Here is a timely and informative editorial from the New York Post on the plight of Arab Christians that I thought you should read:
There, an offshoot of al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), has forced local Christians to submit to a treaty that grants them protection in exchange for paying a tax in gold and giving up public displays of their faith. As bad as that is, it clearly beats the other choices: convert to Islam or “face the sword.”
In return for ISIS protection, the Christians cannot renovate churches, display crosses, read Scripture too loudly, perform religious ceremonies outside the church or sell pork or alcohol and must pay a twice-a-year special tax equivalent to hundreds of dollars per individual.
Read the rest here.