Christians flee Iraq's Mosul after Islamists tell them: convert, pay or die

Iraqi Christians leave city en masse after Islamist militants threatened to kill them unless they converted to Islam or paid a 'protection tax'
By Louisa Loveluck

 19 Jul 2014

 

Christian families streamed out of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Saturday after Islamist fighters said they would be killed if they did not pay a protection tax or convert to Islam.
 

“For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians,” Patriarch Louis Sako lamented as hundreds of families fled ahead of a noon deadline set by Islamic State for them to submit or leave.
 

The warning was read out in Mosul’s mosques on Friday afternoon, and broadcast throughout the city on loudspeakers.
 

“We offer [Christians] three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract - involving payment... if they refuse this they will have nothing but the sword,” the announcement read....  the rest

Islamic State marks Christian homes in Mosul
Pictures

 Islamic State group tells Christian community in Mosul they face death if they do not embrace Islam or pay tax