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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

The Islamic State group has threatened Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul with death if they do not convert to Islam or pay a tax, Al Jazeera has learned. The Sunni rebel group issued the orders in a letter after Friday prayers. The document, obtained by Al Jazeera, states that the order was issued after Christian leaders failed to attend a meeting called by the group.

In response, the group says in the letter that Christians must either convert to Islam, pay a special tax on non-Muslims known as jiziya, or face death “as a last resort”.
Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was overrun by the Islamic State group and allied rebel groups last month.

The Iraqi army units stationed in the city, most of whom were Shia, fled after the group crossed from Syria and attacked the north of Iraq.
Before the attack, Mosul’s Christian community was estimated at 3,000. Many are believed to have already fled the city as part of an exodus of up to one-third of the population. Churches and Christian-owned shops in the city were reported smashed by those who fled.

The Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, held a sermon in Mosul’s grand mosque two weeks ago, calling on all Muslims to unite behind his group.
The Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has issued similar demands in areas it controls in Syria, and has posted pictures of Christians being crucified for disobeying orders in Raqqa.

Church leaders in Iraq have not responded to the threats officially.
Nickolay Mladenov, the head of the UN assistance mission In Iraq, condemned the order.

“Any persecution of minorities constitutes a crime against humanity and we urge all sides to protect civilians. We have produced a report listing attacks on civilians and have brought this up at the highest levels of the Iraqi government.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations has said at least 5,576 civilians have been killed by violence in Iraq this year.
At least 11,665 have been wounded since January, when Sunni fighters from the group calling itself the Islamic State, overran the city of Fallujah in the western province of Anbar, the UN said yesterday.

Last month, fighters seized swaths of northern Iraq, including the area’s largest city, Mosul. Of the 2,400 people killed in June, 1,531 were civilians, the UN said earlier this month.

The report documents what it calls “systematic and egregious violations” of international law by the group previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
The UN found the group had executed civilians, committed sexual violence against women and girls, carried out kidnappings and targeted assassinations of political, community, and religious leaders and killed children, among other violations.

The report also details violations committed by government forces and affiliated groups, citing “summary executions/extrajudicial killings of prisoners”, which it said may constitute a war crime. — Al Jazeera