Open Doors News Release No. 52, February 20, 2003

Country: Northern Iraq Word Count: Summary – 153; Full Story 477

Kurdish Convert Assassinated Christian Taxi Driver Known for Outspoken Witness to Muslims

Summary: Kurdish convert Ziwar Mohamad Ismaeel was shot dead February 17 in the city of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan. Local sources report that Ziwar, a taxi driver by profession, was killed by a man about 40 years old wielding a machine gun. As yet, the motive for the killing is unknown. However, friends of the victim said that following Ziwar’s conversion several years ago, his openness about his Christian faith created tension with local Muslims. At press time, Ziwar’s relatives were unwilling to give him a burial due to their strong opposition to his conversion. When Ziwar first became a Christian, family members consulted a mullah, who reportedly recommended killing him. Ziwar refused offers to remain in hiding after subsequent attempts on his life. “With Jesus on my side, I have nothing to fear,” he told friends. “Even when they kill me, I will never deny Christ.” Ziwar leaves a wife and five children.

Full Story: Kurdish Christian Ziwar Mohamad Ismaeel was shot dead February 17 in the city of Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Local sources report that Ziwar, who was a taxi driver by profession, was killed with a machine gun by a man about 40 years old. The motives of the killer are not yet known, although friends of the victim confirmed that after Ziwar’s conversion several years ago, his openness about his Christian faith had caused controversy among local Muslims. He leaves behind a wife and five children.

From the beginning, Ziwar’s relatives had strongly opposed his conversion. Reportedly his body still remains in a Zakho hospital, with his family unwilling to claim it and bury him.

When Ziwar became a Christian, his family went to a local Muslim mullah (mosque leader) to ask what to do, since he had left Islam. The mullah declared him an apostate and recommended he be killed. So some of his relatives captured him and took him out to a remote place, where they gave him the choice of either renouncing his faith or being killed.

However, some of Ziwar’s friends managed to rescue him and spirit him away into hiding. But Ziwar refused to stay there very long as he did not want to show fear. “With Jesus on my side, I have nothing to fear,” he commented at the time. “I have to go back to my family to tell them that even when they kill me, I will never deny Christ.”

In the years that followed, Ziwar boldly testified to his new faith. Many of the passengers in his taxi heard the gospel, as he told everybody who wanted to listen.

In 2001 when he was arrested for the first time, policemen found three Bibles in his car. At the police station he was told that he would be killed if he did not return to Islam. However, he was released some two weeks later. When he returned home, his father was waiting there to shoot him on the spot.

Friends who witnessed the heated argument that broke out between family members thought Ziwar’s last hour had come. Quickly, they collected his most precious belongings, including two boxes of Bibles and books, and fled with them to the church office. To their surprise, Ziwar showed up the following day to pick up his belongings. He was even a little displeased that his friends had doubted he would survive.

In May 2002, Ziwar was again arrested, allegedly for political reasons. During police interrogations he was told that some people did not like it that he was witnessing about Christ.

Since the Gulf War of 1991, the church of Iraqi Kurdistan has experienced remarkable growth. Local authorities in the safe-haven north of the 36th parallel do not hinder church activities, but Islamic groups operating in the region have persistently threatened the Kurdish Christians. For further information on how you can help persecuted Christians around the world, contact Open Doors, PO Box 53, Seaforth NSW 2092, Australia, or by phone +61-2 9949 7777, fax +61-2 9949 2976, or email