Over 100 Christians were burned alive after a fire broke out during a Christian wedding ceremony in Iraq on Oct. 3, 2023; another 150 attendees were seriously injured. Nearly 60 of those killed in the inferno were directly related to the bride and groom.<\/p>\n
To quote from one\u00a0report<\/a>:<\/p>\n Tragedy struck the Assyrian Christian town of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province \u2026 during a joyous wedding when scenes of celebration and laughter soon derailed into a hellish nightmare when the banquet hall caught on fire. At least a hundred died and over 150 were also injured.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The town of Hamdaniya, it is worth\u00a0recalling<\/a>:<\/p>\n …is one of Iraq\u2019s only Christian-majority districts, located in the Nineveh Plains near Mosul, a historic Assyrian region. Like many Christian towns in the Nineveh Plains, it was taken over by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists during their brazen sweep of northern Iraq, where they declared a so-called \u201ccaliphate\u201d and inflicted grave atrocities on minority groups, including Christians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In a press conference held on the same day of the tragedy, the Iraqi government announced that its investigation had \u201cconclusively concluded\u201d that the fire was \u201caccidental<\/a>\u201d and \u201cnot intentional at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Minutes later, the Syriac Church slammed the announcement: \u201cWe reject it [the results], we don\u2019t accept it,\u201d\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0the Archbishop of Mosul Benedictus Younan Hanno, adding that \u201cpolitical conspiracies\u201d might be afoot.<\/p>\n The archbishop especially rejected the idea that the fire was caused by fireworks: \u201cthere are tens of videos,\u201d he said, \u201cshowing that they were not the reason.\u201d<\/p>\n The archbishop is voicing the opinion of most Iraqi Christians. After also categorically rejecting the fireworks claim, the groom of the wedding, Rivan, 27, strongly\u00a0implied<\/a>\u00a0arson:<\/p>\n We demand the rights of those whose blood was spilt. Why did their blood have to be spilled? We demand their rights and we demand the perpetrator of this action, him and all who are behind him. We demand an international investigation, not a local or federal investigation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It is worth noting that this scenario \u2014 a fire claims Christian lives only for Muslim authorities to say it was \u201caccidental\u201d\u2014has played out many times in the Middle East. Take Egypt, for example, where the region\u2019s largest Christian minority resides.<\/p>\n Most recently, on Mar. 29, 2023, a massive fire broke out and completely\u00a0consumed<\/a>\u00a0an ancient church in Assyut. Even before a proper inspection could be carried out, the fire was immediately blamed on a \u201cleaky gas bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n The most tragic of all examples, however, occurred on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, when the\u00a0Church of Abu Seifein<\/a>\u00a0in Cairo caught fire during morning mass. At least 41 Christians \u2014\u00a018 of whom were children<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 were killed in the flames. As usual, minutes after it broke out, officials immediately attributed the fire to faulty wires, etc. Arson was, without any real investigation, ruled out.<\/p>\n Indeed, in just that same month of August 2022 alone, a total of\u00a010 other Coptic churches<\/a>\u00a0\u201ccaught fire\u201d in Egypt.<\/p>\n There appears to be no shortage of examples. On Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, a fire broke out in and \u201cdevoured<\/a>\u201d a church in the Giza Governorate. It was blamed on a small candle left on a votary stand. However,\u00a0images<\/a>\u00a0from surveillance cameras clearly show that \u201cthe<\/a>\u00a0candle ignited suddenly and in an unusual way.\u201d<\/p>\n It should also be noted that sometimes after officials conclude that a church fire was due to some accident, it comes out that arson was indeed the true cause \u2014 not that the authorities will admit it. On Aug. 16, 2022, the Church of Saint Mary the Egyptian in Alexandria caught fire. Although it too was instantly attributed to \u201cnatural causes,\u201d at least one eyewitness saw someone on the balcony of a residential building adjacent to the church hurl some combustible substance onto the church, starting the fire.<\/p>\n Considering the severe persecution of Christians in nations such as Egypt and Iraq and the willful targeting of their churches \u2014\u00a0hundreds<\/em>\u00a0of Coptic and Assyrian churches have been torched in recent years \u2014 it is, of course, difficult to automatically rule out terrorism or arson in all of these \u201caccidental\u201d fires.<\/p>\n Read more at: pjmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over 100 Christians were burned alive after a fire broke out during a Christian wedding ceremony in Iraq on Oct. 3, 2023; another 150 attendees were seriously injured. Nearly 60 of those killed in the inferno were directly related to the bride and groom. To quote from one\u00a0report: Tragedy struck the Assyrian Christian town of … Continue reading Nightmare Wedding: Over 100 Christians Burned Alive, Iraqi Gov. 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