"Invading militias distributed a letter to Christians, giving them one of four options: Pay money to Muslims, convert to Islam, leave their homes or be killed"
Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, gave this command to his followers:
Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war...When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them....If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. (Sahih Muslim 4294)
Saliba was a third-generation Christian. While Hussein’s regime oppressed Shiite Muslims—Hussein was Sunni—Christians practiced their religion openly under his rule.
But after the U.S. invasion, Saliba and his family had to practice their faith in secret. Invading militias distributed a letter to Christians, giving them one of four options: Pay money to Muslims, convert to Islam, leave their homes or be killed.
For two years after the invasion, Saliba had managed to keep his family safe from the violence. But that, like so much of his life before the invasion, was about to change.
In the early morning hours of April 16, 2005, Saliba woke early to head out to work. But as he opened the front door, he saw something strange sitting on his doorstep.
He immediately knew someone had left a bomb for him. A note attached to the bomb read, “You are taking Muslim money. We will kill you and your family.”
Saliba flew through his house, scooping up his wife and daughter as he ran outside to the wall surrounding his property. Frantically, he threw together a makeshift staircase and hoisted his family over the wall separating his house from his neighbor’s.
11 years ago
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