Background: Iraq, a country at war and chaos
For decades the dictator Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with a tight fist. The Kurdish minority and the Shiite majority in particular suffered under his regime. The Christian minority, however, was more or less left alone. After the fall of Saddam Hussein by the American-led military coalition in 2003, the country sank into violence and chaos. Among other things, there was fighting between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. From 2010 the reign of terror of the Islamic State spread to large parts of the country. The result was that hundreds of thousands of people fled from the country. Of the former 1.6 million Christians, a maximum of 200,000 still live in Iraq today. In the midst of dangerous circumstances – for example the repeated bombings – the employees of Call of Hope want to bring the love of Jesus Christ closer to the Muslims in Iraq.
Call of Hope’s work in Iraq
At the time of the embargo against Iraq during the reign of dictator Saddam Hussein, Call of Hope sent tons of aid and Christian literature into the country from Jordan. Today our employees are particularly active in the greater Baghdad area. The need is great, especially among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who had to flee in the course of the war and are now living in refugee camps around the capital. We don’t just want to support these people with food and medical help, we also want to pass on the living word of God to them. Many Iraqis have the evangelistic writings of Call of Hope. Calendars with Bible verses are also particularly suitable for distributing to Muslims on the street. Our staff are happy about every Iraqi who finds a living faith in Jesus and is baptized.
The work of Call of Hope in Iraq
Personal evangelism, literature and calendar distribution
Humanitarian and medical aid for the needy
Operations in refugee camps
Seminars and training courses to strengthen Christians