ISIS Militants Destroy Christian Crosses and Icons Inside Historic Iraqi Churches, Replace With Terrorist Black Flag
Christian Post – Terror group ISIS has posted a series of photos detailing its latest act of destruction, namely destroying Christian crosses, statues, and icons in churches in Ninawa, Iraq, and replacing them with its infamous black flag.
MEMRI’s Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor obtained and published the photos that show men smashing crosses with hammers, tearing down crosses from rooftops, smashing various Christian iconography, and bringing down statues.
“The images show ISIS men engaged in the destruction of various Christian symbols, which ISIS perceives as being polytheistic and idolatrous,” JTTM states.
ISIS, which has captured a number of cities across Iraq and Syria, has said that the Christian relics promote idolatry, and go against its implementation of Sharia law.
“They don’t care what it’s called; they are just following their ideology and that means getting rid of churches and minorities. It is the Islamic State, and there’s no room for anyone else,” MEMRI Director Steven Stalinsky said, according to The Daily Mail.
“This has been going on for some time, a systematic campaign to rid the region of any vestiges of Christianity.”
Throughout its campaign ISIS has often targeted Christians. In February it kidnapped close to 250 Assyrian Christians, and earlier it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians in a video it titled “A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross.”
Todd Daniels, International Christian Concern regional manager for the Middle East, said at the time: “These Islamic extremists continue to claim their inspiration for their actions from their religious beliefs and have once again committed horrific violence in establishing their religious beliefs. We strongly urge the Egyptian government to act swiftly to provide protection for its citizens who remain in Libya and face continued threats if they attempt to flee the country.”
Earlier in March, ISIS militants were seen bulldozing and destroying the ancient biblical city of Nimrud in Iraq. The famous statues and archeological treasures of the Assyrian city, founded in the 13th Century BC, were destroyed for being “false idols,” according to the jihadists.
The U.N. condemned the action as a “war crime.”
UNESCO head Irina Bokova added: “This is yet another attack against the Iraqi people, reminding us that nothing is safe from the cultural cleansing under way in the country: it targets human lives, minorities, and is marked by the systematic destruction of humanity’s ancient heritage.”
