(Photo: Reuters)Families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul wait at a checkpoint in outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region in June 2014.
Posted on 07/23/2014 1:09:25 PM PDT by NYer
(Photo: Reuters)Families fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul wait at a checkpoint in outskirts of Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region in June 2014.
At least five Christian families who were not healthy enough to flee Mosul, Iraq after the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ordered them to convert to Islam or be executed, have renounced their faith for Islam, according to a local government minister.
"There are five Christian families who converted to Islam because they were threatened with death," Younadim Kanna, a Christian and a member of Iraq's Parliament told The New York Times. "They did so just to stay alive."
ISIS had given the Christians until Saturday to get out of Mosul, Iraq's second largest City which is almost as old as Christianity itself. In the days leading up to the deadline, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Baghdad, Louis Raphael Sako, appealed for global help and explained last week in a letter published by AINA News that ISIS had started marking the homes of Christians, the majority of whom fled with little more than the clothes on their backs.
"Suddenly we have been surprised by the more recent outcomes which are the proclamation of an Islamic state and the announcement calling all Christians and clearly asking them to convert to Islam or to pay the jizya (the tax all non-Muslims must pay while living in the land of Islam) – without specifying the exact amount," wrote Sako.
"The only alternative is to abandon the city and their houses with only the clothes they are wearing, taking nothing else. Moreover, by Islamic law, upon their departure, their houses are no longer their properties but are instantly confiscated as property of the Islamic state," he explained.
(Photo: AINA News)The Arabic letter "n" (inside red circle), signifying "Nasarah" (Christian), on a Christian home in Mosul.
"In recent days, there has been written the letter 'N' in Arabic on the front wall of Christian homes, signifying 'Nazara' (Christian), and on the front wall of Shiite homes, the letter 'R' signifying 'Rwafidh' (Protestants or rejecters). We do not know what will happen in future days because in an Islamic state the Al – sharia or Islamic code of law is powerful and has been interpreted to require the issuance of new I.D.s for the population based on religious or sectarian affiliation," he said.
By Friday, Sako declared the worst.
"Christian families are on their way to Dohuk and Arbil," in the neighboring autonomous region of Kurdistan he told AFP. "For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians," he added.
In a public statement Sunday, Pope Francis offered prayers while expressing concern for the Christians being persecuted in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.
"I have learned with concern the news coming from the Christian communities in Mosul, Iraq, and in other parts of the Middle East, where they have lived since the birth of Christianity and where they have made significant contributions to the good of their societies alongside their fellow citizens," he began.
"Today they are persecuted. Our brothers are persecuted. They are chased out. They must leave their homes without being able to take anything with them. I assure these families and these people my nearness and my constant prayers," he said.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attacks in a statement from the organization's headquarters in New York Sunday.
"The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the systematic persecution of minority populations in Iraq by Islamic State (IS) and associated armed groups," noted the statement.
Peter denied Christ 3 times and in the end was martyred for His sake. I will not judge these people, God’s grace and mercy is abundant enough to cover all.
I know what I would do.
Matthew 10:33 -
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Was Jesus lying?
Frankly most people, Praise God, don’t have to think about it, it isn’t yet an issue here in the US. Others, like me, have had to think about it.
But the time is coming when many of us will have to make that choice.
But the time is coming when many of us will have to make that choice..
Do you believe Jesus denied Peter in Heaven?
Peter repented and denied he knew Jesus, he did not deny he was the Christ.
It is the same thing. And yes repentence is the key.
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