Iraq: Parliamentary seats reserved for Christians 'snatched' by Shia militants
Christian parties in Iraq boycotted the November 2025 parliamentary elections, alleging that seats reserved for Christians have been "snatched" by a group with ties to an Iranian backed Shia Islamic militia. Five of Iraq's 329 parliamentary seats are officially reserved for Christians.
According to Open Doors, a loophole in the Iraqi election system effectively allows non Christians to vote on who the Christian representatives will be. In the 2021 parliamentary elections, four of the five Christian seats were taken by a group known as The Babylon Movement.
While ostensibly a Chaldean Catholic political party, The Babylon Movement is largely comprised of and supported by Shia Muslims.
The group has an armed wing, The Babylon Brigade, which according to the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy is backed by the Iranian government.
The Babylon Movement mobilized mostly Shia Arab voters to hijack the reserved Christian seats in both 2021 parliamentary elections and 2024 provincial council elections. Despite widespread Christian rejection of the group, the party holds power, with every candidate for the allocated seats coming from within its ranks while hundreds of other acceptable candidates have been disqualified.
Sami, a Christian legal expert in Iraq, stated
"As Christians, we have a big problem. The quota is snatched from us. The outcome is already settled. It's misery for us."
The Assyrian Hareketh Bet Nahrain party, one of Iraq's most enduring Christian political parties, declared a total boycott of the November 2025 elections. In a statement, the party accused authorities and the Independent High Electoral Commission of "deliberate manipulation and selective exclusion" of its candidates.
Iraq's Christian population has declined from approximately 1.5 million in 2003 to between 200,000 and 250,000 today due to persecution, violence, and forced displacement. The community suffered immense losses after ISIS seized Nineveh in 2014, forcing Christians to choose between conversion, taxation, or exile.
Nawzad Polus Hakim, head of the Suraya Foundation for Culture and Media, stated, "These seats have been divided among Kurds, Shia Arabs, and Sunni Arabs. Instead of defending Christian rights, they now serve the interests of others."
The Washington Institute noted that Rayan al Kildani, leader of the Babylon Brigade, and the Babylon Movement continue to grow in strength by exploiting the federal structure of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces and the corrupt judiciary.
Iraq stands at number 17 on the World Watch List, with high pressure on Christians and violence a present reality for many. Widespread corruption continues to undermine their stability.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
Iran controls Iraq's Christian representatives.
Five seats reserved for Christians. Four stolen by Iranian backed Shia militants. The Babylon Movement claims to represent Chaldean Catholics while being run by Shia Muslims with an armed militia wing.
This isn't representation. This is occupation.
Iraqi Christians declined from 1.5 million to 200,000 in two decades. ISIS slaughtered them. Shia militias displaced them. Now Iran backed forces steal their political voice.
The loophole is deliberate: anyone can vote for Christian seats, so Shia Muslims mobilize to elect fake Christian representatives who serve Iranian interests.
Real Christian candidates get disqualified. Hundreds rejected. Only Babylon Movement candidates allowed. The outcome decided before voting begins.
This is what happens when Christians become minorities in lands they've inhabited for 2,000 years. Political power stolen. Heritage destroyed. Population decimated.
Western Christians obsess over pronouns while Iraqi Christians can't even elect their own representatives.
TAKE ACTION
1. Assyrian Aid Society: Support Iraqi Christians facing political disenfranchisement and persecution at www.assyrianaid.org or call +1 (847) 945 1054.
2. Demand US intervention: Contact your congressional representatives demanding investigation into Iranian manipulation of Iraqi Christian parliamentary seats. Find representatives at www.congress.gov.
3. Open Doors: Support advocacy for persecuted Iraqi Christians at www.opendoorsusa.org or call +1 (888) 524 2535.
4. Expose Iranian control: Share this story to reveal how Iran systematically eliminates Christian political representation in Iraq through proxy militias.
5. Pray for Iraqi Christians: Intercede for the shrinking Christian community facing violence, displacement, and now complete political marginalization by foreign backed Islamic militants.
