A Courageous Iraqi Priest

I was reading the EWTN newswire when I encountered a headline that made me perk up: IRAQI PRIEST CONDEMNS ARAB TERRORISTS.

Fr. Nizar Semaan, a pastor in Mosul (that’s “MO-sul”, not “mo-ZOOL”), a major Catholic city in northern Iraq, has condemned Arab terrorism. Three cheers for him!

What may not be obvious is what an act of courage this is. For an American, I know more than my share of Middle Eastern Catholic priests, including multiple Iraqi priests (in fact, the town I live in has a population that is 10% Iraqi Catholics). One thing I have learned from my interactions with them is that they are very aware of the violent, oppressive nature of Islam, but they are also are extremely concerned that remarks they make as Catholic priests could be used against the Catholic people back home in Iraq by Muslim extremists. Even priests here in America are fearful that remarks made here in safety could be used as a pretext to harm or kill Christians in Iraq.

It is instructive to talk to them and see the depth of this concern. They will say many things in private that they dare not say publicly for fear of triggering persecution. This is all the more impressive because Middle Easterners are a strong-willed and hot-tempered group of people, and when their leaders fall silent in public, it speaks volumes about the centuries of persecution they have had to endure as dhimmi.

Dhimmi (“them-ee”) are “protected” people under Muslim law. This means that they cannot be killed as long as they stay quiet and “in their place”, but they can be oppressed, treated as second-class citizens, unfairly taxed, converted to Islam, and killed if they try to convert anyone to Christianity.

Fr. Semaan’s condemnation of Arab terrorism (including his note that Muslim leaders fail to condemn it with him) is an outstanding act of courage, made on the frontlines of Muslim terrorism.

Let us pray for his safety and for the safety of the Christian people of Iraq and all the hidden Christians within the Muslim world.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

3 thoughts on “A Courageous Iraqi Priest”

  1. Hey Jimmy,
    Thanks for the story about the Iraqi priest. Funny (sad actually) how you never read about such things in the mainstream media.
    In general, what did your Iraqi Catholic friends think about the war?
    Also, what did they think about the Pope’s position and statements on the war? (and also the Vatican in general)
    And finally, what did they think about Tariq Aziz’ visit to the Vatican and his much publicized praying at the tomb of St. Francis Assisi just prior to the war?
    I’m just curious…

  2. The current situation for Iraqi Catholics is far worse than before the invasion of Iraq.
    The US is doing NOTHING to protect Christians or any other minority.

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