THE FAQS: PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ

By: American Decency Staff

Last Friday, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) gave Christians in Mosul an ultimatum: convert to Islam, leave the area, or die.

ISIS had seized a large section of the country’s northern region in June, including the city of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq. Since the takeover, the militant group has been putting pressure on Christians and other religious minorities in the areas.

Most of the remaining Christians departed the city last week. According to CNN, a total of 52 Christian families left the city early Saturday morning, with an armed group prohibiting some of them from taking anything but the clothes on their backs.  But a few Christians were reported to have converted to Islam in order to save their families’ lives and their property.

All 30 churches and monasteries in the city are under ISIS control. AINA News reports that crosses have been removed from all of them, some have been burned, destroyed, and looted, while many other are been used as ISIS centers.

“ISIS seems intent on wiping out all traces of minority groups from areas it now controls in Iraq,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “No matter how hard its leaders and fighters try to justify these heinous acts as religious devotion, they amount to nothing less than a reign of terror.”

Read More:http://thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-persecution-of-christians-in-iraq

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