Finding Their Voice
Ankawa: A new district in Erbil province
By Dr. Adhid Miri
In a historic decision, Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), announced on October 4 that the ancient Christian town of Ankawa will become a designated district with administrative autonomy. This will allow Ankawa’s people to elect their own mayor and oversee security, among other things.
Ankawa is a suburb of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is home to a large Chaldean, Assyrian, and Syriac population. Ninety percent of Ankawa’s residents are Christian; ten percent practice the Muslim faith. It is located 8 kilometers northwest of downtown Erbil.
Barzani visited Ankawa in October of this year with the governor of Erbil and other ministers from the KRG. He met with local authorities and discussed the situation in the newly inaugurated district. “I am here today to announce that I have decreed a minister [of interior], Erbil governor, and council to declare Ankawa as a district,” he said in a local briefing. Residents welcomed the news with joy and satisfaction.
During his visit, Barzani described Ankawa as a home for, “religious and social coexistence and a place for peace, a center for many of our Christian brothers and sisters who have not been able to stay in other places and regions of Iraq.
“Ankawa will be the biggest district of Christians in the Middle East,” Barzani said. “Most of its residents have fled persecution in Nineveh, Baghdad and Syria. They have been welcomed among us. And now we offer them the chance to lay deeper roots in a sanctuary of their own.”
The suburb is predominantly populated by Chaldeans who adhere to the Chaldean Catholic Church. There are nearly 40 churches in the district, including the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Ankawa’s population has changed dramatically following the American invasion of Iraq. In 2003, its population numbered 10,000, which doubled by 2009 and redoubled to nearly 40,000 in 2013.
After the fall of Mosul in June 2014, many displaced Christians came to Ankawa, where the Church and other international organizations provided support. Although large numbers have returned to their villages following the military defeat of ISIS, many Christians stayed in the relative safety of Ankawa.
Prime Minister Barzani’s announcement this week came shortly after a meeting with Syriac Catholic Archbishop Nathanael Nizar Semaan, Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda, and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Nicodemus Sharaf.
The bishops presented Barzani with a written request to grant special status to Ankawa on the grounds of its increased population. Semaan spoke of a “triangle” of Christian centers including the towns of Qaraqosh and Alqoush, both located in the Nineveh Plains.
“Ankawa becoming a separate district will help us witness our faith to the whole of Iraq, showing that there are still Christians here,” he said. “We are not inviting the people of Nineveh to come and live here, but if they want to come, they are welcome. It is better if they come to Ankawa than leave Iraq.”
Until now, Ankawa has been a sub-district of Erbil. After thanking the KRG, Semaan, who is based in Ankawa, said, “the decision to make Ankawa a separate district will, we hope, be an important step forward both for the region and for the future of Christianity in Iraq.”
Warda called it an “important” and “strategic” decision. “Our confidence in the future of Kurdistan makes us encourage Christians not only to stay, but also to invest in this region,” he said.
The Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (UCIRF), Nadine Maenza, praised the Kurdistan Regional Government’s decision to designate the Christian-majority suburb of Ankawa a new district in Erbil province.
Originally called Beth Amka, Ankawa was built with ancient Roman architecture. It is home to the Shrine of Mary, also known as Maryamana. Ankawa has many archaeological sites and St. Joseph’s Cathedral, the seat of the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil, is found inside. The Assyrian Church of the East has even decided to move their Patriarchal see to Ankawa after several decades in the United States.
In the last decade, following its population boom, Ankawa’s education and technological resources have developed rapidly. Many tourists visit Ankawa from Baghdad. The American consulate is located near the town center.
Barzani also visited Ankawa’s Maryamana Hospital, “a private investment of $20 million founded by the Chaldean Catholic Church, with support from the US and Europe,” he explained. The KRG has provided land and other services in the community related to affordable healthcare.
Warda welcomed this recognition from the KRG. It is a “very important decision for Ankawa,” he said, a strategic move to maintain a Christian presence in the region and an incentive for Christians to remain and invest in their community.
The archbishop noted how often Christians have been, “collateral damage” of decades of sectarian violence. Their condition worsened with the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003; however, in Ankawa, they found a place for coexistence and economic and social prosperity.
Beginning in 2014, ISIS drove Christians from Mosul and their traditional homeland in the Nineveh Plains, and thousands took refuge in Erbil and other cities in the secure northeast. From 1.5 million Christians in 2003, the Chaldean Catholic church now estimates a population of fewer than 275,000 Christians in Iraq.
Warda has been working to turn the tide. In 2015, he established the Catholic University of Erbil, a private, nonprofit university, and has coordinated relief aid from governments and charities alike. The situation stabilized in 2017 following ISIS’s defeat.
After Barzani’s declaration, Warda renewed his appeal for Christians to stay in Iraq and Kurdistan. “We are trying to implement many projects such as schools, universities, and hospitals. Our confidence in the future of Kurdistan makes us encourage Christians not only to stay but also to invest in this region.”
For Kurdish leaders, who took in Christians during the rise of the Islamic State, the goal is to show the international community that the region is safe for Christians, thus attracting investments and opportunities for economic development.
Pope Francis visited Erbil and Iraq in March 2021. “I think constantly of Iraq,” he said. “We must ensure that the Christian presence in these lands continues to be a sign of peace, progress, development and reconciliation between individuals and peoples.”
Many prominent people were behind the historic declaration and establishment of the new district, including: Erbil Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda; Mor Nicodemos Daoud Matti Sharaf, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Mosul and Kirkuk; Syriac Catholic Archbishop Nathanael Nizar Semaan; Bishop Mar Abris Youkhanan, Bishop of Erbil and Patriarchal Auxiliary for the Assyrian Church of the East; KRG Minister Ano Abdoka; Ankawa Mayor Ramy Noori Syawish; and countless KRG officials.
