MENA Minorities

 According to a report by Reuters : The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) has demanded that Christians in the city of Raqqa pay a levy in gold and curb displays of their faith in return for protection, according to a statement posted online Wednesday. The Al-Qaeda splinter group’s directive in the eastern city is the latest evidence of the group’s ambition to establish a state in Syria founded on radical Islamist principles, a prospect that concerns Western and Arab backers of other rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. ISIS said it would ensure Christians’ safety in exchange for the levy and their adherence to restrictions on their faith, citing the Islamic legal precept of “dhimma.” It said Christians must not make renovations to churches or other religious buildings, display religious insignia outside of churches, ring church bells or pray in public. It demanded every Christian male pay a tax of up to 17 grams of gold, a levy th...