Note: I do not support nor identify with nor call to the cause of ISIS/ IS. This is not a defense of their terrorism or their violence or any of their actions. This is intended to be a fact checking investigation.

By now you’ve seen this photo with the claim that ISIS militants have burned down an 1800 year old Church in Mosul:

The problem with that would be that the Church in the photo is from Egypt, an entirely different country, and it was burned down in mid-August of 2013, that’s last year. So not only is it from the wrong year, the person who contrived this story couldn’t even be bothered to use a Church in Iraq itself, they used one from a completely different country. Fact checking does not seem to be the best ability of Christians crying persecution.

The issue in Mosul is that the IS de-facto Government, has determined that as the Caliphate, they now have the right to seek taxes from those living within their state. If persons choose not to pay their Government, then they would be asked to leave the state, as they would become a financial burden to the Government. The issue with the taxes therefore, is not one of persecution, but one of Governmental economic policies. The IS is a state with financial burdens and a state at war with the Iraqi Army, and as such, if it seeks to tax some of its citizens who are ineligible to fight on behalf of the state’s army then in place of that they pay a fee or tax known as the Jizya which in effect, is a promissory tax, of which upon acceptance by the state, they assume the role of having the responsibility of protecting those within the state’s boundaries.

Along with the invented story of burning Churches, there has been even more malicious stories of massacres and rapes. I decided a few blog websites by anti-Islamic, anti-Arab, angry Christians with an inferiority complex weren’t a very objective news source. So, I went to the source which the news agencies were quoting themselves, the head of Iraqi Christians on Mosul, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako! In his message to the Vatican, there was no mention of burning churches, murders, rapes, beheadings etc.  We all agree that ISIS/ IS is evil and pretty violent, but by inventing stories about false atrocities for the chance to claim that your faith is being persecuted is quite low. It takes a person of very low morals to take the plight of a people and use it to manipulate the faithful of the world’s various religions.

The only effect inventing stories about ISIS/ IS can cause, is to legitimize them. If you heard 100 bad things about them, and it turned out a lot of it was false, doesn’t matter if 20 or so of those things actually occurred, you’re going to give the impression that they weren’t as bad as we thought. So in essence, by lying for pity, you’re legitimizing a violent, armed gang. Not the best thing you could’ve done, and yes I’m speaking to you 24/7 Christian persecution websites.

and God knows best.