Mayhem in northern Iraq

In the current issue of the Century, Philip Jenkins writes about the fall of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, to the Islamic State/ISIS. Jenkins traces the area's deep Christian history, concluding that "we may be seeing the end of an astounding example of Christian continuity that lasted nearly two millennia."

Since Jenkins wrote that, ISIS has been moving fast. The Sunni militants have now taken several other cities in the North, including Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq; the city's residents largely simply fled. There are reports of horrifying violence, widespread theft, and forced conversions—all targeting, among other groups, Christians.

One Christian woman, newly exiled from Mosul, puts it starkly: "It is no longer possible for Christians to live in Iraq."