Bishop of Kirkuk: New Iraq Needs Europe's Help There are 700,000 Christians in Iraq says this Chaldean cleric. I am reading William Dalrymples "From the Holy Mountain", which is an account of a Journey among Eastern Christians, at the moment. I was completely ignorant about this up until now. Syria is 20% Christian for example. Saudi Arabia really does seem to be an anomaly with its apparent lack of toleration.