrorist
groups.
Nothing
has come of the enquiry and White denied any wrongdoing – publicly assuring
that “at no time did we pay money to any terrorists.” He has not let the
controversy stop him from continuing to help those fleeing ISIS atrocities in
the Middle East. He has since founded two new organizations, the Canon Andrew White
Reconciliation Ministries in Amman, Jordan and “Jerusalem Merit” in
Israel.
White’s
ministry work in the Jordanian capital includes running a school and clinic for
refugees and serving as a pastor to Christian families that have fled ISIS
persecution. In Jerusalem, he is focused on relief and reconciliation amid the
long-running Israel/Palestine conflict and he works directly with an array of
religious groups, from Hasidic Jews and Samaritans to Christians and Muslims.
White
has also been a vocal supporter of the new U.S. president. He praised Trump’s
commitment to helping “persecuted Christians” and for modifying his original
travel ban to ensure Iraqis can still travel to the U.S. – viewing that as
acknowledgment that the two countries maintain positive ties. However, he hopes
to foster dialogue with the administration and offer some suggestions to
dealing with the Islamic community.
“Many
have this feeling that America is against them, and they need to show that
America is not against Islam, America is against terrorism,” White said, adding
that by no means is he “one of those people who thinks Islam is all about
peace.” “We have got to have good relations, and the U.S is in a unique and
powerful position to be a force for good.”
Beyond
humanitarian efforts, the central tenet of White’s work has for years been
devoted to cultivating communications between Shia and Sunni leaders – and even
ISIS jihadists themselves – in Iraq. Despite the constant terrorist threat, he
continues to travel to Baghdad to continue his work in anti-extremism dialogue
and to undergo stem cell treatment for Multiple Sclerosis, a diagnosis he
received at age 33.
“A
lot of these guys I have known before they were ISIS, when they were part of
militias like ‘Sons of Iraq,’” he said. “They operate in secret cells all over
Baghdad, and the harder the Iraqi Army attacks Mosul, the more they attack
Baghdad.”
And,
White stressed, there simply isn’t a “safe” way to work with them.
“It
is important to find ways to engage with them, to look into their philosophies.
I tried to invite some of the ISIS jihadists to dinner once,” he added. “They
told me they would come, but that they would chop my head off afterwards. I
didn’t think it would be a nice way to end a dinner party.”
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