Catholic University in Erbil empowers survivors of ISIS

Catholic University in Erbil empowers survivors of ISIS

Vatican news

Founded in 2015, Erbil Catholic University, located in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, provides education, scholarships and support to Iraqi minority groups who suffered under ISIS.

By Joseph Tulloch

In 2014, the so-called Islamic State invaded northern Iraq, seizing large swaths of territory.

The invasion led to massive displacement, including of minority groups such as Christians, Yazidis, Turkmen and Shabak.

Many of these refugees fled to the Kurdish region of northeastern Iraq, where – explains Father Karam Shahmasha, priest of the local Chaldean Catholic archdiocese – the local Church sought to provide them with housing, food and medical care.

The founding of the university

Over time, Father Shahmasha tells Vatican News, these charitable initiatives gave birth to an even bigger project: the founding of the Catholic University of Erbil, or CUE, which was intended to be a “beacon of light in the middle of chaos “.

The aim was to welcome students from all backgrounds, particularly those who had suffered the most from recent violence.

In a talk at Boston College in 2023, Archbishop Bashar Warda, CUE Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, noted, “We have opened the doors of CUE to those most affected by ISIS: the displaced by force, Christians and Yazidis… We are committed to being a strong voice for suffering.

Archbishop Bashar Warda speaks at CUE

Archbishop Bashar Warda speaks at CUE

Celebrating Yazidi culture

Father Shahmasha highlights the support CUE offers students from the Yazidi community, which has suffered a brutal genocide at the hands of ISIS, going beyond even the ruthless treatment meted out to Christians in the region.

Thanks to a number of generous benefactors, Catholic and non-Catholic, CUE is able to distribute numerous scholarships to Yazidi students each year, explains Father Shahmasha. It also regularly organizes events celebrating Yazidi culture, such as the annual Yazidi New Year celebration, and collaborates with organizations fighting for Yazidi rights.

Additionally, with the help of the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, CUE is able to award a large number of “Pope Francis Scholarships” each year, aimed primarily at Christian students.

Students at the Catholic University

Students at the Catholic University

CUE today

Today, nine years after its creation, the university has more than 600 students, from very diverse backgrounds.

Father Shahmasha highlights the university’s newest initiative, an Oriental studies program housed in the university’s College of the Arts.

THE program is the first of its kind in the region, Father Shahmasha points out, offering courses on “the range of religions and ethnicities that have long inhabited the Mesopotamian region”, with subjects as varied as Kurdish studies, Catholic theology and the books of the Torah. .

The goal, he says, is to “promote peaceful coexistence” between Iraq’s different ethnic and religious groups, thereby contributing to “building a vibrant community.”

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