Mariyam Petrayus was one of many people Islamic State terrorists captured when the group stormed its way into Mosul, Syria. When they tried to force her to Islam, her answer surprised them.
“He told me ‘why don’t you convert to Islam? Why are you Christian?'” Petrayus told Rudaw as she recounted her face-to-face encounter with an ISIS jihadist one night.
“‘I do not want to become one like you,” she said.
The militant became agitated by her comment.
He asked, “Why? What is wrong with me?”
“You don’t say your prayers, you kill humans, you earn haram (sinful) earning, and you harass people.'” the old woman fired back.
The militant stood in disbelief and denied her accusations, but Petrayus assured him he was sinning against God himself.
“‘He said no. I said yes, ‘I swear to God’,” she recalls.
Petrayus has since escaped after spending two years in captivity under the Islamic State. She had to walk many miles through ISIS-held territory before she reached safety behind Kurdish lines. Now, she lives in a refugee camp in Iraq.
While she is among many who were able to flee to safety, many never got that chance.
ISIS has waged a war against anybody who doesn’t believe what they do but call Christians their “favorite prey.”
Anglican priest Andrew White told the Orthodox Christian Network that ISIS has murdered Christian children who refuse to give up Jesus.
