Christians Face Holocaust in Iraq We received this email from a partner ministry today... Over the past ten years since the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, the number of Christians (Orthodox, Evangelical, and of all stripes) has dwindled from at least 1.5 million to less than 400,000. Many have fled this war-torn region, ending up in refugee camps in neighboring countries, immigrated, of been killed. But on Friday, July 18th, the Islamic State (IS)—formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has ratcheted up the persecution against Christians to a new height. Now controlling vast amounts of territory in Western Syria and Eastern Iraq, in the city of Mosul (Iraq’s second-largest city and formerly the ancient city of Nineveh) mosque loudspeakers blared dire warning to Christians remaining in the city, “You have until midday Saturday (the 19th) to make a choice: convert to Islam, pay a tax, of face death.” The letter “N” for Nazarene was painted on their homes. By the time the deadline had past the city was virtually emptied of Christians. They fled to the largely autonomous Kurdish region of Northern Iraq—to the cities of Erbil and Dahouk to seek refuge. IS soldiers followed by spray-painting on Christian homes, “This House is Now Property of the Islamic State.” A decade ago there were 100,000 Christians in Mosul. Now there are none. Christians were ordered to leave their houses, cars, money, jewelry and property behind and go with only the clothes on their backs. Some of Mosul’s Christians who might have been able to afford to pay the high taxes to stay did not appear to want to take their chances living under the rule of a regime made famous for executing—and even crucifying—their opponents. Some who fled early did manage to get away in cars or boarded buses with only what they could carry with them. The remainder, however, including the elderly and disabled, had to flee on foot in Iraq’s sweltering summer heat. IS soldiers would not even allow women to bring diapers or formula for their babies and small children along with them. At checkpoints, they even took wedding rings from the terrified women fleeing the city. En route to Mosul or Dahouk, the first town the Christian refugees reached was Tilkkef, located about 12 miles north of the city. They arrived in a state of loss and confusion, with no idea of what tomorrow would bring--hungry, thirsty, and exhausted from their twelve-mile trek. A stream of Christian sympathizers and volunteers from the Kurdish region arrived in cars and trucks to take to take them away to safety. Why? When we see the depraved, brutal, savage, and barbaric behavior coming from members of groups like the IS (Islamic State), Al-Qaeda, and other offshoots of Islam, it begs an answer to the age-old question of, “Why?” Apart from the underlying actuality of the sinfulness of mankind, and gone unchecked, the utter depravity of the human race apart from the grace and mercy of God, there are answers for why we are seeing these tragic events unfold in Iraq and western Syria today, as IS tries to consolidate their gains and implement an Islamic caliphate across the region . A caliphate is an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader known as a “caliph,” or, “successor” to Mohammed and governed by Sharia Law. The succession of Muslim empires that have existed date back to the time of Mohammed and his earliest family and followers as a continuation of the religious, political, economic, judicial and social system that he had introduced. In the “caliphate,” Christians are offered three choices: convert to Islam, agree to abide by the terms of becoming a “dhimmi” within society—someone who must pay a special levy known as “jizya” for their protection, and be subject to less than second-class citizenry, persecution, limited “rights,” and humiliation, or be killed. This is how Islam spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Africa, and much of Europe in the first hundred years following Mohammed’s death. And this is IS’s stated goal—to return the lands which they conquer to a situation replicating that of early Islam. The “Islamic State” is seeking to obliterate diverse identities by expelling or killing them, even including Muslim Shias and Sunni Sufis. Historically, this situation is not unique to Christians—although they are the ones paying the price today. Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and members of other religions have all suffered the same fate. One such example of Muslim conquest and domination is the country of Afghanistan, which was once Buddhist, but by the 11th century had become completely a Muslim society. Now, in the 21st century, there is no evidence of a once flourishing Buddhist culture—all relics, shrines, and temples were destroyed. The same pattern can be seen in Mohammed’s day when he and his followers conquered Mecca. All religious objects of the 360 religions where people lived together rather peacefully and accepting of one another were destroyed. This behavior explains the IS’s destruction of Christian religious sites—church buildings, monasteries, cemeteries, and even the recent demolishing, with sledge hammers, of the ancient Tomb of Jonah the Prophet, which now belongs to the pages of history in the city of Mosul today. Please pray for the Christians in Iraq, (and Syria), and especially those from Mosul!
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 00:59:12 +0000
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