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    "Renad Mansour",
    "Gerard Russell",
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Source: Getty

In The Media
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Ancestral Homelands Under Attack?

Abductions and killings by Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq threaten ancient minorities.

Link Copied
By Renad Mansour, Gerard Russell, Philip Luther
Published on Feb 25, 2015
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Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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Source: Al Jazeera Inside Story

Last July, ISIL issued a decree to the dwindling population of Christians in eastern Syria and northern Iraq, ordering them to convert to Islam or pay a special religious levy.

And if they did not, “there is nothing to give them but the sword,” the group said.

Since then, ISIL has released a trademark video showing the apparent beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya.

At least 70 Christians have also been reported abducted in northeastern Syria. And they are not alone.

The unfolding conflict in the region is forcing thousands of Christians and other minority groups to leave their ancestral homelands, where they had co-existed with other religious communities for nearly 2,000 years.

It has moved one commentator to observe that “we are watching a living history and all that comprises disappear.”

Inside Story asks: Is a rich tapestry of history at risk of being lost in the cradle of civilization?

This interview was originally broadcast on Al Jazeera Inside Story.

About the Authors

Renad Mansour

Former El-Erian Fellow, Middle East Center

Mansour was an El-Erian fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, where his research focuses on Iraq, Iran, and Kurdish affairs.

Gerard Russell

Philip Luther

Authors

Renad Mansour
Former El-Erian Fellow, Middle East Center
Renad Mansour
Gerard Russell
Philip Luther
Political ReformSecurityGulfLevantSyriaIraqMiddle East

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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