I note two things. One, that it's not the Iraqis attacking Christians:
When he rushed across the city to Our Lady of Salvation church in Karrada on Oct. 31 after news of a hostage taking, his Muslim neighbors offered their help.[Remember this? And this? And this (scroll to bottom)? And this? And this?]
“We got calls from the neighbors – they said just give us the green light and we can bring guns and help the people inside,” he says. “Our neighbors here say if someone touches you that means they touch us.”
In a country that has been almost torn apart by sectarian violence, Christians and Muslims say the attacks are politically engineered and fueled by neighboring countries. They point to their long history of living side by side, and highlight examples of cooperation even amid the tense security situation in Iraq today.
"When I came back to my neighborhood, I found all the neighbors outside waiting for me to welcome me back,” says George Meti Boutros, an Arabic teacher who survived the Karrada church attack. He says he is the only Christian living in his neighborhood in Bab al-Sharja.
Secondly, Muslims are attracted by the peace of a Christian environment. The school is 83% Muslim:
Spaces are reserved for Christians but months before registration, other families clamor for some of the 600 places in the school, which serves students from kindergarten to sixth grade.
Apart from its more demanding academic curriculum and its focus on music and sports, one of the main reasons the teachers say parents prefer St. Elia is much more simple: This school doesn't allow students or teachers to hit anyone. Iraq’s overcrowded, crumbling public schools are notorious for violent behavior.
