Mosul’s Last Christians Flee Iraq’s Hoped-For Christian Stronghold

By: American Decency Staff

There are no Christians left in Iraq's seconThere are no Christians left in Iraq's second-largest city Mosul, across the river from the ruins of Jonah's Nineveh, after an ultimatum over the weekend left them with three choices: convert to Islam, pay jizya (a poll tax levied on non-Muslims), or die at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

Mosul was intended by Iraq's government to anchor a future province in the Nineveh plains where Christians could govern themselves. This past weekend, ISIS gave Christians until noon Saturday to choose between the three options. "After this date,"read the ISIS declaration, "the only thing between us and them is the sword." The New York Times reports that, while a few Christians may remain in hiding after this weekend, Mosul's once diverse Christian community has likely come to a "real end."

Read More: http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/july/mosuls-last-christians-flee-former-christian-stronghold.html

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