The recent visit of Pope Francis to Iraq brought the attention of the world to a beleaguered community: Iraqi Christians. Iraq's Christians trace their origins back to the mists of antiquity in ancient Mesopotamia, having converted during the apostolic mission of St. Thomas, and lived through the Arab Conquest, the Ottoman Empire and the post-Great War British Mandate. However, Iraq's Christian communities have arguably endured the most difficult chapter of their history in the 21st century. 

Following the US and British invasion of Iraq in 2003, Iraq's delicate ethnic and sectarian balance, previously held together under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, fell to chaos. The invasion, ostensibly to destroy non-existent 'Weapons of Mass Destruction', unleashed a brutal civil war, with minorities such as the Chaldean Catholic Christians caught up in the crossfire. Since 2003, when they numbered some 1.5 million people, the population of Iraqi Christians has plummeted to some 250,000. 

The persecution of Christians, as well as Yazidis, Shia and moderate Sunnis, intensified under the reign of the so-called Islamic State from 2014-2017. Hundreds of thousands of Christians fled from their heartland in the northern Iraqi region of Nineveh to Iraqi Kurdistan, or fled Iraq itself. Today, more Iraqi Christians reside in Michigan than in their historic homeland of Iraq.

With the defeat of ISIS, Iraq's dwindling Christian communities, mainly composed of Assyrians, Armenians and Chaldeans, were finally able to welcome the long awaited visit of the Bishop of Rome. For many in the West, it was the first time in decades that the world's media conveyed Iraq's diversity, authenticity and humanity.

Weam Namou, who lived in Baghdad until she was ten, was able to watch the visit with pride and hope from her newfound home in Detroit, Michigan. Immersed in the history, heritage and theology of her people, Weam and the Chaldean Catholics know perhaps more than anyone how politics, sectarianism and colonialism can distort the truth and cause untold harm and misery. Now, following the successful visit of the Pope to Iraq, Weam and her people hope to close the chapter of the past 18 years for good. With renewed confidence as they look to the future, the Chaldeans are eager to emerge from the fear of the past with pride, hope and optimism. Both in their ancient homeland of Mesopotamia and their new home in Michigan, their message to the world is one of remarkable resilience. Though challenges remain they are determined to say: we are here to stay.

Iraqi Chaldeans: A Story made in Mesopotamia and Michigan

Michael Stephens, Political Risk - Security Analyst and Research Fellow, joins me to analyse the British Government's policy paper on national security and international policy, known as the 'Integrated Review,' or in long form: 'Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.'

Michael is an experienced analyst, having worked as a Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. With interests in the Middle East, national security and Anglo-American relations, Michael assesses the UK's objectives and policies on some of the key geopolitical issues in the world today.

We discuss the UK's role as a soft power in promoting reform and stability in the Middle East, how to deal with China on human rights and the importance of restoring civility and respect to Anglo-Irish and Anglo-EU relations.

The Integrated Review: A Geopolitical Analysis with Michael Stephens

How and why humans engage in conflict is like asking how long a piece of string is. Conflict is complex, multi-faceted and has been part of the human experience since the origins of the human species. Joanna Nakabiito approaches conflict from the point of view that both belligerents feel threatened by the other, by an innate sense that a wrong is being righted or that conflict is an existential necessity. Joanna's job as a Rotary Peace Fellow and consultant in peace and security is to dissect the causes of conflict by engaging with the actors involved directly. Only through this can a conflict ultimately be prevented or ended. Joanna and I discuss why humans engage in conflict, how to approach conflict prevention without falling prey to emotion or bias, and the importance of teaching conflict prevention as part of human rights education at a young age.

Joanna Nakabiito: Dissecting Conflict Prevention

Hadiya Masieh knows only too well how easy it is for idealistic, insecure or angry youths to fall prey to those seeking to manipulate vulnerability, disillusionment or marginalisation for their own nefarious objectives. Having been duped by Islamists shortly after her conversion to Islam, time, maturity and self-confidence made her realise that she hadn't sought guidance in her faith from the right sources. She decided to rely on her own intuition and humanity to come to a balanced understanding of Islam and its role in the 21st century, and abandoned extremism as a follower to become its nemesis.  Now a researcher, fellow and counter extremism expert, Hadiya has used her own experience to beat extremists using their own methods. The founder and CEO of Groundswell Project, Hadiya and her team use the internet to integrate the accessibility of interfaith, counter-extremism, peace building and community development organisations under the one platform.  Determined to be proactive against extremists, Hadiya is passionate about the value of human connectivity and building community solidarity to counter hate. In this episode, she shares her story and explains how she became inspired to use her insights of extremist ideology to counter their own methods of recruitment.

Hadiya Masieh: Creating A Groundswell Of Hope

People are often defined by their environment, their identity and their upbringing. For Drew Mikhael, who is both Northern Irish and Lebanese, his identity and lived experience growing up alternately between Belfast, during the last phase of The Troubles, and post-war Beirut had a profound impact on his life. Now working as a Research Fellow and Consultant focusing on conflict, minority rights, refugees and extremism, Drew is intimately aware of the value of peace building, reconciliation and the power of compromise in ending strife and bringing hope. 

In the 1970s and 1980s, both Beirut and Belfast were bywords for sectarianism, war and chaos. Having grown up in these dichotomous yet dynamic, cosmopolitan cities, Drew has seen the transformative impact that the Good Friday-Belfast and Taif Agreements have had on both Northern Ireland and Lebanon.

However, in recent years, both Northern Ireland and Lebanon have faced new and serious challenges. Northern Ireland's status within both the UK and EU has been usurped by Brexit. It now faces an uncertain future, as some disgruntled and anxious Unionists see the Northern Ireland Protocol, the compromise negotiated between the EU and UK to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland, as a threat to their equality of status as a nation within the UK.
Nationalists believe that Brexit has ruptured any justification for Northern Ireland remaining in the UK, and now see a referendum on Irish unity as the inevitable solution to Brexit. 

Meanwhile, Lebanon is suffering a crippling economic disaster, caused by the utter mismanagement of every facet of life by the government. However, with the murder of activist and Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim on the 4th of February, Lebanon may face a real risk of a return to crimes of impunity.

In this episode, Drew and I discuss both Northern Ireland and Lebanon, how recent events have led to the current worrying trends and how these risks could be deescalated and ultimately resolved, just as they were in the 1990s.

Blasts and Brexit: Belfast and Beirut's Current Struggles

I've a fascination with the Near East, the interplay between politics and society and telling stories from a human perspective.

Nazra: Politics, Society and Extremism

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