The Babylon Movement ( ar, حركة بابليون) is a
Chaldean Catholic political party situated in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. Founded in 2014, it is the political wing of the Babylon Brigades, a nominally Christian militia that was formed as part of Iraq's
Popular Mobilization Forces
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization ...
. Rayan al-Kildani, a Chaldean Catholic with close ties to the
Badr Organization and
IRGC
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
, heads both the party and militia.
History
The Babylon Movement entered the
Iraqi parliamentary elections in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
as a movement claiming to be a representative of Iraq's Christian community. With a few thousand votes,
Christians in Iraq
The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. The vast majority of Iraqi Christians are indigenous Eastern Aramaic-speaking ethnic Assyrians who claim descent from ancient Assyria, ...
considered this list as strange and intrusive and its sudden appearance without any history or previous achievements.
According to a report from the
Assyrian Policy Institute
The Assyrian Policy Institute (API) is a non-governmental and nonprofit organization based in the United States that primarily advocates for the rights of Assyrians and other minorities in the Middle East including Yazidis and Mandaeans.
Early ...
, the Babylon Movement is a fringe group with little ties to the Christian community in Iraq. It is pro-
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and is a proxy of the Shia Arab dominated
Badr Organization. Its affiliated
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
, the Babylon Brigades (or Brigade 50), was founded by the Iranian-controlled
Kata’ib al-Imam Ali. While it is often presented as a
Chaldean Catholic and
Christian force, it is composed mainly of
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
Shabak soldiers.
Relations with the Chaldean Catholic Church
The
Chaldean Catholic Church issued a statement confirming that it has nothing to do with the Babylon Brigades, nor its leader, Rayan Al-Kaldani, nor does it represent them, and that its official representatives are members of the Iraqi Parliament only. It was also denied by Christian members of the Iraqi Parliament, including Imad Youkhana and
Yonadam Kanna
Yonadam Yousip Kanna ( syr, ܝܘܢܕܡ ܝܘܣܦ ܟܢܢܐ, also known as Rabi Yacoub Yosep) is an Assyrian politician and the first Christian member of the Iraqi National Assembly since 2003. Kanna also serves as the current Secretary General o ...
, where the representatives stated that the Babylon Brigades and their leader do not represent Christians, and the battalions led by him represent him personally, and he is far from Christianity, completely against it, and does not represent it.
Sanctions
On July 18, 2019, the
U.S. Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
sanctioned the leader of the Babylon Brigades militia, Rayan Al-Kaldani, for committing grave human rights violations.
U.S. Dept. of Treasury press release.
, alghadeer.
References
{{Assyrian/Syriac/Chaldean political parties
2014 establishments in Iraq
Political parties established in 2014
Assyrians in Iraq
Christianity in Iraq
Political parties in Iraq
Political parties of minorities in Iraq
Assyrian organizations
Christian democratic parties in Asia
Iraqi Christians
Syriac Christianity
Christian organizations