Iraq, April 23: The Christians of northern Iraq have chosen to erect a statue of Jesus modelled on the giant Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
The sculpture is only a tenth of the size of the 40-metre (130-foot) iconic statue that towers over the Brazilian city, but it has become a popular site for visitors in Hamdaniya, the north’s largest Christian town.
“The idea of building the statue of Jesus opening his arms is to send a message of peace to everyone to say that we want to live in peace with all,” said Bashar Jarjees Habash, the city’s coordinator of Christian affairs.
“The statue is stone and can be removed at any time, but the history of Christians cannot be abolished,” said the 48-year-old.
“We have a great history, we are very loyal to Iraq,” added Habash, who is charged by the church with preserving religious monuments.
The brick and plaster structure is in the middle of Hamdaniya, a city populated by 45,000 mostly Syriac Christians as well as a Kurdish Muslim community that makes up about 10 percent of the inhabitants.
Its construction was initiated and carried out by two local security guards who also have artistic skills. Using their bare hands, it was a labour of love.
“With the help of 20 volunteers, we built the statue in less than a month and we spent about 150,000 dinars (128 dollars),” said one of them, Alaa Naser Matti.
“It is built to last over 30 years. We painted it white, which is the colour of peace, and we will restore it each year.
“We have chosen to make a Jesus with open arms because it means that the city has been placed under his protection and he wants to spread peace in Iraq,” said the 41-year-old.
Eight Christians were killed in and around Mosul within 10 days in February and Human Rights Watch called on Iraq’s government to do more to bolster security and protect them after a string of deadly attacks ahead of elections.
Pope Benedict XVI condemned the violence against them in his Easter message this month, and demanded that the Iraqi authorities do more to protect the minority.
Since the US-led invasion of 2003 more than 200 Christians had been killed by direct or indirect attacks in Iraq.
During the same period, some estimates put the figure of fatalities of Muslim Iraqis (mostly Sunnis and Shiites) to over one million innocent civilians.
Observers say Christians are in no way more threatened than average Iraqis.
Attacks on Christians had increased in the north of Iraq after the formation of the country’s first Christian militia.
—Agencies