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Viewing cable 08HILLAH68, BABIL'S CHRISTIAN FAMILIES ARE LOOKING FOR A SAVIOR

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08HILLAH68 2008-07-17 08:13 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED REO Hillah
VZCZCXRO9499
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHIHL #0068 1990813
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170813Z JUL 08
FM REO HILLAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1101
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHIHL/REO HILLAH 1167
UNCLAS HILLAH 000068 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR IZ IR
SUBJECT: BABIL'S CHRISTIAN FAMILIES ARE LOOKING FOR A SAVIOR 
 
1. (U) This is a PRT Babil cable. 
 
2. (SBU) Babil's Christian families are among the dwindling 
religious minorities in south central Iraq.  Given the 
challenges they described during their July 7 meeting with Babil 
PRT at the Regional Embassy Office in al-Hillah, it is not 
surprising that other religious minorities reportedly residing 
in the province, (including Jews, Baha'i, and Sabian Mandaeanan) 
are unwilling to expose themselves to the PRT or the 
Muslim-dominated public. 
 
3. (SBU) Babil's Christian community is diminutive and 
shrinking.  There are approximately 55 families in the region 
(only 35 of those families in Babil province).  That is a 78 
percent decrease from the 250 families that lived in the region 
in 2003.  The Christians reported that while public harassment 
and sectarian violence against them is rare, when applying to 
jobs or universities, they are frequently not accepted due to 
their lack of affiliation with a major religious political party 
such as the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) or 
Hizb'al-Dawa. 
 
4. (SBU) The Christians are primarily concerned with the dearth 
of employment opportunities commensurate with their levels of 
education.  According to them, the lack of employment leads to 
the significant emigration of religious minorities.  They are 
also worried over the lack of support from the Mon-Muslim 
Endowments Office in Baghdad, which provides operating funds to 
churches in Baghdad, Mosul, and Basra, but apparently neglects 
the church in Hillah.  Currently, the endowment provides no 
financial support.  Thus the church's electric bills have gone 
unpaid for nearly five years and there are no funds for the 
maintenance, renovation or improvement of the church.  The only 
support received from the non-Muslim Endowments Office is a 
transient priest to conduct mass once every two to three months, 
if the Babil Christians can raise enough money to pay his way. 
The Christians currently rely on the local Shia endowment, which 
has provided four engineers to assess the church and even 
allocated money for renovations, however, none of the proposed 
renovations or improvements have come to fruition. 
 
5. (SBU) Physical threats, although reportedly rare, come in 
various forms.  Some members of their community allege that they 
were attacked and falsely accused by members of the Office of 
the Martyr Sadr of selling liquor.  Another isolated incident 
occurred three years ago when a threat was made against the 
church and a Christian girl was kidnapped and forced to convert 
to Islam.  The Christian women are reportedly so affected by the 
discrimination that they feel they must wear head scarves in 
public as a precautionary measure.  Additionally, both men and 
women feel compelled to avoid publicly displaying any 
affiliation with Christianity, such as wearing a cross or 
crucifix pendant. 
 
YANAWAY