Summary: Jordan executes two prisoners in retaliation of ISIS video of prisoner burned alive.
As always, our sense of reality is shaped by our technology. The internet troll seems to be some sort of precedent for ISIS intimidation attacks: be as shocking as possible in presenting your ideology. Lately they released a video of the brutal execution of a caged Jordanian pilot burned alive. This could be taken as extreme trolling, and it seems they are eager to always outdo themselves in terms of outraging our collective sensibilities.
This “utterly disregards the rights of prisoners Islam has decreed, as well as the human moral standards for war and treatment of prisoners,” said a statement from Iyad Madani, who leads the 57-nation Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He is sad to see “the depth of malaise” within part of the Middle East, as well as the “intellectual decay, the political fragmentation, and the abuse of Islam, the great religion of mercy.”
It could well be called an abuse of Islam, adapting it to these bizarre and attention-getting forms, and you can believe that Jordan and the rest of the world will not respond in proper Buddhist fashion – “enmity is never ended by enmity, but by love” the Buddha gently cajoles – for in regards to the release of this disturbing video, not only has the Grand Imam of al-Azhar University in Egypt called for the “killing, crucifixion of IS terrorists,” – this from a Muslim outraged at the use of his religion – but Jordan has vowed “earth-shattering” retaliation for the video, and already they have killed two IS-associated prisoners.
Perhaps “turn the other cheek” is less a pragmatic policy for dealing with militants than is “do unto others as they have done unto you.” The father of the slain pilot, who was Moaz al-Kasasbeh, has asked that we “more than just execute the prisoners,” but that is what Jordan has so far done, killing failed suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, who has been found guilty in a court of law for her role in an attack in Jordan’s capital, Amman, which killed 60 in 2005; and al-Qaeda operative Ziyad Karboli – both who were hanged 4 a.m. local time Wednesday morning.
Whether or not ISIS counts this as a loss, or some sort of exaltation, is difficult to discern, considering their skewed value system. What it means for America is something else, considering ISIS has staged voyeuristic snuff-films regarding their captives, releasing them periodically for our consumption, while we meanwhile have pumped billions in intelligence-gather agencies, satellites, and attempted various rescue attempts. It is up to us to decide how to respond to this, and perhaps to take the lead, rather than simply responding to what amounts to a theatre of cruelty.
News Source: CNN
