Convert, pay tax, or die, Islamic State warns Christians

Depressing – and another legacy of the Gulf War of 2003:

In the statement, Isis said Christians who wanted to remain in the “caliphate” declared earlier this month in parts of Iraq and Syria must agree to abide by terms of a “dhimma” contract – a historic practice under which non-Muslims were protected in Muslim lands in return for a special levy known as “jizya”. “We offer them three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract – involving payment of jizya; if they refuse this they will have nothing but the sword,” the announcement said.

….Mosul, once home to diverse faiths, had a Christian population of around 100,000 a decade ago, but waves of attacks on Christians since the 2003 US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein have seen those numbers collapse.

The Mosul residents who saw the Islamic State announcement estimated the city’s Christian population before last months militant takeover at around 5,000. The vast bulk of those have since fled, leaving perhaps only 200 in the city.

Convert, pay tax, or die, Islamic State warns Christians | World news | theguardian.com.