The persecution of the Christian Church started immediately. The Deacon Stephen, Christianity's first martyr, spilled his blood at the hands of his persecutors, It was witnessed by a man from Tarsus -- Saul who, by his zealousness, was instrumental in the persecution of the early Church in Jerusalem.

It is estimated that some 2,000 were murdered and as many as 40,000 have fled into the mountains to avoid the slaughter. The children are now dying of thirst. Exposed to the heat of Mount Sinjar, the elderly and vulnerable adults will soon follow.

In these circumstances and fearing the worst, many chose to flee and Mosul – just recently home to thousands of Christians – has been emptied of this ancient community. Stripped of all their possessions, even medicines, many were forced to walk 70km to safety, eventually heading to Dohuk in the Kurdish region of the country. The 15 Christian families who chose to stay in Mosul, did so by converting to Islam in order to to retain their homes and possessions.

Iwanicki’s first contact with Muslim society came during an Amman stopover where the majority of women wore veils, a “surprise because my travel book said that Jordan was a secular country.” An Amman restaurant also struck Iwanicki with a “TV bolted to the wall…blaring a program where an imam chanted the Quran in hypnotic tones.” A knowledgeable companion meanwhile told Iwanicki of a friend who “had looked too long at a fully-covered woman in an elevator” whereupon her sheik husband respond