ISIS Latest Execution Video: No Mere Gore Flick
Mon, July 6, 2015
Child executioners of the Islamic State shoot 25 Syrian soldiers captured in Homs (Screenshot: Islamic State video)
The Islamic State's latest execution video, set in the ancient Syrian
city of Palmyra and the adjoining modern city Tadmur (the aramaic name
for Palmyra) is part revenge, part explanation and part history lesson.
But its main message – one that the West needs to take note of – is that
the group's victories, like its lighting rod takeover of Palmyra and
its nearby eastern defense routes protecting Syria's major cities of
Homs and Damascus – is due to the will and blessing of Allah.
Islamic theology is replete with promises that Allah will grant “believers” victory over the unbelievers. The opening verse of this latest video, taken directly from the Quran (9:14) reads: “Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts of a believing people.”
The execution of Syrian soldiers is conducted with the ancient city of Palmyra as the backdrop
Part of the allure of the Islamic State is the perception that its victories are due to blessing from God. In the Islamic State's logic, how else does one explain how a small, insignificant band of mujahideen (jihadi warriors) has managed to turn itself into an army, capture large swaths of terroritory and elude the mighty forces of the United States, Great Britain, France, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and other world powers?
The Islamic State's success in recruiting accomplished, young and Westernized Muslims banks on this message. Its lure is not only being part of the wining team: it's being part of Allah's winning team.
Children
march in to execute Syrian soldiers. Their young age cans be discerned
by the fact that they are wearing adult uniforms -- with the shirt
reaching toward their knees and the sleeves rolled up.
Previous generations of Muslims who immigrated from corrupt, oppresive Islamic countries came to the West for a better life. But for their children, who take Western “amenities” for granted, are looking to their religion either for meaning in a materialistic world or as way to rebel against multiculturalist policies that, at times, have served to keep them as second-class citizens in European societies.
This latest Islamic State video drives its theological message home verbally and visually. Its narrator tells us he has three messages to deliver:
The first message is for his fellow Muslims, to whom he tells: “We shall give you victory and save your lands, even if you hate us.” Meaning, the Islamic State is the true impementation of Islam, i.e., operating from the will of God. Otherwise, we wouldn't be so successful.
The second message proves the first point by showing how the Quranic concept of a caliphate and caliph is also blessed. “To our Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Today we are fulfilling your oath when you said that we shall have our revenge, even if it takes time.”
The last message is the most bazen – making the Islamic State the direct agent of God. This message is directed “to the Arab idolators, the infidel idolators and the criminals.” These are the Alawites and other supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. To those 'traitors', the Islamic State declares:
“We arrived here despite your fortifications that you thought will keep God far from you. We broke through them.”
The executions, themeselves, carried out against 25 “Alawite prisoners from Homs,” are conducted by children and teenagers, each outfitted with pistols gripped firmly in their small hands. The shots to the head are replayed many times, both forward and backwards, reenforcing the message that there is no escaping the judgement of God.
A child holds a pistol in preparation for executing a Syrian soldier
The children, dubbed “lion cubs of the Caliphate,” were chosen, as one of them says, to “execute the punishment of God against these Alawites prisoners that God enabled us to capture.”
In a chilling display to the West, the Islamic State is showing us its long-term plan: recruitment and indoctrination of the next generation. It is well-thought out, foolproof (in their eyes) and shows a dedication to a future that they fully intend to dominate.
A subliminal message is also clear: These children, who appear to be between the ages of 10 and 16, have already reached the level of being God's executioners. What about the rest you?
If the West is going to be victorious over the Islamic State, it will have to defeat its army militarily and draw the next generation close with an ideology that cherishes human rights and plurality – in religion, lifestyle, dress and gender roles, to name a few.
To do this, politicians, the press and individuals must be willing to wage the battle for the minds of youth – calling out the Islamist ideology for the totalitarian reality it represents – and not sacrificing it on the altar of political correctness.
The following is a translation of the video that follows.
Verse from the Quran (9:14)
Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts of a believing people.
Narrator:
The soldiers of the Islamic State are still fighting the Alawites and their allies. Islamic State soldiers are punishing them. After every battle you see their bodies thrown on the ground or taken as prisoners.
God gave his servants the city of Tadmur and also the check points and companies around it. Alawites prisoners fell in their hands, guilty of torturing Sunni citizens. They had to taste what they did.
Inside the theater:
Praise the Lord who helps the believers and humiliates the infidels.We sent three messages from the land of the Caliphate and the city of Tadmur:
The first message is to you, the Muslims: We shall give you victory and save your lands, even if you hate us.
The second message is to our Caliph Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi: Today we are fulfilling your oath when you said that we shall have our revenge, even if it takes time.
The third message is to the Arab idolators, the infidel idolators and the criminals: We arrived here despite your fortifications that you thought will keep God far from you. We broke through them.
A youth speaks:
Here are the lion cubs of the Caliphate. They will execute the punishment of God against these Alawites prisoners that God enabled us to capture in the last battles of Homs.
Narrator:
The city of Tadmur can’t be mentioned without the memory of its prison, in which the Alawite regime committed its crimes. They used to torture prisoners here. Today, after the Islamic State soldiers arrived and purified it from the Alawites soldiers, they turned the last page of history for this prison.
(The prison is rigged with explosives and blown up.)
Islamic State soldier:
God enabled Islamic State soldiers to free the city of Tadmur from the Alawites. This prison was filled with evil and treachery. Thousands of Muslims were killed and tortured here. Today the prison is what you can see (ruined). We tell the Alawites: With the help of God we shall free the prisoners and destroy your thrones and your prisons in all of the Muslim countries.
Islamic theology is replete with promises that Allah will grant “believers” victory over the unbelievers. The opening verse of this latest video, taken directly from the Quran (9:14) reads: “Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts of a believing people.”
The execution of Syrian soldiers is conducted with the ancient city of Palmyra as the backdropPart of the allure of the Islamic State is the perception that its victories are due to blessing from God. In the Islamic State's logic, how else does one explain how a small, insignificant band of mujahideen (jihadi warriors) has managed to turn itself into an army, capture large swaths of terroritory and elude the mighty forces of the United States, Great Britain, France, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and other world powers?
The Islamic State's success in recruiting accomplished, young and Westernized Muslims banks on this message. Its lure is not only being part of the wining team: it's being part of Allah's winning team.
Children
march in to execute Syrian soldiers. Their young age cans be discerned
by the fact that they are wearing adult uniforms -- with the shirt
reaching toward their knees and the sleeves rolled up.Previous generations of Muslims who immigrated from corrupt, oppresive Islamic countries came to the West for a better life. But for their children, who take Western “amenities” for granted, are looking to their religion either for meaning in a materialistic world or as way to rebel against multiculturalist policies that, at times, have served to keep them as second-class citizens in European societies.
This latest Islamic State video drives its theological message home verbally and visually. Its narrator tells us he has three messages to deliver:
The first message is for his fellow Muslims, to whom he tells: “We shall give you victory and save your lands, even if you hate us.” Meaning, the Islamic State is the true impementation of Islam, i.e., operating from the will of God. Otherwise, we wouldn't be so successful.
The second message proves the first point by showing how the Quranic concept of a caliphate and caliph is also blessed. “To our Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: Today we are fulfilling your oath when you said that we shall have our revenge, even if it takes time.”
The last message is the most bazen – making the Islamic State the direct agent of God. This message is directed “to the Arab idolators, the infidel idolators and the criminals.” These are the Alawites and other supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. To those 'traitors', the Islamic State declares:
“We arrived here despite your fortifications that you thought will keep God far from you. We broke through them.”
The executions, themeselves, carried out against 25 “Alawite prisoners from Homs,” are conducted by children and teenagers, each outfitted with pistols gripped firmly in their small hands. The shots to the head are replayed many times, both forward and backwards, reenforcing the message that there is no escaping the judgement of God.
A child holds a pistol in preparation for executing a Syrian soldierThe children, dubbed “lion cubs of the Caliphate,” were chosen, as one of them says, to “execute the punishment of God against these Alawites prisoners that God enabled us to capture.”
In a chilling display to the West, the Islamic State is showing us its long-term plan: recruitment and indoctrination of the next generation. It is well-thought out, foolproof (in their eyes) and shows a dedication to a future that they fully intend to dominate.
A subliminal message is also clear: These children, who appear to be between the ages of 10 and 16, have already reached the level of being God's executioners. What about the rest you?
If the West is going to be victorious over the Islamic State, it will have to defeat its army militarily and draw the next generation close with an ideology that cherishes human rights and plurality – in religion, lifestyle, dress and gender roles, to name a few.
To do this, politicians, the press and individuals must be willing to wage the battle for the minds of youth – calling out the Islamist ideology for the totalitarian reality it represents – and not sacrificing it on the altar of political correctness.
The following is a translation of the video that follows.
Verse from the Quran (9:14)
Fight them; Allah will punish them by your hands and will disgrace them and give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts of a believing people.
Narrator:
The soldiers of the Islamic State are still fighting the Alawites and their allies. Islamic State soldiers are punishing them. After every battle you see their bodies thrown on the ground or taken as prisoners.
God gave his servants the city of Tadmur and also the check points and companies around it. Alawites prisoners fell in their hands, guilty of torturing Sunni citizens. They had to taste what they did.
Inside the theater:
Praise the Lord who helps the believers and humiliates the infidels.We sent three messages from the land of the Caliphate and the city of Tadmur:
The first message is to you, the Muslims: We shall give you victory and save your lands, even if you hate us.
The second message is to our Caliph Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi: Today we are fulfilling your oath when you said that we shall have our revenge, even if it takes time.
The third message is to the Arab idolators, the infidel idolators and the criminals: We arrived here despite your fortifications that you thought will keep God far from you. We broke through them.
A youth speaks:
Here are the lion cubs of the Caliphate. They will execute the punishment of God against these Alawites prisoners that God enabled us to capture in the last battles of Homs.
Narrator:
The city of Tadmur can’t be mentioned without the memory of its prison, in which the Alawite regime committed its crimes. They used to torture prisoners here. Today, after the Islamic State soldiers arrived and purified it from the Alawites soldiers, they turned the last page of history for this prison.
(The prison is rigged with explosives and blown up.)
Islamic State soldier:
God enabled Islamic State soldiers to free the city of Tadmur from the Alawites. This prison was filled with evil and treachery. Thousands of Muslims were killed and tortured here. Today the prison is what you can see (ruined). We tell the Alawites: With the help of God we shall free the prisoners and destroy your thrones and your prisons in all of the Muslim countries.
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