Fear of Extinction pushes Basra’s Christians to Isolation

Hermes’ fear over the few remaining Christians in the city and his pessimism about any positive outcome ensuing from initiatives — similar to the Christian participation in the Arbaeen holiday — seem to be justified in light of the fragile security situation in Basra, which recently turned into an arena for tribal conflicts.

Armenian activist Tony Sarkisian, the head of the Basra Armenians Organization for Relief and Development, came up with the idea of placing the Virgin Mary statue in central Basra. He was surprised by the position of the authorities. He told Al-Monitor, “The message conveyed by acts of solidarity — such as the idea of placing the statue — symbolizes national unity and coexistence among Muslims and Christians.”

He added, “The donations collected for the project of placing the statue were mostly from Muslims, and the project workers were mostly from Muslims hailing from Basra. The statue itself was sculpted by a Muslim sculptor.”

Novak Aram Bedrosian, a member representing Christians on the Basra Province Council, told Al-Monitor, “Acts of solidarity, such as participation in rituals or the erection of a statue [of Virgin Mary] did not win the approval of political representatives of Christians.”

Bassam al-Alwachi, the head of LARSA, an organization for the preservation of religious heritage, told Al-Monitor. “Placing the statue of the Virgin Mary in a public square could annoy fanatical religious parties or individuals and may be exploited to ignite an unwanted sectarian crisis, as some may try to harm or destroy this statue."

Although Alwachi did not mention the identity of the fanatical religious parties, it is clear he was referring to some political Islam parties that have an interest in turning Basra into a city with a pure religious or sectarian identity.