Ameera Dawoud is a Christian, but as soon as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began, she traded her pants, fitted skirts and uncovered hair for oversize clothes and a veil. "They say you have to cover your hair or we will kill you," Dawoud said by telephone from the northern city of Mosul. "If you don't wear a veil, people look at you as if you were naked."Some Christians in Mosul feel say they are being subjected to threats that have escalated during Ramadan and that may be designed to drive them out of the country, create religious tensions, or at least make life difficult. Even those who haven't received threats swap stories of anonymous phone calls and pamphlets plastered on walls or slipped under doors warning those who don't dress like devout Muslim women during Ramadan. Coupled with a series of attacks on churches in Mosul and Baghdad - and a general fear of insecurity gripping Muslims and Christians alike - some Christians have chosen to leave Iraq at least temporarily. Those who stay try to maintain a low-profile or play it safe and just follow orders. "Things weren't like that. During last Ramadan, we used to wear what we wanted and to go out whenever we wanted," the 30-year-old Dawoud said. "Now, I'm terrified, very scared." She said one of her friends left for Turkey after receiving death threats unless she converted to Islam.
(more in link)
