In an unprecedented move to highlight the desperate plight of Christians and other minorities in Iraq, Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil – dubbed the King of Iraqi pop – has joined forces with London electronica band Ooberfuse to release a defiant battle anthem. "We Are One", a rousing upbeat pop anthem, will be released worldwide on Saturday, 18 April. You can preview the track here: http://youtu.be/VaumQWW9JBk

As ISIS entrenches its position within striking distance of his cathedral doors, Archbishop Warda said: "For me, Daesh [another name for ISIS] is a cancer, and sometimes you must take some hard measures, unfortunate measures, to deal and treat this cancer." Through the medium of pop music, Archbishop Warda hopes to reach out to the younger generations.

London band Ooberfuse has just come back from a visit to Iraq to see the situation first hand. Hal St John, from Ooberfuse, said: "I think this is the first time in history a leading Middle Eastern religious leader has embraced the forms of popular culture to advance the Christian message of love and hope." Last February electronica band, Ooberfuse, met up with him in Westminster. Warda was upbeat: "You must come to Erbil and see for yourselves the ancient roots of our Christian heritage. We have one of the oldest forms of Christian worship still practised today that has remained unchanged since the 1st century. We pray in the ancient Aramaic dialect that we know Jesus himself spoke." Warda then proceeded to pray the Our Father in ancient Aramaic with Ooberfuse, unleashing the power that lies at the heart of the Christian faith. For high-resolution images click here: http://ooberfuse.com/our-journey-from-woolwich-to-iraq



