ISIS, or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is an extremist Islamic group that released two separate videos on Tuesday night, February 3, 2015, of a Jordanian pilot burned to death, and two Japanese hostages beheaded by ISIS officials.
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ISIS participates in these brutal executions in order to eradicate and terrorize the “infidels,” or non-believers. A BBC News article states that the end game of ISIS “is to establish a “caliphate,’ a state ruled by a single political and religious leader according to Islamic law.” The article continues to state that ISIS justifies their brutal tactics because they consider themselves Jihadist “who adhere to an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and consider themselves the only true believers.” For them, these tactics are necessary in order to fulfill their goals of establishing a caliphate, and they justify their actions through their literal interpretation of the Qur’an.
Unfortunately, the uploading of executions on the web has become a common and new form of terrorization for the ISIS group. Once ISIS started to gain power in Syria and Iraq, they released multiple videos of beheadings that gained massive international attention. The brutality of the videos not only affects the public, but is one of the worst ways for families and loved ones to find out how their loved ones died.
Image Credit: Pixabay
CNN describes the scene of events following Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh’s wife, Anwar, and family finding out he had been executed. The article describes the scene: “Anwar ran crying into the street, calling her husband’s name and saying, ‘Please, God, let it not be true.’ Issaf fell to the floor screaming, pulled her head scarf off and started tearing at her hair.” “We are deeply saddened by this despicable and horrendous act of terrorism and we denounce it in the strongest terms,” said Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan. Abe continues, “To the terrorists, we will never, never forgive them for this act,” and also mentioned his condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones.
Although the videos take a tremendous toll on the individuals of the family, they are also targeted towards countries to send political messages. While watching the video of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh’s immolation, the audience will notice how he is dressed in an orange jumper. A Forbes article believes this detail to wardrobe symbolizes that he is a prisoner of war, therefore “subject to the harsh demands of battlefield justice.” Forbes also believes the video was designed to “demoralize Jordan’s military and spread dissension within the country.”
The Prime Minister of Japan reacts to the beheadings of the Japanese hostages with a controversial declaration to change the pacifist constitution that has previously not allowed them to act aggressive with military. The declaration calls for the country to be permitted to militarize and send aid against any anti-ISIS movements and countries. Some countries worry about the Prime Minister’s reaction since it is the first time since World War II that Japan has focused on militarization outside of their own territory.
It will be interesting to see whether or not ISIS is intimidated by Japan’s threat to take up arms against any terrorist groups, such as themselves.
