信仰的代价

But first, Iraqi Christians in the northern city of Mosul have been forced to flee after an ultimatum by the Islamist militant group ISIS. The ultimatum was passed on a week ago, and it gave Christians three options: to convert to Islam, pay a protection tax, or be killed. The Reverend Faiz Jerjes leads a congregation at St George's Anglican Church in Baghdad who feel increasingly under siege. When I spoke to him through a translator, he told me what has happened to some of his fellow Christians who have left Mosul in the last few days.

While I'm in touch with many of those who fled either by phone or through relatives, a lot of them have said that they were given a number of options, either to convert, or paying the jizya, which is like a penalty for non-Muslims, or having their necks cut by the sword, or leaving. And even those who left, they were stripped of everything they owned. Even the women who married had their wedding rings taken off their fingers, and people's pockets were emptied literally, so that they left with absolutely nothing to live on.