A member of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic community, who refused to give her name for fear of reprisals against family members, said she lived near one of the churches that was bombed in Baghdad last August. "I received a letter threatening me. It also claimed that the church where I served would explode while I was inside," she said, "unless I paid $300,000.

"We are poor people and do not have such money, so I took my husband and my son and we fled to Syria," she said.

Synchronized Church Bombings Shocked Christians

The synchronized bombings of five churches on August 1 and a car bombing at a Baghdad church on September 10 sent shock waves through the Christian community. Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaeda ally and Jordanian terror-mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for the attacks.

A university student visiting Syria from Baghdad said she wanted to attend mass at the Chaldean Church of St. Terese of Little Jesus while she was in Damascus because there was little opportunity now to worship back home without fear. "We can't attend services because all of the churches are threatened with explosions," she said. "No one knows what will happen now."

Most of Iraq's Christians are Chaldean eastern-rite Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but who recognize the pope's authority. Other Christian denominations in Iraq include Roman and Syrian Catholics; Assyrians; Greek, Syrian and Armenian Orthodox; Presbyterians; Anglicans; and evangelicals.

Christian Woman Wears Headscarf for Safety

One Baptist woman from Baghdad who also refused to give her name said she had taken to wearing a head-covering when going outside, simply to protect herself and her children. "It is very risky now to go out on the streets in Iraq without a scarf on your head," she said. "When I dared to do it, people shouted at me from a passing car that I had to respect Islamic traditions in a country where Muslims are the majority."