Life in the Islamic State
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 7:55 am
Islamic extremists impose reign of terror in Iraq
Ammar Al Shamary and Gilgamesh Nabeel
Special for USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — Police cars have been repainted to say "Islamic police." Women are forbidden from wearing bright colors and prints. The homes of Shiites and others have signs stating they are property of the Islamic State. And everyone walks in fear amid a new reign of terror.
That's what life is like in Mosul, Tikrit and other cities in northern and western Iraq under the control of Islamic extremists after their lightning-fast military campaign that overwhelmed the Iraqi army in June.
The new normal for these residents means daily decrees about attire and raids to root out religious minorities in a campaign to impose strict Islamic rule in cities that tolerated multiple religions for centuries.
Residents chafe at the radical changes, and some are starting to rebel against the militants as they try to "cleanse" the region of anything — and anyone — deemed non-Islamic. As many Christians in Mosul have discovered, their only choice is fleeing.
"I was shocked when I heard the new decision forcing me to wear a veil and totally cover my face," said Mais Mohamad, 25, a pharmacist in Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. "I can't do that — I was always free to wear what I like. I can't live the rest of my life with my face covered."
The militants, an al-Qaeda splinter group so radical that it was rejected even by al-Qaeda, initially concentrated on providing services such as sanitation and restoring order. The group, which insists on being called the Islamic State, issued religious decrees soon after taking over the city but didn't enforce them, residents said.
Over the past few weeks, the group has begun to crack down in an effort to fulfill its ambition to create an Islamic territory spanning Iraq and neighboring Syria.
MORE
Ammar Al Shamary and Gilgamesh Nabeel
Special for USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — Police cars have been repainted to say "Islamic police." Women are forbidden from wearing bright colors and prints. The homes of Shiites and others have signs stating they are property of the Islamic State. And everyone walks in fear amid a new reign of terror.
That's what life is like in Mosul, Tikrit and other cities in northern and western Iraq under the control of Islamic extremists after their lightning-fast military campaign that overwhelmed the Iraqi army in June.
The new normal for these residents means daily decrees about attire and raids to root out religious minorities in a campaign to impose strict Islamic rule in cities that tolerated multiple religions for centuries.
Residents chafe at the radical changes, and some are starting to rebel against the militants as they try to "cleanse" the region of anything — and anyone — deemed non-Islamic. As many Christians in Mosul have discovered, their only choice is fleeing.
"I was shocked when I heard the new decision forcing me to wear a veil and totally cover my face," said Mais Mohamad, 25, a pharmacist in Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq. "I can't do that — I was always free to wear what I like. I can't live the rest of my life with my face covered."
The militants, an al-Qaeda splinter group so radical that it was rejected even by al-Qaeda, initially concentrated on providing services such as sanitation and restoring order. The group, which insists on being called the Islamic State, issued religious decrees soon after taking over the city but didn't enforce them, residents said.
Over the past few weeks, the group has begun to crack down in an effort to fulfill its ambition to create an Islamic territory spanning Iraq and neighboring Syria.
MORE