In the 2010s, uprisings of the
Islamic State (IS), formerly called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), have led to violations of religious freedom in certain parts of Iraq. IS is a
Sunni jihadist
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
group that claims religious authority over all
Muslims around the world and aspires to bring most of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its political control beginning with
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. ISIS follows an extreme anti-Western interpretation of Islam, promotes religious violence and regards those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels or apostates. Concurrently, IS aims to establish a
Salafist
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
-orientated Islamist state in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Levant.
As ISIL lost territory throughout Iraq in 2016, the armed forces and allied militias restored crosses, and Christians were allowed to return to their homes.
Status of religious freedom
In 2006 ''The Globe'' correspondent Khidir Domle stated that the
Kurdistan Regional Government
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ( ku, حکوومەتی هەرێمی کوردستان, ''Hikûmetî Herêmî Kurdistan'') is the official executive body of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
The cabinet is selected by the m ...
(KRG) engaged in discriminatory behaviour against Christians, and that according to
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
Christians, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)-dominated judiciary did so routinely against Assyrians, failing to enforce judgments in their favour. The KRG rejected these accusations.
See also
*
Religion in Iraq
Religion in Iraq dates back to Ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 3500 BC and 400 AD, after which they were replaced by the expansion of Syriac Christianity. Islam would first arrive in Mesopota ...
*
Human rights in Iraq
References
General references
* United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour
Iraq: International Religious Freedom Report 2007 ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
.''
Inline citations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom Of Religion In Iraq
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
Human rights in Iraq
Religion in Iraq