Updated Country Profile - Iraq

Click here to access our updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Iraq. The Church established its first official branches in Iraq during 2003 when the American-led coalition invaded Iraq. All military branches were discontinued by the early 2010s upon the removal of most foreign military personnel. In the mid-2010s, a Church presence was established among Kurdish and Assyrian/Chaldean peoples in Kurdistan. Today there are two member groups led by local leaders.

The Church in Kurdistan, Iraq

The Church has experienced significant progress in regards to its establishment in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq within the past 18 months. There are currently three senior missionary couples who serve in northern Iraq. Member groups appear to operate in at least three cities: Duhok, Irbil, and Sulaymaniyah. Convert baptisms appear to frequently occur in these cities although each of these fledgling congregations have only a couple dozens members and investigators who attend. This area of Iraq is under control of the Kurdistan Regional Government and there do not appear to be any significant barriers for missionary activity if it is conducted by member referral. Although the Church has a sizable amount of materials translated into Standard Arabic, there remain no LDS materials in Kurdish languages.

The assignment of senior missionary couples to Kurdistan deserves the attention and praise of LDS leaders worldwide. Many areas of the world present similar opportunities for an initial LDS establishment, such as the Chin Hills of Burma (Myanmar), northeastern India (e.g. Nagaland, Manipur, Assam), nations without an LDS presence in West Africa (e.g. Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali), and Amerindian peoples in Latin America. Progress in Iraqi Kurdistan also indicates opportunities for LDS outreach expansion in the Middle East, such as in the hundreds of large and medium-sized cities in Turkey, Lebanon, and Coptic Christians in Egypt. Perhaps the Church will formally organize a proselytizing mission headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon within the foreseeable future to provide additional resources and leadership oversight to this region of the world, particularly within the nations of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

New Locations for Humanitarian Service Missions

The Church publishes a weekly newsletter entitled "Senior Missionary Opportunities Bulletin" that contains up-to-date information on current needs for senior couples to serve full-time missions. All types of senior missionary couple opportunities are listed in the bulletin such as with the Church Education System, the Temple Department, Welfare Services, Auditing Department, and so on. The weekly newsletter can be accessed here.

Recently, the Church has added several new locations for humanitarian service missions in the bulletin. These locations include:

• Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
• Kurdistan, Iraq
• Senegal

The Church has never appeared to assign senior missionary couples on humanitarian assignment to these three locations. Although these assignments are focused on humanitarian service and development projects, often times the assignment of humanitarian senior missionary couples proceeds or coincides with the establishment of an official church presence. Notable examples include Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma (Myanmar), Gabon, the Republic of Georgia, Kosovo, Laos, Macedonia (FYROM), and Turkey. Although the prospective assignment of senior missionary couples to these three locations is encouraging for the Church to expand its worldwide influence to meet humanitarian needs and lay the groundwork for an official LDS presence one day, only Senegal appears to have realistic prospects for proselytizing, full-time missionaries to be assigned. Iraqi Kurdistan presents many safety and religious freedom challenges, whereas the Church in Kyrgyzstan has experienced challenges with obtaining legal recognition for over a decade. However, the 2014 Kyrgyzstani court ruling that the law requiring 200 adult citizen members for a religious group to register with the government as unconstitutional suggests improved prospects for the establishment of a member group or branch in Bishkek (click here to access a case study on the Church in Kyrgyzstan).

Baghdad Iraq Military District Discontinued

In conjunction with the withdrawal of United States military personnel from Iraq, the Church has discontinued the Baghdad Iraq Military District.  Formed in late 2009, the district met the needs of military members in Iraq meeting in six branches and up to several dozen groups at one time.  Five of the six branches have been discontinued with the closure of the district; only one branch continues to operate (I Z Military Branch).

Members in the Middle East report that there have been a handful of Iraqi Christians who have joined the LDS Church in other nations such as Jordan.  It is unclear whether any active Iraqi Latter-day Saints live in Iraq at present.  The Church does not proselyte in Iraq and no missionaries are assigned.

Military District Created in Iraq

The Church News published an article about the formation of the Baghdad Iraq Military District in early November. The creation of the district will allow for the formation of branches in the country. It was noted in the article that no proselyting occurs in Iraq and the new branches are for those of the military. There were a reported 1,300 members of the Church in Iraq, nearly all of whom likely in the military or working with government. A district was created in Afghanistan in July 2008 for members of the military in that country.