Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day / Dr. Suha Rassam

Dr. Suha Rassam (Trustee of ICIN) - A former assistant professor of medicine at the University of Baghdad, Rassam now lives in Surrey. A Chaldean Catholic, she grew up in Mosul, a city in northern Iraq famed for its monasteries. She attended a primary school run by Dominican nuns and, later, stayed with the Presentation Sisters while studying medicine in Baghdad.

In 2003, whilst visiting Rome and discussing Christianity in Iraq with Journalist Greg Watts, the notion of writing a book about the subject was conceived.

This classic work is now available with fully revised. Few people in the West are aware of Christianity's vibrant past in this region, or of the fact that Christianity has continued to be a significant cultural and religious presence in Iraq right up to the present day. This book helps us explore the ancient heritage while shedding much needed light on the present dire situation for Christians in Iraq, under occupation and transitional rule through to the present day. It is essential reading for all those in the West who are concerned for the future of Iraq and its people.

"Suha Rassam's book comes to fill a large vacuum in the knowledge of those in the West, many of whom are still not aware of the fact that from ancient times Christianity was firmly rooted in Iraq and the rest of the territory now seen as the 'Arab Middle East'." Archbishop Mikhael Al Jamil, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syrian Catholic Church of Antioch to the Holy See and Vicar Apostolic for Europe

"Dr Suha Rassam has written a work of remarkable scholarship. But is is also a vivid portrayal of an extraordinary story of conflict, persecution and, for fifty years in the twentieth century, of hope, harmony and prosperity for the Christian community in Iraq. It would be a tragedy if that Christian community were now extinguished." Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster

"Gives to the general interested public a comprehensive and informed insight into two thousand years of Christianity in Iraq." Dr Erica Hunter, School of Oriental and African Studies, London University