ISIL BURNS JORDANIAN PILOT ALIVE, MUSLIMS FURIOUS
Amman, 15 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/5 February 2015 (MINA) – Militants of the so-called Islamic State (ISIL) released a video on Tuesday showing a captive Jordanian pilot being burnt alive, the act widely condemned by world leaders and Muslim groups.
“We join the world community in mourning the death of yet another victim of ISIS’s brutality. This unspeakable and anti-Islamic act must be condemned by anyone with even a spark of humanity,” Nihad Awad, National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net.
“Such inhuman acts are designed to provoke hatred and to create divisions, and we must not fall into this trap laid by the terrorists,” Onislam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
The pilot, Mouath al-Kasaesbeh, was captured by ISIL insurgents after his plane crashed over Syria while on a bombing mission against the group in December.
Despite of denying the authenticity of the video, spokesman for the Jordanian armed forces confirmed the death of the “hero pilot” Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh and vowed revenge.
“While the military forces mourn the martyr, they emphasize his blood will not be shed in vain. Our punishment and revenge will be as huge as the loss of the Jordanians,” Mamdouh al-Ameri said in a statement read on Jordanian TV.
Condemning the attack, the leading civil rights group announced a news conference later today at the Muslim civil rights organization’s Capitol Hill headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The conference will be attended by CAIR representatives and other national and local leaders of the American Muslim community to condemn the terror group ISIL’s “unspeakable and anti-Islamic” brutality in the burning alive of a Jordanian air force pilot.
Dr. Dr. Wael Shihab, PhD in Islamic Studies, Al-Azhar University, and the Head of the Shari`ah Dept. of Onislam.net website, has also rejected the heinous “crime”.
“The terrible, barbaric act of burning the Jordanian hostage Muadh al-Kasasbeh claimed by the Islamic State in Syria is NOT Islamically justified and its perpetrators should be brought to justice for such an unwarranted, horrible crime,” he said.
“It is Islamically forbidden to burn a human, whether dead or alive. Allah Most High says, {Truly We have honored human beings} (Al-Isra’ 17: 70); burning a human being is a blatant disregard of the honor owed him or her as per the Divine will.
“In one of his hadiths, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘No one is entitled to punish with fire except the Creator (God) of the fire’. (Abu Dawud, Sunan, No. 2673),” Dr Shihab added.
World Anger
The brutal manner of the pilot’s death has sparked wide condemnations worldwide.
In the US, President Barack Obama told reporters at a White House event on the Affordable Care Act that he had “just got word” about the video.
“Should in fact this video be authentic, it’s just one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization,” he said in response to a question shouted at the end of the event.
“Whatever ideology they’re operating off of, it’s bankrupt,” Obama added.
British prime minister, David Cameron, said that the “sickening murder” would only “strengthen resolve” to defeat ISIL.
Posting on Twitter, Cameron said: “Lieutenant Moaz al Kasasbeh’s sickening murder will only strengthen our resolve to defeat ISIL (IS). My prayers are with his family tonight.”
The latest video emerged three days after Japanese journalist Kenji Goto was beheaded by the militants.
Militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been widely condemned by Muslims worldwide who staged several protests to express anger against the terrorist group.
Echoing Al-Azhar Grand Imam condemnation of the group, Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh has urged Muslims to take up arms against the militant group’s members, condemning them as aggressors who abuse people’s lives, possessions and honor.
Al-Sheikh has described Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadists as “enemy number one” of Islam.
Months ago, Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam also condemned the militants for atrocities they have been perpetrating in the countries and their violation of principles and teachings preached by Islam.
India Sunni and Shiite Muslims have united against the rise of ISIL, asserting that the actions of destroying holy sites, supporting sectarianism and divisions between Muslim groups cannot be attributed to a true Islamic state.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Islamic group has condemned ISIL, urging the government to take firmer action against the possible spread of the movement in Indonesia.
The Islamic Student Union (HMI) has also condemned Indonesian Muslims condoning and adhering to ISIL’s ideology. (T/P009/P3)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
