Iraq: Black Banners Over Mosul as 'Caliphate' Edicts Rule Iraqi Lives

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To cement its message, it hung the group’s black banner from a Mosul bridge and uploaded videos to the Internet showing what happens to “anyone who insists on apostasy” -- execution.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Bloomberg News
By Caroline Alexander | June 13, 2014

The Islamist militants who swept into Mosul had a simple message for residents of the northern Iraqi city: The path to a caliphate comes with clear rules. Lots of them.

No smoking, drinking or drugs; prayer times should be respected. Women must stay indoors, or, if they have to go out, then respectable, baggy clothes are a must. Thieves will have their hands amputated. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant posted the guidelines on June 12 on websites used by jihadist groups. To cement its message, it hung the group’s black banner from a Mosul bridge and uploaded videos to the Internet showing what happens to “anyone who insists on apostasy” -- execution.

Sunni fighters belonging to ISIL captured Mosul, the north’s biggest city, on June 10 as government troops fled. They advanced on Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit and moved south toward Samarra, a city holy to Shiites, just 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Baghdad. They celebrated each advance with videos bearing their logo and Twitter postings.

“Through their use of media, the propagation of their message, and their explicit and gory operations, they create a real intimidatory factor,” said Matthew Henman, head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre in London. “From videos and releases, it’s clear how violent and brutal ISIL is. As groups go in that part of the world, it’s the most extreme.”

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