Deputy Co-Chair Bethnahrin Patriotic Union criticizes joint prayer between Christians and Muslims in Iraq

ERBIL —  After the Chaldean Patriarchate in Iraq held a joint prayer for peace and stability in the Middle East, Deputy Co-Chair Bethnahrin Patriotic Union (Huyodo Bethnahrin Athroyo, HBA) Joseph Sliwa stressed that it cannot be compared to the tragedies suffered by Christians in Iraq, in all their institutions, calling the prayer as “a lie.”

Via Facebook, Sliwa stressed that the joint prayer which is “not real” and has not ended racial discrimination towards the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people in their historical land, is of “no value.”

Sliwa pointed out that, in the name of Islamic law, “aggression” is still imposed on the Christians of the Middle Eastern countries, even though they are the first owners of the land, pointing to the Christians persecution legally, politically, ideologically and socially .

“Taking just photos has no value, and does not change the dire situation of Christians in the region,” Sliwa concluded.

The Chaldean Patriarchate had held a joint prayer in the Church of Mor Yousef in Baghdad for peace in the Middle East, headed by the Chaldean Patriarch Mor Louis Raphael Sako, in the presence of the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani and head of the Iraqi National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim, along with Christian and Muslim clergy.