ISIS Attack Included Demands To Recite Quran

ISIS fighters demanded that hostages quote the Quran during a massacre at a Bangladesh café. Those who failed to demonstrate knowledge of the Muslim holy book were tortured or killed. At least 22 people died, the Independent reported.

Rezaul Karim, a father of a survivor, told Bangladesh’s Daily Star newspaper that hostages who were able to “recite a verse or two” were spared. The others were tortured.”

Those who were able to quote the Quran were “treated well and given food,” the Independent reported.

Ramadan, which continues this week, is viewed by the Islamic State as a prime time to kill infidels.

In addition to the Orlando, Fla. nightclub massacre that killed 49, ISIS has been connected to attacks in Bangladesk, Istanbul and Dhaka in June.

The Islamic State, ISIS and ISIL all refer to the same group of Muslim extremists.

“The spokesman for the Islamic State said in late May that jihadists should ‘make it, with God’s permission, a month of pain for infidels everywhere,'” the New York Times reported.

For most Muslims, Ramadan marks a time for prayer and time spent with family and friends. “Noble acts” are believed to carry greater rewards during Ramadan, but jihadists have twisted this to incite violence as a noble act, according to the New York Times.

Early Sunday, at least 143 people were killed and more than 200 were injured when a suicide car bomb blew up in a shopping area in central Bagdad. It marked the worst single attack on the Iraqi capital, the Washington Post reported.

In addition to the injured, many people were in critical conditions from severe burns, according to the Post. Two small shopping centers were engulfed in fire, with people trapped inside buildings and “screaming for help” on the rooftops.

“Families were out on the streets after breaking their fast on one of the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and crowds had gathered in popular coffee shops to watch the semifinals of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament,” the Post reported.

In June, Omar Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS in a shooting that left 49 dead at an attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

Interestingly, the government scrubbed all references to ISIS that Mateen made when he called 911 to claim responsibility for the attack. But the transcripts released by the FBI “awkwardly worked around mentioning the terror group,” the New York Post reported.

Police initially said Mateen claimed his allegiance to ISIS motivated him to commit the crime.

According to reports, the sanitized version released to the public stated: “My name is… I pledge of allegiance to (omitted). I pledge allegiance to (omitted), may God protect him (in Arabic), on behalf (omitted).”

The FBI defended the omissions by saying they did not want to give ISIS free publicity or credence. But not everyone agreed with the stated logic.

House Speaker Paul Ryan called the move “preposterous.” In a statement, he demanded that the Obama administration release the full, unredacted transcript so the public is clear-eyed about who did this, and why.”

“The administration should release the full, unredacted transcript so the public is clear-eyed about who did this, and why,” Ryan said.

Among other recent ISIS attacks, as compiled by International Business Times, include the following.

In May, ISIS claimed responsibility for 40 deaths in Aden, Yemen, following a suicide bombing. It happened during an army recruiting event.

In March, a series of ISIS attacks in Brussels, Belgium, left 32 dead and 300 injured. ISIS also attacked a soccer stadium in Baghdad, killing 25. Additionally, ISIS was behind an attack in Turkey.

In February, ISIS set off car bombs in Hom and Damascus in Syria, killing more than 130. Bombings in Baghdad killed more than 70.

[Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images]