This contribution examines two documents issued by the terrorist organisation known as the ‘Islamic State in Iraq and Syria' (IS) regarding the status and treatment of non-Muslims, namely the protection treaty with the Christians of Raqqa and the ultimatum to the Christians of Mosul. As IS' claim to represent true Islam should be judged by the way in which they relate to Islamic tradition, the documents' texts are presented with a commentary and translation. Both documents arbitrarily combine elements from authoritative texts with twenty first-century attitudes, disregarding more than a thousand years of Islamic scholarship. The Raqqa treaty, in particular, is part of the organisation's professional public relations policy