The Islamic State encourages harvesting of human organs. What’s equally appalling is that the terror group has no qualms about butchering the unwilling donor, extracting organs, and committing other barbaric acts in order to save a Muslim life.
The Islamic State not only condones illegal organ harvesting from humans, it had actually sanctioned the practice in an undisclosed ruling by the group’s Islamic scholars. According to Reuters , the ruling contained in a January 31, 2015, document clearly states that its operatives are allowed to take organs from a living captive to save a Muslim’s life, even if it is fatal for the captive. The permission to hack humans like livestock and extract body organs raises concerns that the violent extremist group may be openly trafficking body parts.
The U.S. government is in possession of the document, a translated version of which is already up for public scrutiny.
The document officially referred to as a “Fatwa” and subtitled “Organs of ‘Infidels,’” reads, “The apostate’s life and organs don’t have to be respected and may be taken with impunity. Organs that end the captive’s life if removed: The removal of that type is also not prohibited.”
Fatwa Number 68 does not dwell much on who qualifies to be an “apostate,” but the Islamic State has targeted Christians, Shiite Muslims, and Sunni Muslims who don’t follow its extremist views, reported Yahoo News . Basically, it means that a person who does not believe in the teachings of Islamic State may be considered a viable candidate to have his organs removed, even if he is alive. The terror group may not be harvesting organs of females, as there exists overwhelming evidence that women are traded as sex slaves.
The document does not indicate if the illegal organ harvest is a prevalent practice, but it does provide religious sanction for doing so under the group’s harsh interpretation of Islam, reported AOL . Also, it mentions that any and all means that “benefit” the radicals, including cannibalism, are permitted.
Reuters has cautioned that the authenticity of the document could not be independently verified, but U.S. officials said that the document was among several that were seized in a daring raid conducted by U.S. Special Forces in Eastern Syria in the month of May. U.S. Special Operations Forces had conducted a raid deep into Eastern Syria. The raid was said to be quite successful, and the commandos had managed to kill several ISIS members, including a key Islamic State leader Abu Sayyaf. The raid was strategically important to stem the coffers of the terror organization.
Islamic State has captured several oil fields and has been known to trade oil for weapons and funds. All the sales are illegal, but the profits are in the billions of dollars. The funds from such trade are helping the terror group stay buoyant and continue funding terrorist activities. Although Abu Sayyaf was a mid-level leader in the vast Islamic State, he was in charge of finance and communications. Intelligence reports had strongly indicated that Sayyaf was a critical link between the Islamic State’s troops on the ground and the leadership.
Although U.S. officials haven’t officially disclosed all the documents its commandos managed to secure during the raid, the permission to harvest human organs is certainly a shocker but isn’t completely surprising. There have been persistent reports and indicators that Islamic State was quite receptive of the idea of illegally harvesting human organs to be sold in black market. The Islamic State has murdered several doctors for refusing to harvest organs illegally, reported Wow .
The Islamic State does require an extensive cash flow to keep its war alive. Many nations have joined the war this terror group has started. While Russia is independently trying to wipe out the Islamic State, a coalition led by the U.S. is raining down bombs and taking out the terror group’s strongholds in Syria.
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