About That “N”

By now it’s pretty clear that Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS), which has taken over much of central and northern Iraq is guilty of genocide. The man is a killer as are his followers. Thousands of Assyrian Christians have been murdered and driven from their homes, as have many members of another religious group, the Yazidis, who have been driven to the mountains to avoid further destruction.

Numerous reports indicate that hundreds of Yazidis have been killed, some buried alive and the women who have survived these massacres have been sold into sexual slavery.

Shiite and Sunni Muslims have also been murdered in large numbers by IS.

Rev. Dr. Mark Durie, an Anglican Priest from Australia and expert on jihad, dhimmitude and Islamic doctrine regarding non-Muslims, summarizes the state of affairs as follows:

In northern Iraq religious genocide is reaching end-game stage. Islamic State (IS) soldiers, reinforced with military equipment originally supplied by the US, are driving back Kurdish defenders who had been protecting Christians and other religious minorities. While hundreds of thousands of refugees have been fleeing into Kurdistan, around 40,000 Yazidis and some Christians are trapped on Mount Sinjar, surrounded by IS jihadis. (Yazidis are Kurdish people whose pre-Christian faith derives from ancient Iranian religious traditions, with overlays and influences from other religions.)

The Assyrian Aid Society of Iraq has reported that children and the elderly are dying of thirst on Sinjar. Parents are throwing their children to their deaths off the mountain rather than see them die of thirst or be taken into slavery by IS.

The IS jihadis are killing the men they capture. In one recent incident 1500 men were executed in front of their wives and families. In another incident 13 Yazidi men who refused to convert to Islam had their eyes plucked out, were doused with gasoline and burned alive. When the men are killed, captured women and children are enslaved to be used for sex, deployed as human shields in battle zones, or sold to be used and abused as their new owners see fit.

Today, noted Middle East Analyst Walid Phares reported the following on his Facebook page: “Massacres of Yazidi in Koch district by Jihadists took place today. Men executed, women taken. Genocide continues…”

Instead of trying to hide their atrocities, IS has posted videos of its misdeeds on the Internet in an effort to terrorize its enemies in both the Middle East, Europe and North America.

One of the more horrifying aspects of IS violence is the manner in which it has openly declared its violent intentions. When IS invaded Mosul, it painted the letter “N” in Arabic on the homes of Christians.

N stands for Nazarene, which is a reference to Jesus’ hometown in the Galilee (where sadly enough, Christians are, even today, intimidated (but thankfully not murdered) by radical Muslims. Such things happen in Muslim countries, but not Israel, which helps explain why growing numbers of Christians are joining the IDF.)

In Iraq, the “N” painted on someone’s home was a clear sign that the inhabitants will be targeted for violence.

In an effort to express solidarity with the religious minorities who are being murdered en masse by IS, people are posting different versions of that “N” on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Some Jews, for example, have posted a “N” surrounding a Yellow Star, a reminder of the Holocaust, on their Twitter and Facebook pages.

Changing one’s profile image is a small gesture, but given the amount of time journalists and policy makers spend on the Internet, it helps remind them that people are paying attention to what is happening to religious and ethnic minorities suffering the effects of Islamist violence in the Middle East. It is simply not an issue they can continue to ignore.

In the short term, the N is a demand for the protection against IS violence.

In the long term, it will be a reminder that the perpetrators of the genocide we are witnessing today must be brought to justice.