Abducted in Iraq
Book Description
When faced with unimaginable adversity, how do we maintain our faith and humanity? Bishop Saad Sirop Hanna confronts this profound question in his gripping memoir of survival and spiritual resilience.
In August 2006, while serving as a young parish priest and philosophy lecturer near Baghdad, Hanna was seized by militants linked to al-Qaeda immediately after celebrating Mass. What followed were twenty-eight harrowing days of captivity filled with threats, torture, and uncertainty. His disappearance drew international concern, including prayers requested by Pope Benedict XVI for his safe return.
During his imprisonment, Hanna grappled not only with his immediate survival but with deeper questions about Iraq's future after Saddam Hussein's fall and the forces reshaping his homeland. Through extreme suffering, he discovered new depths of faith and personal truth that would transform his understanding of both.
This powerful testimony extends beyond one man's ordeal to illuminate the broader struggles of Iraqi Christians and persecuted believers worldwide. Hanna weaves together his personal journey with the larger story of ancient Christian communities facing unprecedented challenges in the modern Middle East. He examines how Western responses have impacted these vulnerable populations and what their experiences reveal about faith under fire.
For readers seeking to understand religious persecution, Middle Eastern conflicts, or the nature of spiritual endurance, this memoir offers both sobering insight and inspiring testament to the human spirit's capacity for hope amid darkness.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Short (< 200 pages) (~4 hours)
📄 Length: 152 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Catholic church, clergy, biography
- ✓ Explore Christianity and other religions, islam
- ✓ Explore Biography
- ✓ Explore Church history
- ✓ Explore Relations
- ✓ Explore Islamic fundamentalism
- ✓ Explore Christianity
- ✓ Explore Priests
