Religion and Migration in Iraq: Investigating the Reasons for Return of Internally Displaced Christians to Baghdeda

The emergence of terrorist group Daesh in 2014 and the international military campaign against it caused humanitarian crisis and mass displacement in Iraq. About 5.8 million people became internally displaced, and as of 2021, 1.2 million remain in displacement. This article engages with the question...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Monzer, Nora (Author) ; Öhlmann, Philipp 1984- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: ASRSA 2023
In: Journal for the study of religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 36, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-32
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Qara Qōsh / Christian / Binnenflüchtling / Return home / Motivation / Religious identity / Reconstruction / History 2020-2021
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AF Geography of religion
CG Christianity and Politics
CH Christianity and Society
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KBL Near East and North Africa
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B internally displaced persons
B Conflict
B ethno-religious identity
B humanitarian aid
B Christianity
B Iraq
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Summary:The emergence of terrorist group Daesh in 2014 and the international military campaign against it caused humanitarian crisis and mass displacement in Iraq. About 5.8 million people became internally displaced, and as of 2021, 1.2 million remain in displacement. This article engages with the question of what motivates people to return from displacement to their area of origin. It investigates the role religion played in the decision of internally displaced Christians to return to Baghdeda in the Ninewa Plain, Iraq's largest Christian town. Based on qualitative interviews, the article examines the factors influencing people's decisions to return. We find that religion constitutes an important factor influencing the decision to return, within the nexus of other considerations such as economic opportunities, reconstruction, and security. Religion thereby plays a role because of the respondents' Christian identity, the encouragement to return by religious leaders, and the reconstruction efforts led by the churches.
ISSN:2413-3027
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.17159/2413-3027/2023/v36n2a2