ISTANBUL — The hardline militant group the Islamic State released another video on Friday showing a brutal beheading. This time, the victim appears to be British aid worker Alan Henning, known for his selflessness and devotion to helping Syrians. In the video, a militant also threatens to kill another hostage, American Peter Kassig.
The fact that the video was released on the eve of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays in Islam, was not lost on people on social media. The holiday commemorates Abraham’s willingness to kill his son as an act of faith, for which God gave him a lamb to slaughter instead.
There has been much debate within the Muslim community over whether Muslims should have to condemn the group’s actions. The hashtag #NotInMyName has gone viral on Twitter, as well as the satirical #MuslimApologies. More than 120 Muslim scholars recently penned an open letter, denouncing the group’s violence in the name of Islam.
The Islamic State has killed scores of Muslims, as well Christians and Yazidis, in its push to gain territory in Syria and Iraq, and establish an Islamic caliphate. This week, the group reportedly beheaded a group of male and female Kurdish fighters in northern Syria who were defending Kurds against the Islamic State’s assault.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter to Henning’s murder:
Alan Henning, a man who travelled thousands of miles to help the people of #Syria, was murdered in cold blood on the eve of Eid al-Adha.
— Faisal Irshaid (@faisalirshaid) October 3, 2014
The Alan Henning murder has just made Eid tomorrow a dismal Affair for Muslims in the west
— Enam (@JustEnam) October 3, 2014
