UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

The alleged main perpetrators of attacks against Christians are radical Shi’ite militias,
Sunni insurgency groups as well as criminal gangs who use religion to justify their
attacks. 268 Religion seems to be a major, but not the only, reason for these attacks against
Christians. Rising extremist attitudes that are fuelling the trend towards a stricter
interpretation of Islam can be observed in most parts of the country, including in the south,
Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk. Many Christians engage in professions perceived as
proscribed under Islam, such as hairdressing, public entertainment and the sale of liquor or
music and have been threatened, attacked and killed due to their vocations, their shops and
businesses looted, burned or forcibly closed down. 269 The strict embracing of Islamic
values as well as the high rate of criminality has a particular bearing on non-Muslim
women. They are forced to comply with strict Islamic dress codes 270 and fear of kidnapping
and rape restricts their freedom of movement. 271 Asia News reported kidnapped Christian
women having committed suicide after their release, due to the shock and shame they
experienced. 272 The first Armenian Christian named Miss Iraq, Ms. Tamar Goregian,
resigned and went into hiding on 9 April 2006 after being labelled the “queen of the
infidels” and receiving numerous threats against her life and family. Ms. Silva Shahakian,
also an Armenian Christian, later assumed the title, and has reportedly changed her
residence due to fear of reprisal attacks. 273
268 Elizabeth Kendal, Mandeans face genocide, World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News and
Analysis, 30 June 2006, http://www.hrwf.net/html/2006PDF/Iraq_2006.pdf; BBC News, Iraq chaos threatens
ancient faith, 20 September 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4260170.stm.
269 According to the USDOS, more than 50 liquor stores operated by Christians in Baghdad were closed
during the reporting period due to threats by Islamic extremists; see USDOS, International Religious
Freedom Report 2006 – Iraq, see above footnote 28. See also: NPR, War Makes It Hard to Find a Drink in
Baghdad, 17 December 2006, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6637655; Michael Luo,
Iraq’s Christians Flee as Extremist Threat Worsens, The New York Times, 17 October 2006,
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/world/middleeast/17christians.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=b171
70ae4207bca0&ex=1318737600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss; Al Jazeera, Fighting robs Iraq of Christian
heritage, 8 June 2006, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/archive/archive?ArchiveId=22771; Azzaman,
Militants blow up alcohol shops; threaten to kill owners, 16 January 2006, http://www.azzaman.com/
english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2006-01-16%5C155.htm; Pamela Constable, In Iraq, Booze Becomes
a Risky Business, The Washington Post, 20 July 2004, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A93-
2004Jul20; Jamie Tarabay, Militants trying to make Iraq drier place for alcohol seekers, AP, 20 July 2004,
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2004/07/20/WorldNation/Militants.Tr
ying.To.Make.Iraq.Drier.Place.For.Alcohol.Seekers-694516.shtml. See also “Persons Accused of “Un-
Islamic” Behaviour”.
270 According to UNAMI HRO, on 6 October 2006, two Christian women in Basrah received anonymous
letters demanding that they wear headscarves, and in Mosul, leaflets warned female Christian and Muslim
students to wear “proper Muslim attire” at the universities; see UNAMI HRO, October 2006 Human Rights
Report, p. 12, see above footnote 66. See also: IRIN, Iraq: Christians live in fear of death squads, see above
footnote 228. According to the USDOS, Basrah’s Education Director introduced a rule requiring all females
in the schools to cover their hair. The same report states that female university students in Mosul, even non-
Muslims, were required to wear the hijab; see: USDOS, International Religious Freedom Report 2006 – Iraq,
see above footnote 28.
271 UNAMI HRO, August 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 10, see above footnote 26. See also “Women”.
272 Asia News, Abducted and raped, young Christian women and girls are driven to suicide in Iraq,
11 October 2006, http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=7450.
273 AP, Miss Iraq goes into hiding from militants, 12 April 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12289502.
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