02/07/2021 Iraq (International Christian Concern) – Muqtada al-Sadr, a leading Shiite politician in Iraq, officially launched the committee to investigate the illegal seizing of Christian land and homes. The committee already received dozens of complaints and requests for examination. As part of this process, members are conducting on-site visits and conducting interviews.
Iraq’s Christian population, once at 1.25 million, is now a mere 250,000. Wars and ISIS have pushed Christians out of their homeland, while opportunistic neighbors and aggressors occupied their property. In 2015, as Christians fled, the International Organization for Migration found that nearly 9 in 10 (89%) had their homes confiscated. Many Christians, around 42%, lost the paperwork to their homes and subsequently their ability to reclaim their property. Even those that had the necessary paperwork occasionally found others had fabricated documents and possessed their land.
