Heated debate as patriarch forces removal of memorial to beloved bishop in Alqosh

A recent controversy has brewed online among the Assyrian community surrounding the removal of the name of the late Bishop Thabet Habib Yousif al Mekko of Alqosh from a new funeral hall in the town. The construction of the hall began before the passing of Bishop Thabet earlier this year, who was beloved by the community for his humility and warm personality.

According to a conversation the AP had with a source from Iraqi Assyria, a businessman named Adel Sadiq Kajo from Alqosh had started to construct the hall per the request of Bishop Thabet on land owned by the church. When Thabet passed away, Kajo and a deacon in the diocese decided to name the hall after him.

However, in a recent visit by Cardinal Sako to Alqosh, he refused the decision to have the funeral hall named after Bishop Thabet, and asked Kajo to have it changed. When Kajo refused, Sako is said to have threatened to have his business in Erbil closed down with the help of Kurdish authorities, which left Kajo no choice but to rename it to the "Alqosh Hall". Local sources also indicated that KDP-instilled mayor Lara Zara and Ghazwan Shahara, a priest in the church, were also involved in the removal of Thabet's name.

More information was provided in a public Facebook post by Leon Barkho, an Assyrian professor emeritus at Sweden’s Jönköping University who used to be close to Sako but has distanced himself from him due to the patriarchs recent actions. According to the post on Facebook, Sako promised Kajo that the church would pay for the expenses of building the funeral hall if he removed Thabet's name from the front marble. Barkho's post also stated that Sako had recently had an altar in the Mar Qardagh Church forcefully removed and replaced with an altar that does not conform to eastern church traditions, a move that has added to the opposition against the patriarch. Barkho also confirmed that Sako had appealed to Kurdish security forces (including the Asayish) to impose his decision on the hall. Additional comments written by Barkho state that Kajo acknowledged the threat to his business as a reason for the name change, and that he was put under pressure to issue a public statement. In that statement Kajo claims that he changed the name of the hall voluntarily, and that no coercion was involved.

A response to personal criticism?

The situation of the rename has caused a heated debate among Assyrians of the Chaldean Catholic Church. Many consider it as part of a campaign by Sako to undermine Thabet's legacy since his passing. When Thabet was still alive, he was considered one of five bishops that refused to attend the Chaldean Catholic Synod in 2024 out of disagreements to Sako's emphasis on non-issues in the church. The other bishops included Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Bishop Azad Sabri Shaba of Nohadra (Duhok), Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona of Sydney and apostolic visitor for Chaldean Catholics in Europe Saad Sirop Hanna.

In response to the situation, Sako issued a statement attempting to explain his rationale for removing Thabet's name from the hall. In the letter, Sako wrote about all the different bishops that the diocese of Alqosh had over the years, while mentioning Thabet as a bishop who served the least amount of years and stating it wouldn't make sense to have his name on the hall. Many have likened this statement to Sako indirectly insulting Thabet and attempting to undermine his impact on both the diocese and the Assyrians he served in Alqosh.