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Iraq: Young Christian woman murdered by suspected Muslim relatives

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A 20-year old woman who converted from Islam to Christianity in northern Iraq was murdered on March 7, in what appears to be an honor killing by Muslim relatives, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. The daughter of a Muslim cleric, Iman Sami was found murdered after she posted a Tik Tok video of herself singing Christian songs.

Publishing news of her death, the Christian news site Ankawa Today said in a Facebook post Tuesday that Iman had been killed by her brother and uncle, ICC reports. “Iman Sami, known as Maria, was found by the police last night. She suffered in her life because of her early marriage, where she drowned in marriage at the age of only 12 years,” Ankawa Today said in their post.

“[Maria] was an activist in the field of women’s rights and a brave woman. She has videos on the TikTok app that reached hundreds of thousands of views. Her brother and uncle killed her yesterday!” Ankawa Today said.

Iman was found dead just one day after Iraq’s National Day of Coexistence and Tolerance on March 6, ICC said.

In a statement about the killing ICC President Jeff King said: “For someone born as a Muslim to be open about exploring Christianity is a tremendous act of bravery, as most Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) in the region face intense pressure from both their families and communities. Maria’s TikTok post should not have ended with her death. 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.”