Tag: Jizya

Saudi intellectual urges Muslim nations to treat Christians as equal citizens

July 28, 2017 Saudi Arabia Islamic extremism, Jizya, Saudi Arabia, Sharia

Saudi scholar Tawfiq writes that in the modern state, all citizens are equal in rights and obligations, regardless of their religion and social affiliation. (Photo: Dr Al-Sayf in a 2013 interview, MEMRI-TV)

The official designation of Christians as “protected people” in Islamic law is out of step with the modern concept of citizenship and should be abandoned, a Saudi intellectual has argued. Tawfiq Al-Sayf, a columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat* noted that statements condemning the bombing of two Egyptian churches on . . . Read More

Iraqi senior cleric shown calling for Christians to ‘convert, pay tax or be killed’

June 14, 2017 Iraq Baghdad, Converts, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Jizya

A video showing a call for jihad from a senior Iraqi Shi’ite cleric has caused anger among Iraqi Christians. The undated footage shows Sheikh Alaa Al-Mousawi, head of the Shia Endowment, a government body that looks after Iraq’s Shia holy sites, describing Christians as “infidels”, saying “either they should convert . . . Read More

Iraq urged to allow UN investigation into genocide

March 10, 2017 Iraq Genocide, Iraq, Islamic State, Jizya, Middle East, Rape, Torture, UN, Yazidis

International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has called upon the Iraqi government to allow a UN investigation into the treatment of Yazidis by the so-called Islamic State (IS), reports Reuters. A year ago, the UK Parliament joined US Secretary of State John Kerry, the US House of Representatives, the EU . . . Read More

Iraq’s Mosul Archbishop had to pay ‘protection money’ before his 2008 kidnap and death

July 21, 2016 Iraq Al-Qaeda, Iraq, Islamic State, Jizya, Kidnapping, Mosul, Quran, Saddam Hussein

The Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, who was murdered by militias in 2008, paid protection money to safeguard his clergy for years before his kidnapping and death, an aide has told World Watch Monitor. Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was abducted in February 2008 from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which . . . Read More

Iraq’s Christians ‘could be gone in 5 years’

May 16, 2016 Iraq Assyrians, Chaldeans, Iraq, Islamic State, Jizya, Kirkuk, Middle East, Mosul, Nineveh Plains

ISIS’ jihadist actions mean Christians could disappear from Iraq in five years, says an Iraqi Assyrian priest. Fr. Martin Hermis Dawood told the Telegraph the latest phase of Islamic extremism has only precipitated the trend of Christians exiting their ancestral lands. “Everyone sees himself outside Iraq in a few years. . . . Read More

Push to include Christians in IS ‘genocide’ charge

December 8, 2015 Global News -- No Particular Country Asylum seekers, Genocide, Iraq, Islamic State, Jizya, Syria, USA, Yazidis

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on its government to include Christians in the definition of those at risk of genocide from Islamic State’s campaign in Syria and Iraq. A calls for a broader inclusion of Christians, Shi’a, Turkmen and Shabak communities as well as Yazidis, . . . Read More

IS ‘releases’ 50 Assyrian Christians

October 15, 2015 Syria Assyrians, Homs, Islamic State, Jizya, Qaryatain, Syria

The self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has released 50 Assyrians among a large group of Christians snatched 10 weeks ago near the Syrian city of Homs, the Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights (AMHR) reported. The freed indigenous Christians arrived back on October 12 at their Syriac towns of Zaidan and Fairozeh, . . . Read More

Rape as weapon of war prolongs victims’ agony

September 14, 2015 Nigeria Boko Haram, Chibok girls, Children, Jizya, Nigeria, Rape, Women

For hundreds of women and girls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants, their ordeal did not end when they escaped, or when Nigerian soldiers rescued them and reunited them with their families. Instead of being admired for their bravery, many have become outcasts in their communities, stigmatised due to their perceived . . . Read More

Qaryatain Christians given 48-hour ultimatum

September 3, 2015 Syria Islamic State, Jizya, Qaryatain, Syria

A month after Islamic State (IS) forces captured Qaryatain city in Syria’s Suweida province, the militants have ordered the Christians still living in the city to either convert to Islam, pay the per capita jizya tax required of non-Muslims living under Islamic law, or leave the city within 48 hours. . . . Read More

What’s the threat of Islamic State to the Church worldwide?

September 25, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Al-Qaeda, Bartella, Dohuk, Erbil, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Israel, Jizya, Jordan, Kurds, Lebanon, Muslim Brotherhood, Qaraqosh, Quran, Salafism, Sharia, Sunni, Syria

While Islamic State is wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria, its ambitions do not stop there. Moreover, several world leaders are saying it is one of the biggest threats they are facing. But exactly how does Islamic State fit into the global picture of Christians under pressure for their faith . . . Read More

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