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Syria: 36 children die after receiving 'UN-sponsored contaminated Measles vaccine'

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A widespread vaccination programme is taking place in Syrian refugee camps(Reuters)

A widespread vaccination programme is taking place in Syrian refugee camps(Reuters)

– by Ludovica Iaccino, International Business Times

At least 36 children have died after they received UN-sponsored tainted measles vaccines, according to reports.

Doctors of the clinics in rebel-held towns Jirjanaz and Maaret al-Nouman, in the north-western province of Idlib, said the children started feeling ill shortly after they received the vaccinations.

Parents accused the Syrian opposition – which controls Idlib – of negligence when storing thevaccines and of supplying out-of-date medications.

The Syrian opposition, however, denied the allegations and said the vaccines came from the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO), and could have been contaminated by people close to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

“Primary investigations point to a limited security breach by vandals likely connected to the regime, which has been attempting to target the medical sector in Free Syria in order to spread chaos,” the opposition health ministry said in a statement.

Bashar Kayal, a health official, told Radio Hawa Smart, “The symptoms don’t just indicate spoiledvaccines – it suggests they’ve been contaminated.”

The vaccination programme was stopped immediately after the incident and blood samples have been sent to Turkey for further examinations.

Health minister Adnan Hazouri vowed to resign if an investigation on the children’s deaths upheld allegations of negligence.

Monther Khalil, head of the medical department in Idib, reassured the parents of children who have already been injected that they are out of danger.

“The vaccine is completely fine and there is no risk to children who have already been injected.

“We have already vaccinated 60,000 children against measles and there has been no previous problem. The same crews also previously carried out a polio campaign, where they vaccinated 252,000 children across seven rounds, and there were no abnormal complications.”

Idlib is held by moderate rebels opposed to Assad and to terror group Islamic State – formerly known as Isis.

The province was subjected to a fierce military campaign in 2014, after which rebels re-gained control of the area.

Last October, the UN announced that “millions of Syrian children” were to be vaccinated against measles, polio, mumps and rubella.

Due to the civil war, at least 200,000 children have not received vaccinations in Syria where, prior to the conflict, the rate of vaccination was of 95%.

Syria’s civil war, erupted in 2011, has caused more than 190,000 deaths and 6.5 million displaced people, many of whom are in need of urgent medical care.

BJP distances itself from 'love jihad' after bypoll setback

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New Delhi (IANS): Following electoral reverses in Uttar Pradesh, where it lost eight of 11 seats in the assembly bypolls, the Bharatiya Janata party Wednesday distanced itself from the “love jihad” campaign.

“As far as ‘love jihad’ is concerned, it may have been raised by a few local leaders but the BJP as a party has never endorsed it,” said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra when IANS asked him whether the bypolls result indicated that people were disillusioned at the party deviating from its development plank for a campaign led by its MP Yogi Adityanath.

He said that “love jihad” was not a part of the Uttar Pradesh BJP’s resolution adopted in Vrindavan last month.

“The accusation by our opponents that we try to polarise votes as an election strategy was laid to rest in the Lok Sabha elections, when people emphatically rejected the claim that BJP is not a secular party and hence should not be voted to power,” Patra added.

The Congress, however, said the results indicated a “dramatic reversal” of people’s view on the BJP’s Hindutva ideology.

“It is a defeat of Yogi Adityanath’s brand of communal politics. ‘Love jihad’ is an insidious, orchestrated strategy to divide communities with the backing of the RSS. But the defeat of eight sitting BJP MLAs in Uttar Pradesh signals a dramatic reversal of people’s view on the Hindutva agenda persued by it,” Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha told IANS.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP lost eight of the 11 seats which it had won with its ally Apna Dal in the 2012 assembly polls. Tuesday’s result was in stark contrast to the BJP’s victory in 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in the general elections in May.

The Congress said the BJP’s repeated defeats in bypolls was a clear indication that “Modi wave” is over in only 100 days of the party’s government.

“It marks the end of the manufactured Modi wave. The susceptible downslide of the BJP is evident not just in yesterday’s (Sep 16) results but from the earlier results in Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh,” Jha asserted.

This is the third time the BJP has suffered reverses in bypolls since Narendra Modi came to power riding on the back of a massive mandate in the April-May Lok Sabha polls.

In the first round of the bypolls held in Uttarakhand after the general elections, the Congress had won all the three assembly seats, while in the second round of bypolls, the BJP had lost six of the 10 assembly seats in Bihar.

Gujarat, where Modi was the chief minister for about 13 years, too offered a jolt for the saffron party Tuesday, with Congress wresting three seats from the BJP.

Congress leader from the state Shaktisinh Gohil attributed it to Modi’s neglect of the farmers under a facade of “vibrant” Gujarat.

“Farmers are a neglected community in Gujarat. Their issues have always been neglected under a facade of vibrant Gujarat,” Gohil told IANS, adding that Modi’s 100 days in government showed he was not able to realise the dreams he sold to people.

Patra refuted the claim.

“Bypolls are fought on local issues and may not be seen as people’s reflection on the national discourse in politics,” he contended.

Xi Jinping arrives in Ahmedabad, begins 3-day India visit

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Ahmedabad (IANS): Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here on a three-day visit to India during which trade and investment are likely to top the agenda of talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Xi, who flew down from Colombo, became the first world leader to begin an India visit from Gujarat.

A guard of honour was presented to Xi on the tarmac of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport of Ahmedabad by the women contingent of Gujarat Police.

A warm and traditional welcome was accorded to Xi who was accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and a high-level delegation.

Traditional “chaniya choli” wearing Gujarati women put a kesar-kumkum tilak and offered rice and flowers to Xi.

Airport sources told IANS that Xi flew into Ahmedabad in a Boeing 747 aircraft of Air China.

Governor O.P. Kohli and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel as well as senior officials from the central and state governments were present.

Due to the warm and sunny weather, attractive and decorated umbrellas were held over the first couple of China.

A troupe from the tribal belt of Gujarat presented a folk dance with traditional costumes and a Scottish Pipe Band from Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, Maninagar, Ahmedabad also performed.

The president’s flight was delayed by 30 minutes, sources added.

On the road from the airport to the hotel in Vastrapur area, welcome hoardings in Mandarin, English and Gujarati were placed.

In a first, Modi will receive the Chinese president at a hotel here after which the two sides are to ink several agreements related to the region.

For the second leg of his India sojourn, Xi flies to New Delhi late Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, Modi and Xi would hold talks at Hyderabad House which would be followed by the signing of several agreements, including on infrastructure and railways, between the two sides.

Alan Henning: Al-Qaeda appealed to Isis to release British aid worker following kidnap

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Representatives of rival groups held summit in Syrian town to decide fate of captive Briton

Representatives of rival groups held summit in Syrian town to decide fate of captive Briton

– by Tom Harper, The Independent

Al-Qaeda appealed to Isis to release the British hostage Alan Henning because it believed he was an innocent aid worker who was genuinely trying to help suffering Muslims, it can be revealed.

In evidence that the depravity exhibited by Isis is now repelling Muslims of all views and backgrounds, even the terrorist group behind the 11 September attacks on the US in 2001 decided that kidnapping the aid-convoy volunteer was a step too far.

Mr Henning, a taxi driver from Eccles, Salford, was so moved by the plight of Muslims in Syria that he decided to miss last Christmas with his wife and two children and travel 4,000 miles to deliver medical equipment to refugees holed up in the town of Al-Dana. A local commander – or emir – of Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, visited his then-allies in Isis four days after Mr Henning, 47, was captured. The emir confronted the kidnappers, arguing that their actions were “wrong under Islamic law” and “counter-productive”, according to a journalist who interviewed the man immediately after the encounter.

The world has looked on in disbelief in recent weeks as fighters from Isis, also known as Islamic State, have beheaded three Western journalists and aid workers, including a Briton, David Haines. In a video posted online on Saturday night, Isis warned that Mr Henning would be next.

Today, the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, admitted that special forces were struggling to mount a rescue mission because intelligence chiefs did not know exactly where Mr Henning was being held.

Bilal Abdul Kareem, a US film-maker who has reported extensively from Syria, told The Independent that “anybody of any influence” – including al-Qaeda – had appealed to the Sunni militant group when it seized Mr Henning in December, warning that such a move would backfire. He said: “Four days after he was captured, the emir went to Al-Dana and said: ‘Look, what you are doing is wrong. You have no business what you are doing. You have no right to abduct him. You have no reason to detain him just because he is not Muslim’.”

Alan Henning at a refugee camp on the Syrian-Turkish border

Alan Henning at a refugee camp on the Syrian-Turkish border

Mr Henning was the only non-Muslim in a group of volunteers from a UK-based Islamic charity, which organised a convoy of old ambulances to transport medical supplies to Al-Dana, a few miles from the Turkish border. He was abducted on Boxing Day last year.

Mr Kareem said: “I spoke to the emir from Jabhat al-Nusra after he came back. Initially, he was confident that Henning would be released because that is what Isis was saying. But then Henning was removed from his prison in Al-Dana and never heard of again.”

News of Al-Qaeda’s attempt to save Mr Henning echoes reports that the terror group once led by Osama bin Laden passionately disagrees with the direction taken by Isis, which has quickly taken control of an area the size of Great Britain inside Syria and Iraq.

Professor Peter Neumann, the director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, based at King’s College London, said: “Al-Qaeda has been critical of Isis in recent months. It understands how its behaviour will be perceived by the Western public. Although the two groups’ underlying ideology is still very similar, Al-Qaeda is much more strategic. For example, it is not opposed to beheadings but realises it makes no sense to carry them out in the way that Isis does because this tactic will lose them a lot of friends.”

Dr Afzal Ashraf, a consultant at the Royal United Services Institute, who holds a doctorate in terrorist ideology, said: “The murders of these innocent Western hostages, and the latest threats made against Alan Henning, just go to show how completely incomprehensible Isis’s strategy is. It is absurd and Al-Qaeda realises such behaviour will turn potential recruits away.”

Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, admitted that special forces were struggling to mount a rescue mission because intelligence chiefs did not know exactly where Mr Henning was being held (AFP)

Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, admitted that special forces were struggling to mount a rescue mission because intelligence chiefs did not know exactly where Mr Henning was being held (AFP)

On his internet blog, Mr Kareem provided more details of the discord among Islamist extremists over the abduction of Mr Henning. “Isis said that he was suspected to be a spy,” he wrote. “The Muslims on the convoy asked for proof as they regarded this as a totally ridiculous claim. Isis cited that they could not believe that a white Christian would want to come to Syria at this time, except that he was a spy.

“The Isis commander then showed them Henning’s passport and said that this was the proof, [saying]: ‘There is a secret chip inside. This is so that the intelligence service can continue tracking him.’ One of the other Muslims from the convoy said: ‘All of the passports from the UK are like that!’, showing him his UK passport.

“The other Muslims on the convoy told them that this man had given up Christmas with his family to come to help save the people that Isis said it was trying to save.”

Later, Mr Kareem claimed that Isis was confronted by rival groups, which implored it to release Mr Henning. “Isis said that he was to remain their prisoner and they would ransom him for something. ‘Why?’ they were asked. They said: ‘We will trade him for someone in the UK prison system.’ The other Muslims told him this was not Islamically correct and they had no charge against him.

“One of the aid workers told them that the people rely on these convoys and actions like these would create problems for their efforts in helping the Syrian people. The Isis commander replied: ‘We don’t need convoys – we have Allah’.”

Meanwhile, Mr Haines’s teenage daughter, Bethany, posted a message on Facebook, saying she had been “touched” by the support she had received from the public following his murder.

She wrote: “Hi, I’m David’s daughter who lives in Perth. I was really touched by the messages of support during this hard time. I know my dad would be really touched and grateful.”

Bypoll results a shock: Shiv Sena

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Mumbai (IANS): The Shiv Sena Wednesday described the Sep 13 bypoll results as an “unexpected shock and surprise” and said there are lessons to be learnt from it for the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.

“Don’t take the voters for granted… They are very intelligent. Keep your feet on the ground and don’t indulge in sword-fights from the air… Otherwise, the people will skin you,” the party said in an oblique reference to ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in an edit in the party organ ‘Saamana’.

The edit came a day after the BJP suffered a setback in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan bypolls.

“This was entirely unexpected, a shock and a surprise for all,” said the editorial.

The Sena said that for the second time in two months, first in Bihar and now in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the BJP has suffered shocking reverses, and the surprise beneficiaries have been the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.

“It is a mystery – the voters’ mind,” the edit admitted.

In the Lok Sabha polls last May, the BJP secured 71 seats in Uttar Pradesh for which credit went to Amit Shah, who later took over as the party president. But the results of the recent bypolls tell a different story.

Even in Rajasthan, where the Congress was completely buried, it is now sprouting as it managed to grab three assembly seats “in Modi’s Gujarat, which was entirely unexpected”, the editorial said.

In fact, in Uttar Pradesh, the much-discussed issue of ‘love-jihad’ raked up by Yogi Adityanath had no impact and instead offered an opportunity to the SP to revive itself after the Lok Sabha debacle.

Nevertheless, ‘Saamana’ said the defeat in the bypolls cannot be attributed to a decline in the “Modi wave” just as nobody is crediting Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi for the victory the Congress notched.

“Usually, after every election, the winds change… Lok Sabha results cannot influence assembly outcome or the assembly results have no bearing on municipal polls outcome as the issues differ each time,” it said.

It lauded Modi for doing a great job on the national and international levels and working to enhance national security and improving the country’s image globally.

“He went to Japan, Bhutan, Nepal… played drums and flute with Japanese children, signed agreements for a bullet trains and development of his constituency Varanasi, and is now preparing to meet US President B. Obama,” the edit said.

Those who call Madrasas as the hub of terrorism should get proof: Popular Front of India

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PFI protest

Mangalore: Members of Popular Front of India (PFI) staged a demonstration here on Tuesday to register their protest against the “communal policies” of union government of India.

The protestors, who assembled in front of the office of deputy commissioner in the city in the evening raised slogans against BJP national president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj whose recent remarks against Madrasas triggered controversy.

Maharaj, a MP from Unnao constituency, alleged alleged recently that madrasas across the country are imparting “education of terror” and “love jihad”. He also claimed that Muslim youth in madrasas are being motivated for “love jihad” with offers of cash rewards — Rs 11 lakh for an “affair” with a Sikh girl, Rs 10 lakh for a Hindu girl and Rs 7 lakh for a Jain girl.

The protesters questioned on the silence of Narendra Modi and Muslim leaders in BJP, including minority affairs minister Najma Heptulla over the matter.

Condemning the provocative remarks of senior BJP leaders, the protesters said that Modi led BJP government is trying to polarize the nation.

“Those who allege that Madrasa is the hub of terrorism should either get proof for their statements or should be prosecuted for the same,” said one of the speakers at the protest.

Bobby Jindal to decide on presidential run after November

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– by Arun Kumar

Washington (IANS): Louisiana’s Indian-American Republican Governor Bobby Jindal has acknowledged that he’s considering a 2016 run for president, and will make his decision after the November Congressional elections.

His decision would not hinge on polls or fundraising, he told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast here Tuesday.

Only 3 percent of Republican primary voters backed him in a new CNN/ORC poll of Republican presidential possibles in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary in the US presidential election cycle.

The governor finished at the bottom of a field of 11 potential presidential candidates. But he says that would not be a factor, the Monitor reported.

“If I were to decide to run for 2016, it would have nothing to do with polls or fundraising,” said Jindal.

“It would simply be based on the same calculation that I made when I ran for… Congress or governor.”

He lost the Louisiana governor’s race in 2003, won a US House seat in 2004, and won the governorship in 2007 and was overwhelmingly reelected in 2011.

The determining questions, he said, were, “Do I think I can make a difference, do I think I have something unique to offer?”

“I think at this point polls are measuring name ID,” Jindal was quoted as saying by CNN.

“The first time I ran for office, I was… polling within the margin of error, which means I was at zero.”

“There’s no reason to be coy,” he said. “I am thinking, I am praying about whether I’ll run in 2016.”

Jindal, who is vice chair of the Republican Governors Association, also touted the progress that Louisiana has made while he has been governor.

Louisiana is becoming a state where more people are coming than going; boasting an economy that’s growing at twice the rate of the nation; creating more than 50,000 jobs, he said.

Jindal called President Barack Obama the worst American president since Jimmy Carter.

“Carter believed in American exceptionalism. I don’t think Obama does,” he said.

“Obama’s the most radical president, ideologically, in my lifetime. And I think he’s the most incompetent president.”

“Jimmy Carter,” he added, “was just incompetent.”

OIC, GCC condemn Iraq mosque massacre

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Mos’ab ibn Omayr Mosque massacre

Riyadh/SAUDI PRESS AGENCY: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have condemned the heinous crime perpetrated by armed militiamen who stormed Mos’ab ibn Omayr Mosque in Diyala Province, Iraq on Friday. The attack caused the death of 73 innocent worshippers; scores of others were severely injured.

The secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Iyad Ameen Madani, offered his condolences to the bereaved families of the victims and prayed for the swift recovery of the wounded.

Madani denounced this and similar criminal acts that feed on sectarian strife.

He pointed out that these senseless acts seek to inflame tensions and sow discord among the different components of Iraqi society.

They also threaten the country’s already fragile social peace and harmony at a highly delicate juncture as Iraq scrambles to form a government which the OIC hopes to be all-inclusive, he added.

Madani emphasized that firm measures need to be deployed to confront and hold to account the armed groups and militias that seem determined to unlock sectarian sentiments and fan denominational infighting.

It is not just peaceful coexistence in Iraq that is being jeopardized by the atrocious practices of these armed militias; it is the very future of Iraq that is at stake, he added.

Madani reiterated his appeal to the political leadership in Baghdad and to Iraq’s influential religious figures to work toward a sustainable reconciliation across the different components of Iraqi society.

Madani further reaffirmed the OIC’s readiness to support Iraq by all possible means through this transitional phase in a bid to regain stability and security.

GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani called the attack a terrorist crime against all divine religions and on human value s and ethics.
“The heinous crime exposed the moral decadence those militias have reached and how their sectarian approach has driven them to attack worshippers in houses of Allah,” he said.

The GCC chief called for swiftly identifying those responsible for this brutal crime and demanded justice for the innocent victims.

A plea to ISIS supporters to read the true story of Alan Henning

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alan-henning-ISIS

– by Bilal Abdul Kareem

On August 13, 2014 I reported a story about a British aid worker who had been abducted in Dana, Syria. Today that person appeared on ISIS’s beheading video of David Haines. His name is Alan Henning.

Many ISIS supporters called me a liar and threatened me. I believe that many of them did so because they themselves did not want to believe that their leadership is not what they think.

Unlike many out there I believe that many of you who are either in ISIS currently or support them in some way (even emotionally) do so out of a lack of understanding rather than due to a malicious nature.

Please read the untold story of how he was abducted and try to understand the issues relating to it and how it relates to you. While I am not saying that ISIS members are not Muslims (they are, but misguided), however Muslims are a people of honor, courage, and Eemaan (faith). They are not a team of bandits, highway robbers, or crooks.

I changed Alan Henning’s name in the original story to “Murdock” so as to keep his identity hidden. Now as the story has been told in the media there is no need to hide his identity. As you read further you will know why I originally changed his name in my report…

Alan Henning’s story

The convoy cleared the Turkish side of the border and completed the 30 minute drive to Dana. Approximately 2 hours after arrival, ISIS soldiers arrived and detained a large number of those who were on the aid convoy.

A few hours later they were all released, except Murdock (Alan Henning). Initially it was said by ISIS brass that he was being held for a few additional hours to answer some questions and then he would be released. Hours turned to days and Alan Henning didn’t appear.

Those who were on the convoy were angry and confused as to why their companion was not released. Then what they had feared had come to light, they were told that Henning was now their prisoner. They asked why, as he had only been in the country for a few hours and most of that was inside a vehicle traveling to Dana. They said that he was suspected to be a spy.

The Muslims on the convoy asked for proof as they regarded this as a totally ridiculous claim. ISIS cited that they couldn’t believe that a white Christian would want to come to Syria at this time except that he was a spy. The ISIS commander then showed them Henning’s passport and said that this was the proof.

“There is a secret chip inside. This is so that the intelligence service can continue tracking him”. One of the other Muslims from the convoy said: “All of the passports from the UK are like that!”, showing him his UK passport.

Alan Henning is a taxi driver from Manchester. Photograph: Family handout/PA

Alan Henning is a taxi driver from Manchester. Photograph: Family handout/PA

The other Muslims on the convoy told them that this man had given up Christmas with his family to come to help save the people that ISIS “said” they were trying to save – the Syrian people. The commander remained quiet and said that it wasn’t up to him and the decision regarding Henning would have to be made by the Ameer in charge who would be in the next day.

A day or so passed with no word and they inquired again. ISIS said that he was to remain their prisoner and they would ransom him for something. “Why?” they were asked. They said: “We will trade him for someone in the UK prison system. The other Muslims told him this was not Islamically correct and they had no charge against him. One of the aid workers told them that the people rely on these convoys and actions like these would create problems for their efforts in helping the Syrian people.

The ISIS commander replied: “We don’t need convoys, we have Allah”. Religious jurists from other groups came to intercede on Henning’s behalf. Even Al Qaida affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra sent a representative.

I was contacted to see if I could inquire and convince ISIS to release Henning as my travels afforded me a chance to know more than a few ISIS members who rose to positions of authority. A few days later ISIS positions came under attack by the group Jaysh Mujaahideen. Henning was taken from his prison in Dana never to be heard from again.

While speaking to convoy officials I suggested making the abduction public. I suggested that the Henning family should make a public appeal to Abu Bakr Baghdadi himself to release Henning as he only came to help the Syrian people and nothing more.

However, convoy officials mentioned that British authorities thought it would be best to not make the issue public as they felt it would complicate matters. This morning, on the video released by ISIS, marks the first time that Henning has been heard from since that time.

ISIS: What will you do now?

As you can see, this story was written before the release of this video and the events are true. So my question to any ISIS supporters out there is this: What will you do now?

This man came to help poor Syrians. He came on a convoy of other Muslims who respected his zeal to help their Muslim brethren. How is this the treatment that he deserves under Islamic law? Where is your sense of fear of Allah, supporters of Baghdadi?

You may have originally intended to serve Allah but your assistance to this group has led you down a wrong path. There is still plenty of fight left to fight against the likes of Bashar, but furthering the goals of ISIS is not what you came for.

Do not dismiss my words by simply saying that “He is just one person and we have all of these Muslims here dying by the hundreds”. To that I would say we should all stand up for what is right regardless of who it is and what their faith is.

Muslims have been striving and dying to protect innocent Muslims so do not let someone come and tell you that there is only an outcry when non Muslims are at stake. This is a trick. I have seen the likes of Muslim fighters struggling to protect Syrians from being killed, some of those civilians were Muslim and some weren’t. However they didn’t deserve to be killed so the Mujaahideen protected them.

I end this article by asking you, supporters of ISIS, to flood every ISIS member’s email box, Twitter, Facebook etc with condemnations for what is about to take place. Allah will ask you about it. If you are currently in ISIS then I ask you in the name of Allah to be men and confront your Ameer and tell him that this is wrong and it needs to be stopped.

Didn’t Allah say:

“That if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or to spread corruption in the land – it would be as if he killed all mankind, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind.” -5:32

Reflect.

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