Burning of Jordanian pilot causes controversy in Egypt

The scene of the Jordanian pilot being burnt to death by Islamic State (ISIS) militants caused controversy on Egyptian social media pages, Arabi21 observed.

An internet video released by ISIS yesterday appears to show the captive Jordanian pilot Mu’ath Al-Kaseasbeh being burnt alive after the failure of the secret negotiations between Jordan and the militants.

Many observers and activists compared ISIS’s actions with the burning of Egyptian protesters opposite the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Blatant imbalance

The Egyptian authorities described ISIS’s actions as “savage” and “violent”, which prompted anti-coup activists to upload videos of Egyptian protesters being burnt alive by the regime.

Unlike Al-Kaseasbeh, who was captured while striking bases while on active duty, observers said, Egyptians were burnt alive for protesting peacefully.

A pro-Morsi Facebook page posted: “Al-Sisi, who is crying for the Jordanian pilot who was burnt alive, was cheering and sang ‘thank you’ when the Egyptian protesters in Rabaa and Al-Nahdah Squares, as well as in the police vehicle, were burnt alive.”

Wael Kandil, chief editor of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, wrote: “Burning the pilot is a cowardly and terrorist act and it can only be compared with the violent act of burning the [Egyptian prisoners in] police vehicle.”

Abdul-Aziz Mujahed, Al-Jazeera broadcaster, and other journalists and activists made similar statements.

Meanwhile, Heba Abdul-Jawwad wrote: “Al-Sisi’s condemnation of the Jordanian pilot reminded me of the unforgettable scene in which we spent six hours hiding among corpses, including 30 of people burnt alive, in Al-Iman Mosque… Satan denounces the acts of another Satan.”

Burning in Islam

Islamic scholars came out to condemn ISIS’s actions. Sheikh Kamal Al-Marzouqi, a prominent Muslim scholar, said it has nothing to do with Islam and stressed that there is no verse in the Holy Qur’an includes or, at least, hints to punishing people, whoever they are and whatever their faults, in this manner.

He reiterated that ISIS militants misinterpret the texts of the Sunnah (sayings and acts of Islam’s Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him)) and claimed they base their actions on these texts.

In a statement, Al-Azhar in Egypt described ISIS as a terrorist organisation and called for an urgent elimination of its militants.

Comparing ISIS to Hamas

Some Egyptians highlighted Hamas’s treatment of Israeli prisoner Jilad Shalit as an example of the mercy of Islam when dealing with captives.

An activist wrote on his Facebook page: “Hamas laid down the basics of ethics on how to deal with prisoners throughout its generous and ethical treatment of the Israeli prisoner Jilad Shalit despite the fact he was kidnapped from a tank that was stationed at the borders of Gaza to strike its people.”

Activist Islam Al-Adl wrote: “Hamas crowned its morals during the latest Israeli war on Gaza as it only targeted troops and avoided civilians despite the heavy Israeli targeting of Palestinian civilians.”

Al-Adl concluded his post writing: “This is the difference between ethical fighters who practices the morals of Islam and the unethical militants who just distort the image of Islam and Muslims.”

Wael Salah agreed with Al-Adl and wrote: “Al-Qassam Brigades [Hamas’s military wing] executed collaborators during the war, but it concealed their faces and said it would mix their names with the names of martyrs in order to protect their families from the social stigma.”