Islamic State in Iraq creates reign of terror

Police cars have been repainted to say “Islamic Police.” Women are forbidden to wear bright colors and prints. The homes of Shi‘ites 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 overwhelmed the Iraqi army earlier this summer.

The militants, an al-Qaeda splinter group so radical that it was rejected by al-Qaeda, initially concentrated on providing services such as sanitation and restoring order. The group, which insists on being called the Islamic State, has established courts controlled by muftis, Muslim religious leaders. The group aims to impose strict Islamic rule in cities that tolerated multiple religions for centuries.