With the ISIS beheading videos being banned on major media outlets like YouTube, Facebook, and LiveLeak, some on social media claim this is the “thought police” at work, and that such violent videos do not “allow anyone to forget how violent Islam has been since it was founded.” Tarkhan Batirashvili, aka Abu Omar al-Shishani, is the military chief for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and he might agree with these critics since he claims that Islam “is not the religion of the western hippie.” But does banning the videos hinder the cause of the Islamic terrorist group?
In a related report by The Inquisitr , one of the most infamous ISIS beheading videos to make its way to the western world was the execution of James Foley by a British Islamic fighter. It was reported that ISIS offered a ransom demand before killing him and a special ops team tried and failed to rescue him back in July. The Foley family has since released a statement regarding the death of their son. President Obama denounced the terrorists for the ISIS beheadings videos but otherwise did little to persuade the world to take action, although some hope that various nations will rally together to declare a World War on ISIS .
According to al-Shishani, ISIS has already declared war on the world and promises to “fight them until they accept our rule” under a new Islamic caliphate. Al-Shishani is a Chechen terrorist who converted to Islam while spending three years in prison for illegally harboring weapons. The terrorist was named commander of the northern sector of Syria by the ISIS in 2013, only to be named their military leader in June of 2014.
In a recent interview with Australian talk show host Tom Elliott, al-Shishani promised to invade Iran when the ISIS in Iraq finish their goals. He also stated that their enemy is anyone who opposes Islam:
“We will fight them. We will take their women. We will take their children. They have to come to Islam or they will get wiped out.”
When al-Shishani was asked about the ISIS beheading videos and the crucifixions, the ISIL leader admitted the goal is to subjugate the entire world underneath the Islamic caliphate and that anyone might become a target:
“Everybody who stands about us and makes trouble in our land. This is according to Sharia [and] God.”
The talk show host then specifically asked the ISIS leader if Islam is a religion of peace. While al-Shishani did not specifically say “yes” or “no,” his actual answer was not exactly comforting:
“It is the religion of prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. It is not the religion of the Western hippie who tries to be accepted by you.”
You can listen to the full interview here:
LiveLeak also released a statement explaining why they believe the ISIS beheading videos need to be banned:
“We will not be showing further beheadings carried out by [ISIS]. We’ve shown the world the true horror of this form of execution more than once in the past and we cannot find any compelling reason to even be thought of as promoting the actions of this group. There is no reason at all to show more beheadings.”
Critics of this decision claim media outlets are watering down the truth by attempting to make the situation more family friendly. Those who support the decision say the only reason to watch such videos is because people desire to watch these gruesome actions and not because they desire to know the truth. They also contend that ISIS wants the videos to be spread and watching them only encourages more ISIS beheadings.
Do you think banning the violent ISIS beheading videos helps or hinders the cause of the Islamic terrorist group?