In a new report at World magazine, Senior Editor Mindy Belz describes the destruction of cities like Nineveh, which is outside of Mosul, and which the Islamic State had occupied for the last three years.

As the Jewish and Christian communities celebrate Passover and Easter this weekend in America, it’s important to remember our brothers and sisters celebrating faithfully around the world, especially those in places ISIS has devastated.

Belz writes:



Before the ISIS takeover in 2014, Qaraqosh numbered 60,000 people, nearly all members of Assyrian, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. ISIS took captives, including a 3-year-old girl named Christina, and sent everyone else fleeing under heavy fire. In November 2016 Iraqi forces with assistance from a U.S.-led coalition fought the Islamic State militants street by street, from the air, above and below ground. After its liberation, Qaraqosh sat empty and in ruins: The militants torched homes and churches, left wired explosives everywhere, and tunneled extensively under the city.

Though ISIS has been mostly eradicated from Iraq in recent months, they had successfully driven about 120,000 Christians from that area. ISIS destroyed not just homes but ancient monasteries, stripping them of the marble that adorned their walls – a physical manifestation of the spiritual and psychological torment they have wished to inflict upon the faithful living there.

In a recent profile, Aid to the Church in Need reported on these Christians who had been under siege for so long; the effects are nearly impossible to reverse. Nadia Younis Butti, who used to live and worship in Mosul, said:



I can’t believe my eyes when I see what ISIS has done to my church, [the Syrian Orthodox Church of Mor Afraïm]. I remember sitting here, in the midst of my friends when the Mass was served very well. I remember being on the square outside with all the parishioners and using the rooms for meetings: the women in the rooms on the left, the men on the right. Thinking about that time saddens me deeply.

Now that ISIS is gone, the faithful left in that city are working to rebuild about 2,600 homes for families who want to return to occupy the area. Faith leaders in the area fear if they don’t rebuild as quickly as possible, Christians will be unable to return and, as Father Salar Kajo told World, “If we take more time, families will leave and Christianity will disappear from Iraq.”

Still, despite the ruination, Christians seem hopeful and returned to worship in Mosul for the first time in several years.



Not one Western media outlet on hand as Christians return for Palm Sunday in the largest town outside Mosul captured by ISIS. A remarkable perseverance. This photo by Iraqi photojournalist Gemayel Cefajamil. More to come in upcoming @WORLD_mag pic.twitter.com/gu9Vg57tqN — Mindy Belz (@mcbelz) March 28, 2018

More beautiful pictures of #Syriac #Christians celebrating #PalmSunday in Baghdeda (Qaraqosh), Iraq, for the first time in 4 years or since ISIS was defeated from the area. This town was the largest Christian in Iraq prior to 2014. #IraqiChristians



Happy Holy Thursday! pic.twitter.com/vaEBNXKHoU — Iraqi Christian HRC (@iraqschristians) March 29, 2018

Just a glance through before and after photos of Mosul, and the Jews and Christians who are now worshiping there this Passover and Easter, should both offer perspective and inspiration to Americans looking to do the same here, without fear of harm, and in relative comfort.