For the last 10 days, Christians throughout Iraq have been holding meetings to decide whether to stay and risk being killed or flee into exile and an uncertain future. Most Iraqi Christians have Assyrian, Chaldaean and Babylonian backgrounds, peoples who have lived in "the Land of the Two Rivers" for more than 3,000 years and thus must feel at home. If many of them don't, it is because their community has become the latest target for terrorists dreaming of the "religious cleansing" of Iraq. This year, more than 180 Christians have been killed, either by snipers or in suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists. In the biggest incident, on Oct. 31, 44 worshipers and two priests were killed when al Qaeda gunmen raided Our Lady of Salvation Cathedral in Baghdad's Karada district. Sixty others were injured, some seriously. Although most killings have been in Baghdad, there are also reports of attacks in Mosul, Iraq's largest mainly Sunni city, and Basra. in the Shiite heartland. Murder is not the only weapon used; Islamic "religious cleansers" also use arson and intimidation. Businesses owned by Christians are set on fire or looted. Gunmen arrive at night at Christian homes to "advise" the inhabitants to leave the country or else. "Religious cleansing" has already happened in some parts of the country. According to local sources, more than 90 percent of Basra's Christians have left the city. Even in Baghdad, Christians are now moving out of some districts to concentrate in others. In the current debate, those who urge a mass exodus argue that Christians are the only community in Iraq not to have armed militias to defend them. "Why should we stay and be slaughtered?" asks Archbishop Athanasius Dawood, a leader of the Assyrian Orthodox Church. "Christians should choose a life in peace and leave Iraq." Others disagree. Father Mukhlas Habash, in Baghdad, argues that Iraq needs its Christians more now than ever. "Our message is one of peace and reconciliation," he says. "And these are just the things that Iraq needs as it builds its future." Iraqi Christians have survived the Arab invasion of 1,400 years ago, followed by other invasions by Mongols, Mamelukes and Turkmans. The "stay in Iraq" party insists that the Christian community will also survive the al Qaeda terror campaign. "We are in this alongside all our Iraqi brothers," says Younadim Kanaa, a Christian member of the National Assembly. According to estimates, Christians account for 5 percent of Iraq's population of 25 million, although no one knows how many might have gone into exile in the last decade. Apart from the traditional Assyrian churches, there is an array of other denominations, notably Roman Catholic, Armenian and Anglican. For the past 100 years, Christians have provided a good part of Iraq's intellectual, artistic and business elite. Some supporters of the "stay in Iraq" option urge the creation of armed Christian militias to ward off al Qaeda attacks. Others insist that security should be provided by the national police and army and that all sectarian militias should be disarmed and disbanded. One idea is a mass internal migration of Christians from all over Iraq to a region south of Mosul, to provide the ethnic density needed for creating an autonomous province in accordance with the new democratic constitution. Some Christians even dream of an independent mini-state of their own. After World War I and the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, of which Iraq was part, President Woodrow Wilson promised them as much. To express gratitude, many Christians called their first-born sons Wilson. However, Wilson soon left office, and his successors forgot the promise. Some experts believe that the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne guarantees the right of self-determination for all inhabitants of Iraq, including Christians. However, there is abundant anecdotal evidence that the overwhelming majority of Christians don't want Iraq to be broken up into mini-states to cater to the country's 18 different ethnic and religious communities. "We have been celebrating Christmas here for over 2,000 years," Father Habash tells us. "So we are preparing to do so again this year." While Christmas trees are being decorated in churches and Christian homes, workmen are busy putting the final touches on concrete blocks designed to ward off car bombs and suicide attacks. As always, the message is: Hope, but don't presume.