Feud Between Chaldean Patriarch and Iraq's President Reinforces Islamic Status of Minority Groups

(AINA) -- On July 12 Iraqi president Abdul Latif Rashid repealed the decree recognizing the appointment of Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako as head of the Chaldean Catholic Church and which appointed him to the office of the waqf (وقف), the endowment which oversees all church property. The details of the events leading up to this action are exhaustively covered in this report by MEMRI.

Assyrian Churches: Unity in Faith

By Benjamin Martin

(AINA) -- In early December, Patriarch Awa spoke on the possible reunification of the Assyrian and Chaldean Churches, expressing opposition to any form of "uniatism" in the process. Patriarch Sako responded first on December 31 and then more fully on February 28.

Obstacles in the Unification of Assyrian Churches

By Benjamin Martin

(AINA) -- In December, Patriarch Awa spoke of the possible reunification of Assyrians and Chaldeans within one Church of the East. He also mentioned an objection to the union that must be addressed first: uniatism. His words were reported as follows: With the Chaldeans, who are certainly our brothers, we are always ready to talk about unity and reunification in a single Church of the East.

The First Assyrian Workers From Turkey in Germany

By Abdulmesih Barbraham

Wurzburg, Germany (AINA) -- The 60th anniversary of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement (German: Anwerbeabkommen) was officially celebrated in many cities across the country end of October 2021. In his speech at the state commemoration event in Berlin, Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, addressed the invited guests, stating that "You helped building up Germany -- You have enriched...

US Attorneys May Have Violated Constitutional Rights, Immigration Law in Prosecuting Assyrian Lawyer

By Ashur Shirsha

Chicago (AINA) -- In September of 2014, Attorney Robert DeKelaita was indicted for helping a handful of Assyrian (also known as Chaldean or Syriac) asylum seekers obtain asylum. The government, represented by the US Attorney's Office, alleged that the means used to obtain asylum for the handful of the witnesses chosen to testify against DeKelaita was fraudulent.

Conference Expropriates Assyrian Christian History, Denies Assyrian Identity

(AINA) -- On May 4-5 the Salahaddin University in Erbil, Iraq and the French Institute of the Near East (IFPO) organized a workshop titled Christianity in Iraq at the turn of Islam. Its aim was to discuss important institutional changes for Christians in areas of the collapsed Persian Empire and retreated Byzantine Empire which were conquered by Muslims.