Al-Monitor contacted a civilian minority leader in al-Kosh, 45 kilometers (28 miles) north of Mosul, to inquire on the situation of these groups. The source insisted not to be identified in the report, as armed gangs would kill anyone who makes such contacts.
The source said that after the announcement of the Islamic caliphate, minorities are threatened with extinction, because of the rulings IS has started to apply, including the expulsion of all adherents of minorities, including Christians, Yazidis and Shabak, from public departments in Mosul. IS has even imposed on the latter the choice of either converting to Islam or paying the Jizya in exchange for their safety.
Moreover, all empty houses and properties of Christians, Shabak and other minorities who have fled the city fearing for their lives, were seized. Reports say that nearly two-thirds of the Christians have left their areas in the Ninevah province. The minorities who were displaced from Mosul know that they can no longer return, as their lives are threatened.
IS has replaced the crosses on the churches’ domes with its flags and ordered to remove non-Islamic flags from public places. Many kidnappings, including the abduction of two nuns and three orphans under their supervision, took place. This is added to other general restrictions against minorities, including banning women from working in places where men are present and forcing them to wear a niqab outside the house.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Father Amir Jaji, the provincial vicar of the Order of the Dominican Fathers in the Arab world and a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in the Vatican, said that minorities suffer from a lack of interest by all parties and lack any protection from the genocide they are subject to in the IS-controlled areas. He added that minorities are being used as scapegoats in conflicts among powerful parties in Iraq, and have become collateral victims in the settling of scores and conflicts between large denominations.
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