Local sources have told Open Doors that Christians do plan to vote. "They have to," Moeller adds. "They have to have their voice heard. It's the only chance they have politically to have any representation in a new Iraqi government."

If Christians fail to win seats in the new Assembly, they will have no say in drafting the country's permanent constitution. "This is one of the great concerns we have right now," says Moeller. "You have to remember out of 30 to 40 million people in Iraq, there are less than three quarters of a million Christians. So it's an extreme minority position."

According to Moeller, it's crucial for Iraqi Christians to make their voices heard, "whatever amount of voice they have remaining politically." They will vote and support candidates promoting religious pluralism, he adds. "But those are distinctively minority voices, unfortunately."

A key issue is the implementation of Sharia law in Iraq. "We pray it won't ever happen," Moeller says. "In every place that Sharia law has been imposed on a Christian minority, whether it's in Nigeria or Sudan, there are incredible repercussions on a human level. People are forced to become less than citizens - to become less than human."

Under Sharia law, Islamic courts would dictate justice for the entire country. "We know Islamic law has no regard for the Christian viewpoint," Moeller explains. "In places like Pakistan, Christian testimony in a court is counted as less than half of a Muslim man's testimony. So this is a severe prospect, and for women, it would be even worse. You need only look at extreme examples of Sharia law - the Taliban and places in Iran where human rights, women's rights and Christian rights are being completely ignored."

In the mean time, are U.S. forces in Iraq helping or hurting the Christian cause? Moeller says emotions are mixed right now because extremists are using the connection between Christians in Iraq and Christianity in the West as a political tool. "They are painting ancient Iraqi Christian churches as tools of the West, when in fact they're not. They are indigenous Iraqi citizens and they are no way working for the Western government. They are simply spreading hope and peace."