Heavy fighting continues in the cramped streets of Old Mosul even though the Iraqi flag flies over virtually every neighborhood after an epic urban battle not seen since World War II.

It is imperative that we understand that a Middle East devoid of Christians and other religious minorities would be a tragedy—a tragedy not only for Christians and others who have lived in the Middle East for centuries, but a tragedy for an outward-looking and tolerant Islam.

In the city of Mosul, gasping through its fifth month of urban warfare, two histories of the world are crossing.

The reconstruction team going into Mosul after liberation will need an army of psychologists who can treat the tens of thousands of people who have been traumatized.

The split within Iraq’s three-million strong Turkmen minority will test Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi’s intelligence and ingenuity as the complex and internecine conflict underway in Nineveh Province surrounding Mosul continues.

As the battle for Mosul gets underway, a new consensus is emerging about what should come next: The creation of a safe haven for Iraq’s three largest minority groups in the northern part of the country.

We know that Mosul must fall for IS to collapse; we also know that the battle for Mosul will be a bloody one. Yet the greatest danger will come after Mosul falls.