I first heard of Jizya when I was studying history with my children. The caliphates of the near east would levy a tax on non-Muslim citizens.

It was couched as a brilliant stroke of evangelism and diplomacy–the tax encouraged conversion by presumably making space for other religions.

The present iteration of Jizya emerging from places like Egypt and Syria is brutal. Survivors report demands for cash combined with murder. Coming out of countries where we are shaping policies?

The United States is simply responsible if we push the agenda of, provide monetary support for, or look the other way when any foreign entity extorts and murders on our watch.

The Jizya stories have so far been confined to the margins of journalism about Syria and Egypt.

Ask yourself these questions–

Who are the “good guys” in these countries?

Who are we supporting?

And if you, like me, read a lot of news and still don’t see those things spelled out by our government and media…

Why?

Why don’t we know?