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The Islamic State Ends the Centuries-Old Christian Presence in Mosul, Iraq

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah - The Islamic State (IS), that today occupies large regions of Iraq and Syria, issued an ultimatum on July 17, 2014, to the remaining Iraqi Christians in the city of Mosul: Either accept Islam, accept dhimmi status and pay a per capita tax to Islamic Sharia courts, or face death. Centuries before the Muslim conquest of the region in the 7th century, the Assyrians in the biblical city of Nineveh (today Mosul) converted to Christianity during the 1st and 2nd centuries. In modern times, Mosul had communities of Assyrian Christians, Arab Christians, Syriac Orthodox, and Protestants. Parallel to their policy towards Christians, the Jihadists embarked on a campaign to destroy shrines of worship, declaring that those shrines were not accepted by Islam. In east Syria, in Tabaka, the IS destroyed the Shiite mosque of Fatima al-Zahraa and the mosque in Rakka named after 'Ammar ibn Yasir, referred to by Shiites as one of the "Four Companions" of the prophet Mohammad. The IS blew up the tomb of Jonah the prophet in Mosul in July. The IS attitude toward the Mosul Christians is certainly the model to be applied in other places if and when the IS scores other territorial victories.
2014-08-04 00:00:00
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