Nightmare Wedding: Over 100 Christians Burned Alive, Iraqi Government Says 'Accidental'

Raymond Ibrahim : Oct 31, 2023
PJ Media

Considering the severe persecution of Christians in nations such as Egypt and Iraq and the willful targeting of their churches—hundreds of Coptic and Assyrian churches have been torched in recent years—it is, of course, difficult to automatically rule out terrorism or arson in all of these "accidental" fires.

[PJMedia.com] 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. (Screengrab image)

To quote from one report:

Tragedy struck the Assyrian Christian town of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province ... 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.

The town of Hamdaniya, it is worth recalling:

...is one of Iraq's only Christian-majority districts, located in the Nineveh Plains near Mosul,anhistoric 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 "caliphate" and inflicted grave atrocities on minority groups, including Christians.

In a press conference held on the same day of the tragedy, the Iraqi government announced that its investigation had "conclusively concluded" that the fire was "accidental" and "not intentional at all."

Minutes later, the Syriac Church slammed the announcement: "We reject it [the results], we don't accept it," said the Archbishop of Mosul Benedictus Younan Hanno, adding that "political conspiracies" might be afoot.

The archbishop especially rejected the idea that the fire was caused by fireworks: "there are tens of videos," he said, "showing that they were not the reason."

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 implied arson:

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.

It is worth noting that this scenario—a fire claims Christian lives only for Muslim authorities to say it was "accidental"—has played out many times in the Middle East. Take Egypt, for example, where the region's largest Christian minority resides.

Most recently, on Mar. 29, 2023, a massive fire broke out and completely consumed an ancient church in Assyut. Even before a proper inspection could be carried out, the fire was immediately blamed on a "leaky gas bottle."

The most tragic of all examples, however, occurred on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, when the Church of Abu Seifein in Cairo caught fire during morning mass. At least 41 Christians—18 of whom were children—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... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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