President Barzani: Kurdistan takes pride in its culture of tolerance
Shafaq News – Erbil
Safeguarding religious freedoms and peaceful coexistence topped the agenda in talks on Monday between Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani and Patriarch Mar Awa of the Assyrian Church of the East.
A statement from the Kurdish Presidency said the meeting in Erbil gathered senior bishops from Iraq and abroad, who briefed Barzani on the state of their congregations and praised the Region’s stability.
سهرۆك نێچيرڤان بارزانى لهگهڵ پاتريارك و مهترانهكانى كهنيسهى ڕۆژههڵاتيى ئاشوورى كۆبووهوهhttps://t.co/xCEFlU4vIc pic.twitter.com/1dCSQOCPRv
— Kurdistan Region Presidency (@KurdistanRegion) September 29, 2025
Barzani welcomed the Church’s youth initiatives that bring young members to Kurdistan and reaffirmed that the Region “takes pride in its culture of tolerance and will remain a protector of rights and freedoms for all communities.”
Human rights organizations estimate that Muslims make up 95–98 percent of Iraq’s population. The remaining 2–5 percent comprises Christians (Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriac), Yazidis, Turkmen, Shabaks, Kakai, and Mandaeans, many of whom reside in Kurdistan or live abroad.
