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