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Iran-backed militia seize Christian neighborhoods in Baghdad

Feb 9, 2016 8:52 am By Robert Spencer

“In 2014, the Islamic State announced that all Christians under its territories must pay a minority tax, or Jizzyah, of approximately $500 per family, convert to Islam or be put to death. Later, the decree was revoked and Christians no longer had the option of staying and paying a tax. They either had to leave the Caliphate or die.”

“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) They had to leave the caliphate or die afterward because they refused to pay the jizya, and so were considered to be at war with Islam.

But be quiet. Don’t speak of this. Remember the sage adage: “Talk about extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have perpetrated globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims.” — Robert McManus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts

iraqchurch-sacco

“Ethnic cleansing: Iran-backed militia seize Christian neighborhoods in Baghdad,” by Lisa Daftari, Foreign Desk, February 8, 2016 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Iran-backed militias have seized homes, businesses and cultural sites, including churches belonging to Baghdad’s Christian communities, forcing individuals to resettle and forfeit all their belongings, according to members of the Christian members of the Iraqi Parliament.

The militias have targeted properties belonging to Christians, forcing individuals to leave the area, according to Christian community leaders, including representatives from the Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac minorities, as well as the Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq who have condemned the attacks, calling them a form of ethnic cleansing aimed to rid Baghdad of its Christians.

“Their claim is that the property of a non-Christian is halal, meaning it can be seized,” Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sacco said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.

According to leaders, the seizures have been carried out in the upscale regions of Baghdad, where militia men have forced entry into homes and businesses with falsified documents.

“We are begging, once again, appealing to the conscience of government officials and authorities from Sunni and Shiite states in order to do something meaningful to safeguard the life and dignity and property of all Iraqis, because they are human,” Sacco said.

The news was confirmed by Tom Harb, the co-chair of the Middle East Christian Committee, MECHRIC, who said Middle East Christian NGOs have long been reporting from Baghdad and Erbil that the Iranian-backed militias are pushing the Christians south of the areas controlled by ISIS, including Baghdad….

Iraq’s Christians are considered to be one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, with their villages concentrated in Baghdad, Basra, Erbil and Kirkuk. The Assyrians had made the towns and regions around the Nineveh Plains in the north home, until ISIS forced them out.

In 2014, the Islamic State announced that all Christians under its territories must pay a minority tax, or Jizzyah, of approximately $500 per family, convert to Islam or be put to death. Later, the decree was revoked and Christians no longer had the option of staying and paying a tax. They either had to leave the Caliphate or die.

At that time, Christian homes and properties were marked with the Arabic letter N, or nun, for Nassarah, meaning ‘Christian’ in Arabic.

According to Sacco, there are no Christians left in Mosul for the first time in Iraq’s history….

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Filed Under: dhimmitude, Featured, Iran, Iraq, Muslim persecution of Christians Tagged With: Louis Raphael Sacco


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Comments

  1. ICH says

    Feb 9, 2016 at 8:56 am

    Pretty sad when in hindsight you
    realize these people are worse
    than Saddam

    I guess it takes a nut to run a country of nuts

    • Christianblood says

      Feb 9, 2016 at 10:10 am

      The Truth is Shiites, whether Assad regime or Hizbullah forces in Lebanon and in Syria are actually protecting Christians villages and Christian monasteries and churches and are actually training and arming Christian villagers in Lebanon to protect themselves against ISIS and other Sunni jihadists. The real danger to Christians in the Middle East, are not the Shiites but American-backed barbaric Sunni jihadists such as Saudo Arabia, ISIS, Alnusra front, Ahrar-al-sham, Jeshul-islam, Taliban and many other Sunni jihadist groups. Please click on the link below and watch the photos of how Shiites and protecting Christians in M.E.

      https://www.google.ca/search?q=Hezbollah+protecting+Christians&biw=1024&bih=615&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwx5fw-erKAhXqmIMKHcaABQYQsAQIMQ

      • gravenimage says

        Feb 9, 2016 at 1:41 pm

        Christianblood, you *did* notice that the Mohammedans seizing Christian neighborhoods in Baghdad are *Shi’ite*, and are backed *by Iran*?

        I was going to mention that there are those who flog the idea that it is only Sunnis that persecute Christians, and this gives the lie to that.

        But here we see that no amount of proof will be enough for some people.

        And why? In this case because they desperately want to believe that Russia playing footsie with Iran somehow *protects Christians*.

        And how protected are Christians in Iran itself? Here’s a clue:

        “Four Iranian Christians prosecuted for ‘spreading Christianity’”

        http://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/01/four-iranian-christians-prosecuted-for-spreading-christianity

        • Christianblood says

          Feb 9, 2016 at 5:30 pm

          gravenimage

          I am surprised at this my self because I have never observed this kind of thing done by Shiites against Christians. I suspect there is something else going on, some other turf issue going on behind the scenes.

      • Angemon says

        Feb 9, 2016 at 3:34 pm

        Christianblood posted:

        “The real danger to Christians in the Middle East, are not the Shiites ”

        I guess that these shiites who chased Christians out of their homes are imaginary, right? The Christians they robbed and kicked out of their homes were not in real danger, correct?

        • Christianblood says

          Feb 9, 2016 at 5:34 pm

          Angemon

          This has never happen before. Shiites are themselves victims of Sunni persecution and mass-murder and they never did something like this to Christian minorities in Iraq, in Lebanon or in Syria and they actually help Christians and give them protection in Lebanon and in Syria as I noted above. I suspect this story is more complex that reported and there are other turfy issues going on behind the scenes.

        • Angemon says

          Feb 9, 2016 at 6:28 pm

          Christianblood posted:

          “This has never happen before.”

          Look at the history of religion persecution in Iran. You’ll see Christians (as we as Zoroastrians) persecuted for practicing their religion.

          “I suspect this story is more complex that reported and there are other turfy issues going on behind the scenes.”

          Shiites and sunnis read the same book and follow the same prophet. Shiites are a minority in the overall universe of muslims and historically have not been in power, but that doesn0t mean that they treat minorities any differently from sunnis if they have the chance.

        • Christianblood says

          Feb 9, 2016 at 7:19 pm

          Angemon

          It is true that the Iranian regime persecuted Zoroastrians and Christians in Iran but Shiites in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, who are themselves victims of genocidal Sunni persecution never persecuted Christians or other religious minorities such Yazidis in those countries.
          That was my point.

        • Angemon says

          Feb 11, 2016 at 7:17 pm

          Christianblood posted:

          “It is true that the Iranian regime persecuted Zoroastrians and Christians in Iran but Shiites in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, who are themselves victims of genocidal Sunni persecution never persecuted Christians or other religious minorities such Yazidis in those countries.
          That was my point.
          ”

          And my point is that just because they allegedly never did it doesn’t mean that didn’t do it out of some sort of different interpretation of islam or love for their fellow human being – maybe, just maybe, they were never before in a position to do so.

      • Owen Morgan says

        Feb 10, 2016 at 4:58 am

        You are unbelievably ignorant. You claim that shiite muslims are persecuted by sunnis in Lebanon, but sunnis form only a small minority in Lebanon. Read “Because they Hate”, by Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese Christian, on growing up in a time of shiite muslim persecution.

        • Christianblood says

          Feb 10, 2016 at 1:36 pm

          Owen Morgan

          Please understand that Shiites are a very small minority within the context of islam and that only Iran and Iraq have Shiite majority populations in 57 Islamic countries of the world. Shiites are called “Nusairis” and other derogatory words by Sunnis and tens of thousands of Shiites have been massacred by Sunnis in the last few years in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Indonesia and Nigeria. Lebanese Shiites are armed and they can protect themselves and they sometimes go on the offensive but by and large Shiites are themselves in danger of Sunni extermination because Sunnis really hate them deeply and would finish them off if they could.

    • pdxnag says

      Feb 9, 2016 at 12:27 pm

      Constant suppression of the Muslims’ divine inspiration to wage genocide on non-Muslims can turn any other government into a tyrannical hell for all. Boot out all Muslims and you at least have a chance to live free instead.

    • Anne Smith says

      Feb 10, 2016 at 5:34 am

      What a great shame that the stupid George W Bush and his acolyte Tony Blair hadn’t got the sense to realise this.

  2. james collinsj says

    Feb 9, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    well, i guess when all the Christan’s are gone from the middle east we won’t have to worry about bombing innocents when the next war starts

  3. ploome says

    Feb 9, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    dear Robert

    NO ONE CARES, unless they can blame the Jews or the Americans

    every single church in USA and Europe should be marching after Sunday service
    for the Christians being slaughtered

    Synagogues also

  4. Matthieu Baudin says

    Feb 9, 2016 at 7:13 pm

    “…Iran-backed militias have seized homes, businesses and cultural sites, including churches belonging to Baghdad’s Christian communities, forcing individuals to resettle and forfeit all their belongings, according to members of the Christian members of the Iraqi Parliament…”

    The Allah ordained impulse to steal, pillage and subjugate unites the Sunni and Shia families of Islam.

  5. Dan Jones says

    Feb 9, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    Matthew 24 says we will be hunted during the tribulation…

    More End Time News At:
    http://www.shininginthedark.com/?page_id=4526

  6. Edward says

    Feb 9, 2016 at 11:24 pm

    Proverbs 2:13-14 These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.

    Psalm 82:5 But these oppressors know nothing; they are so ignorant! They wander about in darkness, while the whole world is shaken to the core.

    Islam hates the infidels because we love the God of light……while the quran promotes life within the darkness that masks the truth!

    Satan has blinded the world.

    2 Corinthians 4:4 The god [Satan] of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers [Christianity], so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

    • Edward says

      Feb 9, 2016 at 11:52 pm

      Error correction…..should’ve been:

      [of Christian doctrine]

  7. MTMLA says

    Feb 10, 2016 at 9:31 am

    I guess Sadam and Assad (still holding some power) were not that bad after all , considering the number of Christians , churches , monasteries , and convents that existed during their regimes and now are being killed and destroyed by the fanatics. Thanks to the political forces of US and Europe that helped unleash this disaster.

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