They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians in the Middle East

by Mindy Belz

“Everywhere militants were blowing up Christians, their churches, their shops. They threatened them with kidnapping. They promised to take their children. The message to these ‘infidels’: You have no place in Iraq. Pay a penalty to stay, leave, or be killed.”

Sweeping from Syria into Iraq, Islamic State fighters (ISIS) have been brutalizing and annihilating Christians. How? Why? Where did the terrorists come from, and what can be done to stop them? For more than a decade, journalist Mindy Belz has reported on the ground from the Middle East, giving her unparalleled access to the story no one wants to believe. In They Say We Are Infidels , she brings the stark reality of this escalating genocide to light, tracking the stories of real-life Christians who refuse to abandon their faith―even in the face of losing everything, including their lives.

As Reading Lolita in Tehran did for Iran and We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families did for Rwanda, They Say We Are Infidels shines light into the Middle East through the stories of everyday heroes and heroines who will not be silenced. A must-read for anyone seeking a firmer grasp on the complex dynamics at play in war-torn Iraq and Syria, They Say We Are Infidels is the eye-opening and revelatory testimony of a journalist who heads into a war zone―and is forever changed by the people she encounters there.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, History, Middle East, Islam, War, Religion

307 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2016

About the author

Mindy Belz is the former senior editor of WORLD magazine. Writing for the publication since 1986, she has covered war in the Balkans, Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan—and has reported also from Nigeria, Syria, Turkey, Haiti, and elsewhere. Her reporting has been published overseas and in the United States in The Weekly Standard and other publications. She has appeared on Fox News, ABC News, and radio talk shows. Mindy is a contributing author of Sorrow and Blood: Christian Mission in Contexts of Suffering, Persecution, and Martyrdom and speaks frequently about persecution and survival in the Middle East. She enjoys engaging with younger audiences on a broad range of current events, as well as teaching journalism both abroad and closer to home under the auspices of the World Journalism Institute. Mindy worked on Capitol Hill and attended George Washington University, but for more than thirty years has lived in Asheville, NC, where she is a wife and mother of four children.

Reviews

[Yibbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s hard to read this book. It saddened, encouraged, angered, and disheartened me in turns. The saddest part is to know the horrible affects America’s unwillingness to recognize Militant Islam as the problem in the Middle East. Why do we feel forced to accommodate a religion that has fueled so much evil? Why won’t we protect the weak from it? If you want a front row seat on the disaster unfolding in the Middle East this will give you a fair overview of recent events.
While at the beginning she does touch on the differences between Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical Christians, by the end of the book that distinction has disappeared. Once she does mention that Salvation is by faith in Jesus alone, then she goes right on and treats Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox rituals as just as important to Christians. It was quite heartening to read that so many Christians are turning back to the Bible through all of these troubles.
From the description, I assumed it was more biographical than it is. It really the political and ethnic history of Iraq and the personal travels of the author woven together. There is a lot of travelogue to it. All you hear of individual Christians is her brief interactions with them throughout her travels. It reads a lot like news stories and journal entries combined.
I can’t say I’m in agreement with her choice to leave her family, her young children especially, to travel all over the world chasing the news. She briefly touches on that and rather flippantly dismisses a Bible verse it may have been better for her to heed.
Thanks to Tyndale House and Netgalley for a chance to read this book for free and review it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been meaning to get a grasp on the Middle East for years. I see headlines like "X number killed by a car bomb in such-and-such a city" and feel, well, bored. I don't know these people or places, and I've simply seen similar stories often enough that I feel some sympathy fatigue whenever a new story pops up. It's become clear to me in the past few years that I need to spend less time reading up on current events, and more time reading up on the currents that drive events. I need to understand the history.

Mindy Belz does a superb job of turning the number "X" into the stories of the real people affected by ISIS or Daesh. She also brings each city in Iraq to life, describing how each city looks both before and after ISIS, and even introducing readers to the history of the city or the area of the country where the city is found. Mindy builds her case patiently and carefully, adding evidence piece by piece to support her thesis that Americans are not doing enough to help Christians who are being specifically and brutally targeted by ISIS. I'm not sure I agree with her politics but I simply don't know enough to disagree, either. So I let her present her case.

I loved that Belz approached her journalism in a way that felt familiar to me. She's a mom, and she occasionally counts the personal cost of her dangerous travels. Being a mom actually enriches her writing, in my opinion. It makes her willing to travel outside of the press box and into the crowds, to find the mothers and ask how they are able to feed their families and protect their children in the midst of the turmoil around them. These pictures of real citizens making life work in war-torn cities or refugee camps are the highlight of the book.

The book as a whole is fairly slow until the last 1/3rd. I was mostly interested in the content that was promised by the subtitle "On the Run from ISIS with Persecuted Christians" and that didn't really begin happening until the end of the book. The rest was dedicated to her earlier travels in Iraq and in building a "before" picture so that the after would mean more. I appreciated this effort, I just wished it had been shorter or perhaps simply weaved into the later chapters when we actually start to see recent news events play out in the lives of citizens. I wished she would have written a book that was less chronological and more of a story, perhaps each chapter focused on a city and how the people of that city were affected; or each chapter focused on a person, and how that person's experience encapsulates the experiences of so many others. I will give her credit for not sensationalizing the pain of the victims or the brutality of the invaders. I am apparently a little addicted to sensationalized news because I found some of her stories to be underwhelming. I'm not typically a history reader, so I found myself persevering despite the fact that the book was rather slow and asked me to keep track of far too many people and places at once. This could be entirely my deficiency as a reader.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shocking and horrifically sad. I really had no idea that there had been such a large population of Christians in Iraq to begin with. And it was very interesting to learn the far reaching history of the cities and groups in the Iraq & Syrian area. And then devastating to hear how ISIS is destroying and killing anyone and anything (artifacts and history) that doesn't align with the Islamic State. And the way they are now ruling society in Iraq. It was bittersweet and heartbreaking to hear of those who choose to stay and/or go back to continue to preserve with their lives and Christian ideals and missions in the uncertainty and violence of war. I can't say I would be as brave or as strong, and it scares me. But it was also very inspiring to hear of their dedication to their home land and their religion in their struggle and fight to help refuges of all religions and ethnicity who were being persecuted by ISIS. I couldn't help but compare some of the people's stories to the post apocalyptic and dystopian fiction novels I have previously read. (Yikes!) And then immediately feel that my first world problems are really so stupid and petty, and that we are definitely too far insulated and sheltered from this horror. We need to do something as a country to fight ISIS and to spread the word to help the Christian population over there avoid this genocide.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of information about the persecuted church in The Middle East. It's almost overwhelming. Needless to say there are so many sad moments in this book and the difficulties Christians and others face is hard to believe. There's so much hardship detailed in this book that I almost became desensitized to it. Even so, I am angry. I'm angry with ISIS and I'm angry with our country that has allowed ISIS to gain a foothold.

It's really sad to read of buildings that have been destroyed which are centuries old. Even sadder are the families displaced from their homes that they've held deeds to from the age of the Ottoman Empire.

The saddest of all are the families who have been destroyed by the evil of ISIS. Young girls who are raped repeatedly and then take their own lives as a result and then families torn apart just because these militants have the power to do so. Sad. Sad. Sad. I want to help but I'm not sure how.

It makes me think of World War 2 and the evil of Adolph Hitler. Someone needs to intervene and stand up to these evil people.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as compelling as I had anticipated; in fact by the end of the book I was downright frustrated.

First, the title is deceptive. The author was never "on the run" from ISIS with persecuted Christians. She was traveling among Christians in the Middle East, many after they had been displaced from their homes, and recounting the stories of their experiences and those of friends/relatives/associates/church leaders that they knew. Yes, the region was tense, there was danger, and I've no doubt the author experienced many adrenaline rushes akin to running for one's life, but ISIS was not actively pursuing/hounding her or those immediately around her.

Yes, the Christian heritage in the region goes back two thousand years to the time of Christ. Yes, the Biblical significance of the region is profound. The destruction of artifacts, historic landmarks, and family homes by ISIS is horrible, but historically precedented (i.e., they're not the first; they won't be the last).

My frustration stemmed from the idea that somehow, these people who have lived thousands of years in hostile regions need the U.S. and other western troops to come in and "save" them. This wasn't really a factual treatise, in my opinion, but a journalist account meant to persuade, move, or anger the readership. It was hard to keep track of what was actually going on when, since there were snapshots of specific points in time when the author was there, interspersed with some historical background about a group, an individual, or a place, and then information being recounted to the author while she was there. It seemed more like a compilation of separate articles than a cohesive account.

Personal bias warning here, since I personally know people who have served in Iraq (military and nonmilitary), the author's impression of U.S. involvement, what it has been and what it needs to be, is not the same as mine. Those I know haven't talked about their experiences much (and I haven't asked), but one of the reasons I read this book is to find out more about the backstory when all I usually see are the headlines. My two star review mostly has to do with the fact that I don't really feel much more enlightened now than when I started the book, and I disagree with some of the author's conclusions about certain situations. It was an okay book, but I would not reread it.

Okay, back to content information for those who are considering whether they want to read the book.

I am still trying to figure out why 150,000 people were relocating because of a band of 2,500(?) ISIS soldiers. Much like the poem by Martin Niemoller, my impression from the author is the majority of persecuted people in the region (Coptic Christians, Jews, Yazidis, Turkmen, and others) seem to be content to ignore violence against the other minorities until such time it is practiced against them, and then they submit or flee. The author doesn't appear to have asked them why they did not resist, nor was it self-evident to me from the factual information provided why they would not.

One small group of the displaced actually took up arms to defend their families and prevent ISIS from expanding their reach to another town, (hurrah for them!) but they were worried they would be ostracized because they were meeting violence with violence--and yet (according to the author) those who would ostracize this band of resistance fighters want and expect foreign soldiers and Kurd soldiers to fight and die on their behalf. I find this mindset, especially after all of the recorded genocides of the world, inexplicable and borderline self-harm. I can only hope the author's relatively narrow experience in the region (no aspersion cast, just quantifying the fact she cannot travel freely most places and even if she could is still only one person trying to cover an entire country with a strong language barrier) and personal feelings about the matter (it appears she strongly believes the U.S. should go in and fix things) have conflated my impression that the majority of citizens of Iraq are sheeple willing to follow the lead of and conform to the directives of others at the expense of their own comfort, livelihood, and life and the lives of those they hold most dear.

In sum, what piqued my interest about the book initially faded and I was left with a bad aftertaste. It now makes more sense to me how ISIS (and Al Qaeda for that matter) spread as they do. It seems akin to France surrendering to Germany after 5 weeks of active assault, with pockets of resistance reforming and continuing to fight, while the majority of the country simply tries to move on, live as normal a life as possible or migrate elsewhere, while waiting for other armies to come save them or liberate their country so they can return.

Disclaimer: I received a prepublication digital galley proof of this book from the publisher. Due to its prepublication nature and the fact that my review copy has expired, I regret I am unable to provide specific numbers and quotes from the text to support my (decidedly outside of the normal reviewer) takeaway from this book. Also, to make very clear, I have nothing but sympathy for everyone who has been and continues to be persecuted for their religious, ethnic, or cultural status. Their plight moves me, and I understand fully and applaud those independent soldiers, contractors, and citizens who traveled to Iraq to join the resistance. If I had any knowledge of the region and language and wouldn't just be a burden I would be tempted to join them. Which is part of the reason I find it inexplicable the majority of the persecuted sects in Iraq are not actively organizing some type of resistance.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable read on many levels.

I was inspired by Belz the journalist, who has taken the work I do to a level I can only imagine: soldiers with automatic weapons as travel companions, stealth border crossings under the cover of night, and a scarf always tucked in the pocket of her cargo pants in case she needs an instant head covering.

I was educated and appalled by all I hadn’t understood about our decades of involvement in Iraq and the surrounding region: help withdrawn at a pivotal moment, leaving an entire country in disarray and every minority group exposed and under siege.

I was encouraged by the faith of believers who cling to the gospel in the face of ferocious attack, who reach across denominational lines in a way that puts my circle to shame, who love their home passionately but their God more.

I was gripped by the mothers, beginning with Belz and her friend Insaf and continuing through the book, who made the next courageous choice day after day, holding each other’s hands and heading into the unknown over and over.

Belz begins this story in 2003, the year she met Insaf Safou. Insaf was slipping into Iraq with $10,000 cash, separated into dozens of plain white envelopes, to distribute to persecuted Christians. She asked Belz if she could carry a few of them.

For more than a decade Belz followed Insaf and many others through the country, telling their stories in WORLD magazine. But the book spans centuries, not just the present day – Belz weaves the ancient history of faith and conflict throughout the whole story.

She shows a Middle East I hadn’t considered – one that refugees long for even as they’re safely resettled in places such as Germany or Canada.

I loved her description of making Arabic (or Turkish) coffee, a thick, sweetened espresso: “She heated water and fine-ground coffee beans with cardamom in a stove-top pan. It took thirty minutes to prepare, as is common in the Middle East, where women stir the coffee until it foams hot. Then they take it off the heat, returning it to heat to foam again and again – an unhurried ritual that the Iraqi mothers like to say melts their sorrows away.”

My morning pour-over method sounds speedy by comparison, but I’ve had a taste of that melting away in the process and it is sweet.

She opens the door to a world of beautiful, ancient customs. When she and Insaf were driving away once, Insaf’s sister lugged a large tub of water outside and threw it into the air behind their departing car. “It means we will come back, like the rain,” Insaf explained.

And she uncovers religious diversity and heritage with roots in the very beginnings of Christianity.

“Some chanted in Aramaic inside chapels made of cut stone while others sang American praise songs in Arabic to the accompaniment of a Yamaha keyboard.”

But the book is even more sobering than it is lovely.

Belz was often near danger as she worked to collect the stories of those who were always in danger. She took her adult son along once and it brought the risk home in a new way.

“So much about being a reporter depends on having one’s act together, being self-sufficient, and keeping an observer’s distance. Traveling in a place like Iraq with one of my children along, even a child of twenty, made me more vulnerable, more dependent on others, more aware of my dependence on God to see us through.”

Belz is unsparing with American leadership in both parties as she describes the decisions that led to a political vacuum in Iraq and paved the way for ISIS: “… the occupying forces had wasted a safe environment when they could have moved forward with real governance, had they not dismantled the army and local bureaucracies.”

The American people, too, seemed often indifferent to needs other than their own. “For most Americans, the war was about defending the homeland or the American way of life. Iraq’s Christians and other minorities who’d long considered themselves allies of the United States didn’t seem to enter the equation.”

She describes a meeting in the compound that housed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. She asked someone inside about his impressions of landmark churches in the city. He hadn’t been outside the compound walls.

“I was stunned. But I shouldn’t have been. Americans at home and in Baghdad wanted no more casualties in Iraq. The cost of safety, though, was the loss of connection with Iraqi lives, with the people who made being in Iraq meaningful at all. From where they sat, the city was as abstract as Kansas or the moon.”

Belz pursued those connections, joining church services in cramped apartments with no heat or electricity and entering a barricaded part of town with a bribe-paying vicar determined to serve communion to his people. She shared meals with Christians in homes that had been in their families for generations – and met them again years later as refugees on the run from ISIS, living in partially constructed buildings with no windows or doors.

They finally left the homes they loved when the only other option was to bow to the Islam of ISIS.

“The sublime, nearly forgotten reality in all their hardship and loss was this: In losing everything, they had held on to the one thing that mattered most to them.”

It’s a faith that withstood the most extreme tests. The people continued to gather, even as they fled from town to town ahead of the enemy.

“Our sisterhood is bonded by both the fellowship of suffering and the triumphant truth of who we are in Christ,” Insaf wrote to Belz in an email.

There are many reasons to read this book, but that has to be among the top.

[Aberdeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have put off recording this book for weeks because I wanted to say something about it that encapsulated its power and beauty and importance. Because I'm sick of it sitting on my desk, I'm marking it off as read and accepting the fact that I can't write a review that will do it justice. It's definitely going to be one of the best books I've read this year. If you want to read real, powerful stories, if you say you're interested in human rights, if you want to learn more about the biggest issues we are facing today, if you don't believe that solid reporting with elegant prose exists—read this book.

A few notes: I will say that the timeline confused me a little and that it does take some mental exertion to keep track of the various people, places, and dates (definitely exacerbated by the fact that I'm not used to Middle Eastern names). I think that the book gives back far more than it demands, but be prepared to have to think hard. Also, as a daughter of an American soldier, I always feel defensive when people criticize any US military operations in the Middle East even though I know that much of that criticism is valid and helpful. I was impressed with how even-handed and balanced Mindy Belz was when dealing with this topic, and it helped me better understand the pros and cons and the complex motives and consequences surrounding American involvement in Iraq. I'm not saying I agree with all of her conclusions—I’m still processing it all. But the sign of a good book is not that I agree with all of it, but that it makes me think. And this book certainly does that.

[Amy Lee Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as my current events/current issues read on the Challies challenge. This is an excellent but heartbreaking read, and one I highly recommend. Mindy Belz, a reporter for WORLD magazine, has spent extensive time reporting from the Middle East and this book draws on much of what she has witnessed over the years.

In this book, she gives readers a front row seat to the rise of ISIS as well as giving them a window into the beleaguered Christian community of the region, most particularly in Iraq. Belz provides a good picture of what ISIS has been doing in towns and cities, and I could feel the mounting tension as the net tightened around the Christian communities of the region. The author has gotten to know some of her contacts quite well, and their witness provides a light and a bright spot to what can otherwise be a very sad read at times. Given how quickly the plight of persecuted Christians in ISIS-held territory has faded from the news, this is a very important read. Just because it's not on the front page of the Washington Post does not mean that our brothers and sisters are not still suffering.

[Richie Valdes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an incredible account of the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria from the war as well as the current occupation by ISIS. It's a sobering, eye-opening account Of real lives impacted that really connects the people to the news stories. The horrors of persecution make you want to weep. But the faithfulness of the persecuted warm your heart with joy. This is a must read.

[Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suggest reading this alongside the Psalms of the Old testament as well as the Gospels of the New testament.

This is a slow going read but filled with encouraging testimonies of those who hold fast to the Christian faith even unto death.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find this book as compelling as I'd hoped. I had a really hard time keeping the timelines, places, and names (both political and personal) straight.

[Michele Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an effort to understand the heart of a nation, journalist and World Magazine editor Mindy Belz spoke to its people. To connect the dots between ancient civilizations, a modern-day dictator, and a political force that operates with fiery religious zeal, Mindy joined forces with an Iraqi-in-exile, Insaf Safou, with whom she learned and followed the path of dreaming and waiting — while letting no grass grow under their feet! Insaf’s concern for the displaced Christians of Iraq keeps her returning to her homeland with offerings of love and gifts of cash for basic necessities of life, thus introducing Mindy to the unseen and under-reported drama that forms the narrative of They Say We Are Infidels.

Mindy’s travelogue unfolds in twenty-one chapters, each of which could stand on its own, and she documents a breath-taking array of pandemonium: life in big-city Baghdad with unreliable electricity and insufficient supplies, a flight from danger with fifteen people stuffed into a mid-sized vehicle, a Caesarian section performed because there’s no time for normal labor and delivery when the world is falling apart. When the stated choices are leave, pay the penalty to stay — or be ready to die — people flee by the thousands.

With twenty years of journalistic experience, it is no surprise that Mindy’s account of post-Saddam Middle East is anchored in historical fact and political backstory, while at the same time being deeply disturbing. Public displays of violence toward Christians are reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s pogroms against European Jews, and the message is clear: Christians are no longer tolerated, and funded by seized assets gained through door-to-door looting, ISIS is in a position to carry out its agenda. Kidnapping children, selling them into slavery of all kinds, destroying churches, interrupting every normal function of life with their sweep of violence, ISIS moves freely through the Middle East, destroying and eliminating the nine years’ worth of gains won by the United States military.

Mindy helps her readers to understand the complex “tug of blood and history” that keeps a people group hanging on in hope while Christian villages continue to empty: spiritual roots that go back to the time of Jonah, a vibrancy of culture that spans centuries, and a fellowship of faith that is incomprehensible in the face of our Western tendency to remain scattered strangers in spite of shared church affiliation and weekly worship. This is not a pleasant or comfortable read, and I found myself identifying with Mindy as she compared her safe, secure, party-planning and cake-baking years with the experiences of women attempting to raise children and preserve a way of life in a land that was home to 1.2 million Christians in 2003, but had hemorrhaged down to an anemic 500,000 by 2011.

Although I read voraciously, I have remained largely uninformed about the danger and the destruction that has become the new normal to Middle Eastern families. Reading about the efforts of self-funded volunteers who risk their lives and resources to make a small difference, witnessing the fragile light of those believers who choose to stay in their homeland in hopes of helping through educational and humanitarian efforts, I realize that my ignorance is a luxury the world cannot afford.

One church in Indiana raised sixty thousand dollars to assist a struggling body of believers that fled Mosul in 2014. Their generosity provided eighty families (that’s around 250 people) with rent assistance for six months. Could it be that the solution for Iraq will be “not by troops and killing people, but by healing,” through acts of generosity and self-giving that sustain and carry hope? In the strength of her calling, Insaf continues to travel to Iraq, where her efforts are compounded with fasting and prayer and fueled by words from the prophet Micah:

The Lord is coming out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
And the mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
Insaf believes that God will melt the power of ISIS.

So, while churches continue to be bombed, pastors continue to be murdered, and families continue to be torn apart through kidnapping and refugee-living, the challenge comes forth: persecuted Christians need “rent money, concrete floors, schools and backpacks . . . They need dignity too.” They Say We Are Infidels is a challenge to join Insaf and her friends in action and in fervent and well-informed prayer, that the fire of persecution will become “like cold water, cooling them, helping them . . .”

Amen.
May it be so.

//

This book was provided by the author in exchange for my review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives some good background and narrative about what Christians went through in the Middle East. Not a fan of Ecumenicism though. The Reformed Church is supposed to have eschewed man made religious observances. Still, this was eye opening and is still going on one way or another.

[Brian Whittington · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The lights are going out all over Europe; We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime"- Sir Edward Grey, on World War I

Here in America, we call the men and women of World War II the Greatest Generation. We call them that in part due to their willingness to stand up to atrocities. They were not only willing to call out evil for what it was, but also willing to put their words into action and stop the evil from continuing. Unbelievably we have the same situation occurring today, but no one is willing to stand up. In fact, no one is even really willing to SAY anything. Since 2003 over 1 million Christians have been killed or forced to leave Iraq based solely on their beliefs. But its more than just Christians. Muslims (who don't ascribe to ISIS interpretation of the Quran), Kurds (an ethnic group in the middle east. 4-6.5 million people in Iraq), and Yazidis (ethnically Kurdish religious group. 650,000-1 million in Iraq) are being slaughtered, forced to watch the execution of their families, rapped, sold into human trafficking, forced to leave their homes, forced to watch century old towns (that trace back to the Ottoman Empire) be completely leveled and no one is doing anything. ISIS is literally wiping out centuries old towns and slaughtering thousands of men, women, and children while no one is doing or saying anything about it. We are literally turning a blind eye. Except Mindy Belz

They Say We Are Infidels is Mindy Belz fascinating and courageous attempt to ring the alarm bell. They Say We Are Infidels chronicles Mindy's several trips to Iraq as she talks, lives, and cares for those on the ground in the post Saddam regime and present ISIS takeover. They Say We Are Infidels presents to us the Iraqi Christian PEOPLE. Not just the story, not just the history, but the people. We often forget that each of these news stories (count yourself lucky if you have even seen a news story about this) involves actual people, and if you are a Christian they are about brothers and sisters, they are about those apart of the body. Even if you are not Christian, or even self identify with any faith, this is still about people. Most of us would still agree on some basic beliefs and sacredness of human life. This is why I would recommend this book for everyone.

Mindy writes with a gentleness, gritty ground level view, and presents a real time account of this ongoing tragedy in the Middle East. With her twenty years of journalistic experience, this book is crafted with a professionalism that you would come to expect. The right amount of historical background, objective facts, clear details, and historical timelines are presented while allowing the humanism of the story to saturate each chapter. You will be presented with the graphic but really account of what is happening to these people groups. You will be angry that people can treat each other with such horrific indifference, and you will be angry that these stories have been "minor" stories reported by our mainstream media. This book will cause you to remember similar atrocities of the past, but there is one significant difference. These atrocities are currently on going. Like the Sir Edwards Grey quote above these lights and lives are still being put out. So what will we do? What will our generation be remember as? Dietrich Bonhoeffer (A German pastor who was killed for standing up to the Nazi's) said it best "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act". In my opinion, your first action should be to get this book. Then here are a few resources to get you started:

Voice of the Martyrs: http://www.persecution.com
Samaritans's Purse: http://www.samaritanspurse.org
Open Doors: https://www.opendoorsusa.org
Mindy Belz: http://theysayweareinfidels.com

I received They Say We Are Infidels by Mindy Belz compliments of Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free copy of this book for my review and the opinions are strictly my own.

Read more of my reviews at: http://thelakesidecover.weebly.com

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read this book.

[Wes Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of two books I found helped sort out the complexity of the situation in the Middle East. The other is Michael Totten's "Where the West Ends." Both are written by independent journalists who have spent extensive time on the ground in the region over an extended period of time meeting with "ordinary" people. As a result, they give a more informed account of the various parties and the effect the wars have had on various people groups. Neither is pushing a political agenda and neither is dependent upon the official sources that "parachute" journalists are (for example, the network reporters who show up for the big stories and then are on to the next story). The title of the book is a bit misleading on two accounts. First, although the title puts an emphasis on what has happened since the rise of ISIS, the first part of the book goes back to the beginning of the Gulf War. Second, Belz does not limit herself to the "persecuted Christians." Since she writes for "World" magazine, which is a Christian news weekly, she does give special attention to the effect on Christians, but their experience mingles with that of other persecuted religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria. As a result, she provides a longer-term view of the effects of the wars since before the first Gulf War upon these minorities--from their persecution under Saddam through a brief period of peace to the current persecution by ISIS. The account is sobering because of the lost opportunities. People who initially celebrated the freedom gained when Saddam was overthrown eventually felt betrayed when a poorly-informed political process failed to continue to protect them. One of the saddest accounts is of a Christian given the key to the synagogue that marks what is believed to be the tomb of the prophet Enoch by the last Jews to leave the city. He is given the responsibility of protecting and maintaining it against the day when the Jews might return to their city. Instead, he is eventually forced to leave himself and Belz, who had interviewed him previously, found she was unable to talk to him later because, he said, he never wants to talk to another American again. Those to whom Belz has spoken during her many trips to the region want nothing more than to live their lives in peace. They want a society in which people of all faiths can live side by side as neighbors. Unfortunately most are now dealing with the loss of family members, property and hundreds or thousands of years of their heritage. Books such as this help us be more aware of what is happening and challenge us to stay better informed of what is happening (rather than learning it after the fact) in order to be able to take some action as the persecutions continue.

[Anthony Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book roughly follows a chronological timeline of the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The stories mostly center on the Christian communities that have been there for centuries. Many people are unaware of the Christian communities that have called these "Muslim" places home for a very long time. It is a shame that the West has often failed to see the plight of these communities as targets of ISIS as much as Yazidis have been. The church has dwindled there because of the violence. Belz's book does an excellent job of familiarizing the reader to what has happened. It is light on "plot," but the vignettes strung out over the decade plus are well worth reading.

[Katherine Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know that handful of books you read every year, not for entertainment, but because they’re important? Because they increase your compassion, understanding, and world-wide awareness?

This book is one of those.

Reporter Mindy Belz’s They Say We Are Infidels is not a fun read. In fact, it’s pretty tough. It takes some courage to read the details news headlines don’t reveal. True stories of how people are suffering for their faith, forced to leave their homes, losing their friends and family — and quite often, their lives — simply for believing in Jesus Christ. This book confronts readers with these hard truths.

Mindy Belz spins her story with the care of someone who loves the people she is writing about. She is a reporter, yes, and so she pays attention to detail — but she has built relationships with those she is writing about, and this brings emotional texture to her complicated tale. Sometimes she gives more detail than the casual reader can readily absorb, but it’s there for a reason: to expose the truth. She is a reporter, after all, not a novelist.

Two parts of her story in particular continue to haunt me: the tale of the Keeper of the Keys (to Nahum’s tomb), emblematic keeper of Jewish and Christian legacy, forced to flee his post in Iraq for Turkey; and the desecration of the Nineveh Plains — truly, “a monstrous holocaust.” Oh, my heart aches for all that has been lost.

We who live in North America are so far removed — physically, culturally — from the Middle East that sometimes it’s hard to imagine what it’s like. This book helps to paint that picture in Technicolor. Christians who live in the relative safety of the West need to read this book. It contains a wealth of history of our faith, while it also serves to warn us about what can yet happen here.

Thanks to Tyndale Momentum/Tyndale House Publishers for providing me a free copy to review. All opinions are mine.

[Vicki Andrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I'll be unable to do this book the justice it deserves in a review! It was so informative! When I first heard the author on a program talking about this book and some of her experiences in the Middle East a few months back, I right away wanted to read this book! It did not disappoint!

I can say that I learned some things about our own government that makes one understand why some over there don't like us much. My heart breaks for the Christians of the Middle East, and the Muslims too, all terrorized by ISIS! And I am ashamed to say our government has done little to help these people, in spite of what our government tells the media! It bothers me greatly. I just have no words to describe.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is willing to learn about this region, about the Christians of the Middle East, the plight of a people that have been driven from there homeland, slaughtered , and attempted to be wiped out! This book is not a joyful book, so if you can't handle books that have quite a bit of sorrow in them, this book won't be for you. But I do think it is important for us to know what is happening all over the world! As a Christian it's hard to know my Christian sisters and brothers are being driven out of there homeland there families have lived in for hundreds of years, because of an evil intolerant group! And to know our own government finds this of little importance, well this is unconscionable in my view!

I also learned one thing in this book that I had heard from some, but now am thoroughly convinced of! ISIS must be stopped! The inherent evil is a threat to all of us, even here in the US. We are not exempt from this evil, they want to destroy us too, make no mistake about that!

I would totally recommend this book! I got a lot out of it, learned much!

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is convicting. Seeing the persecution that had occurred in Iraq and Syria through first-hand accounts leaves you wonder how we could've been silent. If any group, other than ISIS, had performed the actions they did, the world would've up in arms at the crimes against humanity. There would've been demands for someone to be held accountable. As you read this book, you can't help but wonder what might have happened had intervention occurred before ISIS was able to gain momentum. The Middle East has been forever scarred by the events of the past 15 years.

The book itself reads a bit like a documentary as the facts are presented often without emotion or additional imagery or descriptive details that would help you experience the events. For those fond of documentaries, this style will resonate. For those more prone to historical fiction or dramatized autobiographies, this style will seem more sterile. Regardless of your preference, the book is worth the effort to engage. It's enlightening and just a bit edgy as it's clear that the writer disagrees with America's foreign policy decisions. Given the horrific results of this policy, it's amazing that the author was able to be so restrained.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't even put into words how heart wrenching this book is ... the author chronicles some of the rich history of Christianity in the region of Syria and Iraq and the Middle East and then tells the story of the ongoing genocide being carried out by ISIS against the Christians of the Middle East. I read this book in stages because it took my breath away. I had to stop and PRAY ... and in my opinion ... one of the most tragic parts to this story is American complicity in setting the stage for the genocide of Christians by toppling a brutal regime but then pulling out of Iraq without securing the peace. The people of Iraq were so hopeful at first that American intervention against Sadaam Hussein would usher an era of new freedoms and opportunities for Iraqis. But as time went on the war became more and more politicized and in the end, Iraqis were left to fend for themselves. Left with a vacuum of power, ISIS came roaring in and continues to attempt to de-Christianize the Middle East by murdering pillaging raping burning churches and selling women and girls as sex slaves and terrorizing any who get in their way. May God help our brothers and sisters in Christ who remain faithful witnesses there.

[Shawn Yoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that is a "hard to read" but a "must read". It's not hard to read because of the style of writing or the language used, but hard to read because of the reality of the stories that are told. Mindy Belz travels with persecuted Christians in the Middle East and tells their stories as they flee from ISIS persecutors. She also tells how the actions by our government in those areas (and to an embarrassing degree our inaction) and how it has affected Christians and other minority and religious groups there.
Many of us have heard bits and pieces of the atrocities in Mosul and Aleppo. Belz introduces us to those who have lived through them. Christian persecution is a very real thing in the world. 2016 was the year that saw the highest rate of Christian persecution in world history. We cannot ignore it. Hebrews tells us that we are to suffer with those who are suffering because we are part of the same body as they are - the body of Christ. Pick up this book and hear the stories of those who are suffering for their faith, but still remaining faithful. I came away with information on how to pray, with a new set of eyes to see those we simply label as "refugees", and encouragement from those who are standing firm in their faith in the midst of strong opposition.

[Tim Michiemo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 Stars

Mindy Belz shares the heart-wrenching stories of Iraqis in the Middle East who have been gravely affected by the emergence of ISIS. Belz's book brings to reality the violence that Iraqi Christians face every day in the Middle East. For many in the West, the truth of this violence and suffering seems almost surreal. But the stories of Iraqi Christians that she shares brings to life the suffering that many face.

The Belz's book shines primarily because of her journalistic talent. She is able to intertwine history, information, and personal lives into a story that convicts and engages. She truly helps us to see the pain and suffering of Christians in the Middle East. As well she clearly describes the process of how Iraq became a country invaded by ISIS.

The weaknesses of Belz's book are primarily theological. Although she shares the strengths of Iraqi Christians who face despair and destruction - she shares little theological hope. Her book is more of a push to preserve the culture of Iraqi Christianity, rather than to proclaim the sufficiency of Christ to overcome worldly suffering. Sadly, Belz spends little time digging into the theological hope of these Iraqi Christians. An OK book but not a must-read.

[Danial Tanvir · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked this book, i bought it from a book shop in new york city.
it is about how the christians are treated badly in iraq,this is done at the hands of the (ISIS).
which is known as the

"Islamic State in Iraq and Syria".
they are tortured and their houses are burnt and their homes are destroyed .

many christans escape to other countries to escape the violence.

in the end the (ISIS) take over and they impose their laws and oppress people,
men are forced to keep beards and women have to cover them selves.
this was a great read indeed!.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"After the onslaughts by Islamic militants, the Muslims would return to their homes and reopen their stores. The Christians could not. Even their sanctuaries--the churches--ISIS had obliterated."

Enough said. The shock and awe of large scale ISIS terrorist acts around the world are awful, but we then go back to our lives after the media has died down. These people are living it every day. Killed. Raped. Displaced. Stripped of a cultural identity and history.

[Sike O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

THEY SAY WE ARE INFIDELS tells the gripping story of thousands of Syrian and Iraqi Christians choosing to live true to their identity as followers of Christ in the face of unimaginable hardship and even death threats.

Author Belz offers no armchair reporting on these harrowing events, as most part of the narrative is based on eye witness account and frequent interactions with victims whom she has grown to know and love. Little wonder both empathy and literary competence came through beautifully in this masterful piece.

A Christian and Westerner in her own right, Belz does not betray inordinate allegiance to her native homeland, rather, she seeks to carefully present a fair report of goings on, particularly the aspects that don’t make it to mainstream media.

Being one who isn’t overly familiar with contemporary Middle Eastern geographical terrain and culture, reading this book gave me an insight into the complex dynamics at the heart of the ongoing crisis. It was both a challenging and encouraging read, with tears giving way to sighs of relief as the narrative vacillated between tragedies and encouraging stories of unwavering faith in such quick succession. Something I found intriguing was that most of these heroes of faith had no religious titles or special seats in the cathedral; they were everyday believers who, in losing everything, held on to the one thing that mattered to them most. Stories are told of seemingly little gestures that surprisingly go a long way in holding out hope to the hopeless. Page after page, telling stories of total dependence on God, evidenced by earnest prayers being said for almost any and everything!

If this were a work of fiction, it probably wouldn’t have made it to my reading list – why would I want to torture my imagination with such grimness for the fun of it? It is non-fiction, unfortunately so, and even so am I all the more eager to commend it as an essential read. I must say however, that it doesn’t make for a light-hearted or fun read, rather an enlightening and important one, if for no other reason than to wake us up to the reality of life as experienced by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yet holding on fast to the promise of Jesus:

“…I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” Matthew 16:18,

We pray in hope.

“you can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” – A.J. Gordon.

Oh that we would be fervent in our prayers on their behalf, and generous in the giving of ourselves for their well-being. Amen!

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written by a Christian journalist and her goal was to publicize the persecution of Christians in Iraq. Its quite a startling book, as it documents how churches are terrorized, blown up, and how Christian leaders go missing and have been beheaded by ISIS insurgents. Its stuff that doesn't make it to mainstream news. Unfortunately, it only covers up to 2015 at the peak expansion of ISIS, so its now "old news."

It lacks a strong story-line and in depth sociological analysis: its journalism. It is mostly a chronicle of many different stories of terrorism and heroism. Two points of surprise for me: first, that there were so many Christians (and Jews) in Iraq! Sadly, this book documents how they have been forced from their homes and into exile, often in the West. There seems to be a huge evacuation of Christians from the Middle-East, and its understandable given the threats to life, limb and liberty but also deeply disturbing. Hundreds, even thousands of years of home have been lost to these people. While ISIS is only a small part of the Muslim world, it uses Islam as its motivation for wreaking havoc across the Middle-East. There have been many Christian martyrs.

The second point of surprise for me, especially seeing as Mindy Belz is American, is how she emphasizes at many points how the US involvement in Iraq has been detrimental to the livelihood and fate of the church. The political scene is full of so many contradictions, and this one was most disheartening.

The book is an eye-opener, but doesn't leave you with any framework of understanding. Mostly indignation that all these atrocities have happened and so few people know about it. I was surprised, too, to read about an American who had actually heard about this persecution and joined the Kurdish forces to help defend the threatened populations. Conviction caused him to pick up a gun and help, the stories are that infuriating.

If you want to learn more about the church in the Middle-East and get a window into the mess that seems to be daily news for Christians' living there, this is one entry point.

[Winnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

They Say We Are Infidels by Mindy Belz. Excellent book. If you have any interest at all in what is happening in the Middle East, this is the book for you. I watch the news on TV and read news in the paper and on the internet and yet, I had no idea the Iraqi Christians had suffered to the extent detailed in this book. I also confess I had no idea that there were SO MANY Christians in Iraq and how many had emigrated – in fear of their life – to other countries. I tend to think they are all Muslim but there are Christians, Jews, and other religions.

Belz, a journalist who has covered the Middle East for years, becomes friends with Insaf Safou, an Iraqi Arab Christian, who fled Iraq with her family in 1994 and together Belz and Safou journey back to Iraq many times. Belz shares their first-hand stories of real people from 2003 through 2015 – stories of both the suffering and the indomitable spirit of Christians and other minorities in the aftermath of the post-Saddam Hussein era. You will meet courageous people who have lived through terrible tragedies and are still living in hope for better days there. You will read how America’s actions and inactions may have contributed to the civil war raging in Iraq and Syria. You will learn how Insaf Safou and others continue efforts to give aid and hope to those suffering and you will learn the frustration felt as world leaders turned a blind eye amidst unspeakable horrors of persecution and exile. I think we still have a lot to learn not only about those years but also what is going on today.

The timeline in the back of the book gives key events in Iraq and Syria from 1920-2015 and was a great help.

Highly recommend.

[Lauren Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years I've read Mindy Belz's reporting in WORLD magazing from Iraq, Syria, and other locations in the Middle East, and I am very grateful to have read this longer work on the context of war in Iraq. In the middle of a long, complicated, and seemingly-unpredictable conflict, Mindy has made it her mission to give a voice to the voiceless, telling the world about the everyday reality of Iraqi Christians. Through years of reporting and countless trips to the Middle East, Mindy introduces us to the unfamiliar history and geography of Iraq and surrounding countries, and invites us to get to know Christians who face kidnappings, refugee life, and other threats. We meet Iraqis who have family roots in the area going back to the fourth century - some choose to emigrate to a safer life and others refuse to leave no matter how bad the violence gets. Her stories span from the early months after 9/11 to the rise of ISIS power and terror.

Iraq is a complicated topic, yes. But after reading "They Say We Are Infidels," I feel like I have a much better understanding of the last two decades. I certainly have a greater appreciation for the Christian brothers and sisters who have faced so much.


"From their promontory, the Mar Matti brothers watched the tracers of air strikes over Nineveh Plains at night. They saw the brilliance of an explosion, then heard and sometimes felt its thud a millisecond later. They saw mortar launches along the berm outside Mosul before the Dwekh Nawsha militiamen sighted them in their scopes. In the ongoing warfare, said Yousif Ibrahim, 'The sky lights up at night, but we of course are not scared. God protects us.'"

[Mary Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review:
Reading the newspaper should lead Christians to powerful, intercessory prayer. That is what the book, They Say We Are Infidels by Mindy Belz, does as well. She documents the decimation of the Iraqi Christian community in Iraq just before the fall of Saddam Hussein all the way through 2015. At one point in the book, Belz speaks of the thousands of Iraqi Christians who have migrated/fled to the Detroit area of the United States. With that statistic in my mind, The Washington Post news release this week that the Trump administration had rounded up over 114 Iraqi Chaldean Christians to deport them back to Iraq was horrifying. Belz makes it clear that the Christians were targeted in Iraq through killings, rape, torture, sexual violence, kidnapping, extortion, etc. The U.S. government doesn’t recognize this reality, so that if the Chaldean Christians are sent back to Iraq, they will be killed.

Belz’s book is a poignant retelling of what it’s like to be on the run from ISIS in the Middle East. The book challenges readers to action—whether it’s political support for persecuted Christian refugees, prayer for refugee families, or involvement at a church level with the various organizations that are working with these refugees worldwide. It’s important to remember that the story of the Iraqi Christians is being replicated on a day to day basis in other countries around the world. 5 stars.

M.L. Codman-Wilson, Ph.D., 6/29/2017