Iraq's Prime Minister Urges Christians to Return Home: Experts Doubt the Initiative's Success

Iraq’s prime minister has called on Christians who left the country as a result of decades of conflict to return home. The government has promised investments in healthcare, education, and land allocation projects; however, as reported by Christian Today, representatives of the Christian community have reacted to this initiative with deep skepticism.

The mass exodus of the Christian population from Iraq began after the U.S.-led coalition invasion in 2003 and the subsequent years-long struggle against extremist groups, including ISIS. As a result, the size of the Christian community in the country has shrunk from 1.5 million to less than 250,000.

According to a report by the journalism organization Nirij cited in the article, the measures proposed by the government do not address the root causes of migration. Among the main obstacles to their return, Christians cite a lack of security guarantees, weak rule of law, and ongoing political marginalization. Many are demanding the restoration of property rights to confiscated assets and an end to religious discrimination.

Mor Nicodimus Daoud Matti Sharaf, the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk, and Kurdistan, emphasized that calls for return without addressing the factors that forced people to flee will not yield results. Experts also suggest that such initiatives by the Iraqi authorities may be aimed at strengthening relations with the U.S. administration, given Washington’s particular attention to the situation of Christians around the world.