Iraq in an ‘Arab winter’ for Christians and Muslims: Abp Sako

January 12, 2013: In Iraq, religion plays an essential role but is used for "political purposes". Following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, a "sectarian mindset" has set in, pushing communal identity over national unity, said Louis Sako, the archbishop of Kirkuk, in an interview to AsiaNews. He was speaking about the recent history of Iraq, the Middle East and his country's Christians.

Almost ten years have passed since the country was invaded (March 2003) and its old strongman overthrown. Sadly, democracy, equal rights and freedom are "dreams" and people are "disheartened", said the archbishop of Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, a key battleground between the central government and Kurdish separatists over oil.

The Christian community has been touched by violence in recent days. On Monday, a Christian woman was killed during a robbery, her throat cut. The next day, a car bomb killed a Christian medical student who was on his last year of studies.

Both events are connected to the country's tense situation, with Sunnis and Shias divided by religion and Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen vying for power. For Muslim intellectuals and Christians, this is an "Arab winter," the prelate said.

A new patriarch (to be elected in late January in Rome) will be a key figure, "father and pastor," Archbishop Sako said, with important tasks to fulfill and reforms to implement.