The Islamic State’s ultimatum is in complete accord with the Qur’an and Islamic law:
“Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued” (Qur’an 9:29).
Muhammad said: “Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war…When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them…. If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them. (Sahih Muslim 4294)
It would be interesting to see some Muslim spokesman in the West write an article explaining how what the Islamic State is doing here is completely un-Islamic. But I expect that such articles will not appear this time.
An update on this story. “Iraqi Christians flee after Isis issue Mosul ultimatum,” BBC, July 18, 2014 (thanks to Hiro):
Iraqi Christians are fleeing Mosul after Islamist militants threatened to kill them unless they converted to Islam or paid a “protection tax”.
A statement issued by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) was read out at the city’s mosques.
It called on Christians to comply by midday on Saturday or face death if they did not leave the northern city.
Isis has control of large parts of Syria and Iraq and said last month it was creating an Islamic caliphate.
The ultimatum cited a historic contract known as “dhimma,” under which non-Muslims in Islamic societies who refuse to convert are offered protection if they pay a fee, called a “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 Isis statement said.
“Christian families are on their way to Dohuk and Irbil,” in the neighbouring autonomous region of Kurdistan, Patriarch Louis Sako told the AFP news agency.
“For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians,” he said.
The patriarch, one of the most senior Christian clerics in Iraq, said militants had been seen tagging Christian houses with the letter N for “Nassarah”, a term used for Christians in the Koran.
Community destroyedIraq is home to one of the world’s most ancient Christian communities but its population has dwindled amid growing sectarian violence since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Prior to 2003, the number of Christians in the city had been as high as 60,000, but that had dropped to about 35,000 by June this year, Mr Sako said.
He said another 10,000 fled Mosul after Isis took control at the beginning of June and numbers dropped have fallen rapidly since.
Isis issued a similar ultimatum in the Syrian city of Raqqa in February, calling on Christians to pay about half an ounce (14g) of pure gold in exchange for their safety.
Michael Copeland says
What is the future in Syria for the minorities?
“Okay, they have three choices, either they became a Muslim, or they have to pay the jizya, or to be killed.”
This was Tim Marshall of Sky News interviewing an insurgent prisoner in Syria (Sky News, 8 December 2012). We all have a learning curve when it comes to Islam, journalists especially.
http://libertygb.org.uk/v1/index.php/home/root/news-libertygb/4402-islam-the-learning-curve
Mirren10 says
”The best thing for Christians and other minorities to do is to leave”
The ones who can **afford** to do so, have probably already done so. Your comment is facile.
It takes **money** to pick up and leave a country. Air fares, other transportation fares, passports, etc. Most well-off Jews in Nazi Germany left; the ones who stayed were mainly the ones who didn’t have the financial wherewithal to leave.
Huck Folder says
The benediction/trilemma of mohammedanism:
Convert, submit or die.
Michael Copeland says
What is the future in Syria for the minorities?
“Okay, they have three choices, either they became a Muslim, or they have to pay the jizya, or to be killed.”
This was Tim Marshall of Sky News interviewing an insurgent prisoner in Syria (Sky News, 8 December 2012). We all have a learning curve when it comes to Islam, journalists especially.
http://libertygb.org.uk/v1/index.php/home/root/news-libertygb/4402-islam-the-learning-curve
RaymondofCanada says
There is only one Islam.
multiculturist mike says
You bigoted right wing bastards! You are trying to blame Islam and the Holy Qu’ran for what these few extremists do. The Qu’ran does not tell Muslims to kill innocent people, the Qu’ran tells Muslims to…..oh……never mind….
Mrs. Pharaoh says
Then where are all those peaceful, moderate Muslims and why have they not put an end to these outrageous practices of harming , harassing, and killing non-Muslims. They have had 1400 years to do so! And why are there no Christian churches or Buddist temples being built in Muslim majority countries. Interesting in non-Muslim majority countries Muslims have been building their evil mosques for decades where they can worship Allah, aka, Satan. How do we know it is Satan, by what their trilogy of hate books tells it followers to do.
Wake up Multiculturalist Mike, you sound like you have not done your homework and read the books for yourself. You are either an apologist for Islam practicing your lies or have been drinking the kool-aid of the Left. Jihad Watch readers are a very well educated lot and know the truth.
dumbledoresarmy says
Reread the comment.
He was being sarcastic; laying it on with a trowel.
paddy says
will somebody give these people a safe haven… God DAMN those muslim dogs
Ed says
Whilst the Europeans are welcoming with open arms the Muslim immigrants while making it very difficult for Arab Christians to immigrate “legally” to Europe, a thing that Christians in general tend to do; the Islamic armies are issuing ultimata for Christians to leave.
Will we see a day when the West issues an ultimatum like this to Muslims ?
Convert pay jizya or leave? For me, it’s enough to tell them Respect our laws and culture or leave. But the multiculturalist left mythologist will revolt defending the poor Muslims .
In Sarcelles France today, the Muslims invaded the streets robbing looting arsoning cars shops, they even tried to storm a synagogue but were pushed back by police and a rain storm, yes a heavy rain storm. The future of Europe is very very dark, I am a Christian that emigrated from Lebanon to Europe but I’m afraid very afraid for the future of my children, but, thanks to political sellouts everywhere, everything might be lost.
God bless the USA, Canada because the helping hand to Europe will once again come from across the Atlantic .