Baghdad Cathedral Re-consecrated and Iraqi Ayatollah Issues Fatwa

AsiaNews: An Advent of light and shadow for Iraq’s Christians, who are celebrating the reopening of the cathedral of Baghdad but at the same time subjected to new – and heavy – threats from a radical Shiite Muslim leader. From studies of a television broadcaster based in Egypt, an Iraqi Ayatollah launches a fatwa against the religious minority on the eve of Christmas: “Conversion to Islam or death.” However, strength of faith overcomes the fear of violence as witnessed by celebrations for the “rebirth” of the Syrian Catholic cathedral in the capital, the scene of a bloody attack at the end of October 2010. Read more here.