Plans to replace Catholic school with mall appalls Iraqis
Al-Aqeeda, a Catholic girls high school built in 1921, is at the center of a controversy highlighting preserving Iraq's cultural heritage.
Baghdad’s small Christian community is up in arms about plans to raze a Catholic school for girls, Al-Aqeeda, which means “faith,” and in its place build a shopping mall.
“This is [becoming] a trend, the targeting of Iraq's architectural heritage, not simply [its] Christian [heritage],” Joseph Slewa, a Christian former member of parliament, warned in an Aug. 6 Rudaw interview.
The rumor that the school, built in 1921, will be demolished and replaced by a mall or some other commercial center has emerged as a hot topic on social media, with concerned citizens accusing the government and local authorities of failing to do their part in protecting Iraq's architectural heritage.
According to Baghdad municipality officials, the demolition request came not from public officials, but from the Christian association that owns the land on which the school, which has a chapel, sits.
