A DAUNTING TASK

The city of Kirkuk, 160 miles from Baghdad in northern Iraq, is a microcosm of the country’s diverse society and politics. All of Iraq’s varied ethnic and religious groups—Kurds, Arabs, Iraqi Turkmens, Sunnis, Shias, Chaldeans, and Christians—have vested interests and conflicting hopes in the region that was once a major trading center on the ancient Silk Road.

The 5,000-year history of Kirkuk has been shaped by the marauding armies of the greatest empires—Assyrians, Gutians, Persians, Turks, Arabs, Mongols and Ottomans who played tug-of-war in the region that the Kurds (who have inhabited the area for 3,000 years) call the “Jerusalem of Kurdistan”—the Promised Land.

Religiously, the Jews, Christians, and Muslims all claim the crumbling ruins of the Kirkuk Citadel as a holy site because an ancient synagogue (turned Christian church, turned mosque) houses the remains of the prophet Daniel and his “fiery furnace” friends, Hananiah and Azariah (Mishael’s burial place is unknown).

When Saddam Hussein gained control of Iraq in 1979, he coveted the rich oil fields of his own hometown, Kirkuk. He began a 30-year, iron-fisted reign of terror, called Anfal, to expel the Kurds from their ancient homelands and collect “the spoils of war”—the largest oil-producing wells in the region with a 14-billion barrel oil reserve. Six hundred thousand Kurds were forcibly displaced, mysteriously disappeared, or were extrajudicially executed; 4,000 Kurdish villages were destroyed. Over 100,000 Kurds were slaughtered, including the 5,000 inhabitants of Halabja and 40 other villages that were exterminated with chemical weapons. Arabs were “given” Kurdish land and houses as a reward for “pleasing” Saddam and increasing the Sunni Arab
population of the region.

In 2003, the U.S., under President Bush, allied with the Kurdish fighters (Peshmerga) to depose Saddam. Later, in 2014, when ISIS Sunni Muslims entered Mosul and indiscriminately slaughtered thousands of citizens, the Kurds protected Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi refugees alike in Erbil—the Kurdistan autonomous region—and the Peshmerga protected all ethnicities. Despite the lack of weapons (which President Obama, a Sunni Muslim, refused to sell to the Kurds), the Peshmerga fought fiercely against ISIS and ultimately won. The U.S.’s abandonment of the poorly armed Kurdish Peshmerga allies at that time was inexcusable!

Liberating the Iraqi people from the legacy of decades of ethnic hatred is a daunting task, but one that God is able to accomplish. In 2024, God opened the door for New Testament Baptist Radio (NTBR) in Baghdad to purchase a radio station in Kirkuk and begin broadcasting the message of peace and reconciliation through faith in Jesus to the conflicted Kurdish homeland. The stations in Erbil, Dohuk, and Kirkuk are the first Christian stations ever to exist in the region, but we expect that they will have the same “calming effect” on the eight million inhabitants of Kurdistan as the NTBR brought to Baghdad in 2006 when Al Qaeda was car-bombing the capital.

CRI partners, Pastor Maher Douad and Dr. Edgar Feghaly, are presently finalizing the establishment of three more stations in Iraq: Ur (Abraham’s hometown), Al Amara, and Sulemaniyah, which borders Iran. The CRI Iraqi affiliate NTBR is now the largest media network in Iraq and very influential in the Middle East. Please pray for boldness to declare the Gospel message without fear—a daunting task!

NIGERIA, Minna
Pastor Andrew Marty

We thank God for His protection while we work in Islamic communities. Abduction and kidnapping have started again, so the state government has issued a security-threat warning to all churches. Despite the danger, we are growing! We have had 13 new converts attending services in the last 3 months. The radio ministry continues strong. We have been approved for a permanent time slot without interference from other sects. Glory to God!

THE WHOLE WORLD IS AT WAR!

Just as the prophets predicted 3,000 years ago, events are unfolding so rapidly that the physical and political landscape of entire countries has virtually changed overnight. Citizens in every nation are shaken by the instability and uncertainty of their existence.

The result of this global upheaval is an unprecedented search for God. Worldwide, at least 200 people every second are searching the Internet to find the answer to the one burning question that has baffled mankind for six millennia: Is God real?

• 200 every second
• 12,000 every minute
• 720,000 every hour
• 17,280,000 every day

The search continues day after day, like an insatiable thirst that cannot be quenched. CRI is committed to answering that question and filling that void. We are renewing our commitment, expanding our vision, and accepting more opportunities to present the Gospel to the billions who are yet unreached.

Please pray for us!

VENEZUELA, Caracas
Pastor Victor Paez

We are currently producing the radio program, Living Hope, which is broadcast during prime time five days per week on our local BBN station. A window of opportunity has opened to have our own FM radio station with our own programming, which will reach five million people. A number of FM commercial radio stations have gone off the air, so it is possible that we could be assigned an empty FM frequency. Christian Radio International has promised to help us if we receive a license. Please pray that this door remains open.

George Zarris
Christian Radio International