The saga of atrocity and bloodshed permeates the region and people fall prey to religious extremists on the basis of their beliefs. The warped beliefs are foisted upon the individuals at the blade of knife or at the muzzle of gun. In the horrible pandemonium of war and terror, one is left between two choices: either to succumb to death or to embrace the fundamental frames of mind. The callous acts and moral turpitude of Islamic militants in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan make one recoil with unmitigated disgust.
Violation of human rights and dignities has outraged men’s conscience and led to deep anguish and bleeding wounds. Besmirching reputation of modest females add insult to injuries of the mothers saddened by the tragic death of their beloved children. The lugubrious story of war victims and grotesque violence of Islamic State (IS) bristle one’s hair. The hirsute and monstrous faces of radical warlords trigger a sense of nightmare. Being devoid of moral values and humane characters, the Islamic militants, particularly the emerging group of ISIS, behead the innocent people in the worst possible way without an iota of mercy.
The fundamentalists’ bogus claim regarding religious issues will result in Islam-phobia in Western countries – even though their practices are extraneous to Islamic law. Involving in moral turpitude and heinous crime under the veneer of religion is highly degrading – such exploitations of religion were practiced constantly throughout the history by despotic rulers. Through misinterpretations of religious texts, the militants vindicate their deadly acts and moral corruption. Their ideological rhetoric lacks the rationality and support of religion. In another item, although the radicals claim to carry out jihad on the grounds of religious order, yet their practices are against religion and ethical code. So, their false ideology has colored their mendacious claim.
After all, according to reports, Boko Haram is believed to be the largest jihadi group to pledge fidelity to the Islamic State. But terrorism experts say that the practical significance of the move announced Saturday is as yet unclear. Some experts say that the pledge, or “bayat,” made by the leader of Boko Haram is a spiritually binding oath, which indicates that the Nigerian Islamist group has agreed to accept the authority of the Islamic State. A group’s leaders swore allegiance in a public message posted online. Weeks later, the oath was formally accepted by the Islamic State, in a statement issued by the group’s spokesman.
“It’s quite clear that since at least mid-January, the Islamic State has had some level of connection with Boko Haram,” quoted Aaron Y. Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute who tracks propaganda by Islamic extremists. “The key question is whether the Islamic State dispatched individuals from Syria or Iraq, or else from Libya, down to northern Nigeria to help out with operations on the ground, or else with methodology, or in terms of governance activities.”
Boko Haram is estimated to have up to 6,000 fighters and at least some level of control over about 20,000 square kilometers, or about 8,000 square miles, of northeastern Nigeria, according to Ryan Cummings, chief Africa analyst for red24, a crisis management group based in Britain, who has been following the group since 2011. Mr. Cummings raised questions about the kind of command-and-control structure that could exist between the two groups.
“It seems at the moment that this is a statement that is akin to saying, ‘We are on the same page,’ ” he said. “But the biggest issue with Boko Haram is that it’s not a homogeneous group and it behaves as different factions. So it’s too early to tell for sure if Boko Haram will fall directly under ISIS command, and to what extent they will act as an ISIS proxy.”
For roughly 18 months, there have been growing signs of at least links of solidarity between the organizations, as well as suggestions that the Islamic State has been grooming Boko Haram for entry into its network. Last year, Boko Haram’s leader declared his support for the leader of the Islamic State, and began using the Islamic State battle hymn as the soundtrack for videos documenting his atrocities.
Both the internationally infamous groups follow the same ideology. Their political chicanery, inhuman practices and moral corruption all root in archaic beliefs and licentious dreams. It is believed that many members of religious extremists especially that of ISIS and Boko Haram are combined of those who had no chance to take the hand of beautiful girls rather than being ideologues. Hence, the lump in their throats, which originates in bereavement, has erupted. So, they satiate their evil desires at the barrel of gun via committing honor killings and tarnishing the reputation of modest women and girls – Jihad-Nikah, which is unprecedented phenomenon in history, is the worst example.
The ferocity of ISIS and Boko Haram are rightly depicted via their acts of violence – such as serving son’s meat to his mother, ISIS did, burning alive a man, raping women and girls, destroying the historical monuments of Iraq, violating the rights and dignity of war victims without a sense of guilt, etc. So what would happen if Boko Haram pledges allegiance to ISIS for wreaking more havoc?
A puissant international backlash is the crying need of the time to stop further bloodshed and destruction. The world has to seek a common ground and join forces to end this chaos. The international community is supposed to stop playing the role of spectator and open its eyes to the atrocities and violation of human rights.