Christains in Mosul, a state in Ira have recived letters fom the Islamic state to either convert to Islam, pay a tax, leave, or be killed by noon of 19th of July 2014.
After the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State-led groups in early June, alot has chnage for most Christains in Mosul .
Michael (not his real name), an Assyrian Christian from Mosul, decided to remain after Islamic State (a group that is hoping to build an islamic state, having captured parts of syria and iraq; and declared an Islamic State by name Islamic State).Unlike his fellow Christians who left, Michael wanted "to keep an eye on the city's churches." Following the ultimatum, Local church leaders instructed the community members to leave out of fear for their safety.
Fighters led by the Islamic State had made a lightening assault against government forces and took over the city. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city.
Michael described how a statue of the Virgin Mary had been destroyed from outside one of Mosul's churches, and a black flag put in its place. At the time he said he felt like "we are in the quiet before the storm".
On Thursday, that storm arrived when militants issued their decree to the Christians of Mosul.
The last remaining Christians now have fled Mosul after Islamic State militants issued an ultimatum giving them until noon on July 19, the option to convert to Islam, pay a tax, leave, or be killed if they stayed.
The ultimatum triggered a wave of criticism internationally, but also among Muslim scholars.
On Monday, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Iyad Ameen Madani,condemned the act against innocent Christian Iraqi citizens in Mosul and Nineveh including forced deportation under the threat of execution.
"This forced displacement is a crime that cannot be tolerated; and the practices of the Islamic State have nothing to do with Islam and its principles that call for justice, fairness, freedom of faith and coexistence," he said in a statement.
In 2003, it was thought that Christians in Mosul numbered 35,000. The number dwindled due to a wave of migration. Some estimates put the most recent numbers at 3,000 Christians out of a city of 2 million people. Before the ultimatum, Michael says only a few hundred Christian families remained in the city.
