An Anglican church leader in Baghdad has warned that Iraqi Christians could be adversely affected by a Church of England bishops' report criticizing the Iraq war and suggesting that Christians apologize to Muslims.

Christians in Iraq -- like those in the Palestinian self-rule areas and other parts of the Arab world -- face growing pressures, both because of a perceived association with the West and because Islamic fundamentalists regard them as "infidels."

The Church of England is England's officially established church as well as the "mother" body of the world's Anglicans and Episcopalians.

In their report, released on Monday, the bishops criticized what they called a "long litany of errors" in the West's handling of Iraq, called the war "gravely mistaken" and said that as the British government was unlikely to apologize, church leaders should offer a "public act of institutional repentance" at a meeting with senior Muslims.

The bishops' document, which has been given coverage in Middle East media outlets, also calls Western democracy "deeply flawed," complains about the "major influence of the 'Christian Right' on present United States policy."

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, a controversial Egyptian Islamic scholar who has called Palestinian suicide bombings justifiable, welcomed the bishops' stance.

Now comprising an estimated three percent of the 25-million population, Iraq's Christian community traces its origins back to the 1st century AD.

The Barnabas Fund, a charity working to help Christian minorities in Muslim nations, says an orchestrated bombing of churches in Iraq in mid-2004 was seen by local believers as calculated to speed up an exodus of Christians already underway.

The recently drafted Iraqi constitution brought new fears for Christians, worried about an article stating that "no law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam."
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