In an article reported by the International Christian Concern, the Christian convert known to her friends as 'Maria' was a daughter of a Muslim Cleric in northern Iraq. The assassination was suspected to be associated with her family's disapproval of her decision to turn to Christianity.
ICC President Jeff King aired his concern regarding the matter, "For someone born as a Muslim to be open about exploring Christianity is a tremendous act of bravery, as most Muslim Background Believers in the region face intense pressure from both their families and communities. He encouraged in his statement a due process should be followed with regards to Maria's freedom of speech and religion, noting "Maria's TikTok post should not be ended that way."
A Christian acquainted with Maria had disclosed in her statement to ICC that Maria's family had known about her Christianity because of the video she posted on TikTok.
As she was quoted in the article, "A member of my Bible study group gave her a Bible last month. Mostly she turned to Christianity, and her family knew because of this video she posted on TikTok."
In a Facebook post of a Christian news site, Ankawa Today detailed her life as a brave woman and an activist in pursuit of women's rights. According to the published post, she was forced to marry when she was just 12 years old. Then after her marriage got broken and her husband left her, she lived alone.
"She has videos on the TikTok app that reached hundreds of thousands of views. Her brother and uncle killed her yesterday," Ankawa Today posted.
According to ICC, Maria's death was "discovered just one day after Iraq's National Day of Coexistence and Tolerance, a day declared on the anniversary of Pope Francis' visit last year."
Open Doors noted on their website, how difficult for Christians from a Muslim Background to express their faith freely. They often keep it secret to avoid facing pressures and persecution from family members, clan leaders, and their local community. Knowing such devotion to the Christian faith can lead Iraqi believers to death.
An article published by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum explained why a long history of persecution among Christian and other minorities is still existing. Islamic State such as Iraq, followed its warped interpretation of what Islam teaches about 'al-Kitab' or people of the book.
The report said, "In Islam, Muslims, Jews, and Christians are considered ahl al-Kitab because these religions recognize the God of Abraham, or Yahweh, as the one and only God. In theory, people of the book would be able to live inside IS's so-called caliphate under persecutory conditions."
This shows Maria's death is just one of those increasing numbers of genocide in the country. Quoting ICC President Jeff King, "Iraq is just emerging from a very difficult time when Christians experience a horrific genocide. It is an important step toward healing for Iraq to pursue an investigation of due process into issues related to freedom of speech and religion."
