In the Syrian city of Palmyra, 2 gay men are sentenced to death. The masked member of the Islamic State reads out the sentence, adding that death would cleanse them of sin. 32 yr old Hawas Mallah asked to be shot in the head, while 21 year old Muhammed Salameh asked for a chance to repent, promising to never have intercourse with a man again. Their hands were tied, before they were dropped head first from the roof.
IS is known to be brutal yet this brutality shown to supposed homosexuals is a whole new level of inhumane. So far, over 36 men have been killed in Syria and Irak on charges of sodomy even though their sexual orientation is not confirmed. Homosexuality is so shrouded in such taboo that human rights activists cannot properly document the victims. Out of a misplaced respect for the surviving members of the family, IS does not mention the family names of their victims, which means activists cannot follow up.
One would wonder why the Islamic State is doing all this. Simple. They are showing by word and deed that they are willing to carry out the right kind of extremism that separates them from other terrorist groups. They also believe that this will stop Muslims from walking the ‘forbidden path’ of the western world. The effect?
They’re bullying their people into accepting that this is the right way, making them accept such brutality as normal. IS is tearing down the fabric of their society as they instill such fear into people that family members and friends turn on each other, selling each other out to the IS just to be favored by them.
It is painful to note that while the Quran does say that Homosexuality should be punished, it does not say how. The Quran also states clearly that if the person should repent from his sin, ask forgiveness and desist from his actions, then he is to be immediately forgiven, with the punishment waived.
It should not be surprising that the Islamic State would be so evil as the founder of this religion already started Islam on this path of force and atrocities. The bodies of Mohammed and Hawas were hung up in Palmyra’s Freedom Square for 2 days, with a placard on each of them, stating “He received the punishment for practicing the crime of Lot’s people.”Another very graphic way IS shows how low they really value human life. But Islam is, after all, the way to God through force and punishment.
