Land of the free, home of the brave?

International | Saddam Hussein manipulated, but also protected, Iraq's Christian minority. But will democracy give rise to a hostile Islamist regime? Some fear persecution may be "the price we will pay," but others have "big hopes" | Bob Jones

TO THE AVERAGE AMERICAN, THE scene might appear surreal: In the shadow of Udai Hussein's private hospital, 400 or more evangelical Christians gather for a Sunday morning service. They pray the Lord's Prayer, sing "How Great Thou Art," and listen to a sermon about Jesus' fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Except for the Aramaic language and the lace scarves on the women's heads, it could easily be Birmingham, Ala., rather than Baghdad.

But Baghdad it is, former home to a murderous dictator who, oddly enough, happened to run one of the most religiously diverse regimes in the entire Muslim world. Saddam Hussein may have been hard on his Shiite rivals, but he treated Iraq's large Christian minority with surprising benevolence. Now that the secular strongman has been deposed, many Christians in Baghdad worry that the dawn of democracy in their country could spell the end of the freedoms they have long enjoyed.