Malaysia condemns barbaric acts by Islamic State, says Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the actions of Islamic State militants in Syria violated the teachings of Islam and the principles of Islamic law, Bernama reported today.

He said this in condemning the barbaric act committed against American aid worker Peter Kassig and the Syrian military personnel by Islamic State, via messages on his Twitter account.

"Malaysia condemns in the strongest terms, the barbarism committed against Mr Kassig and the Syrian military personnel. These abhorrent acts violate the teachings of Islam and the principles of Islamic law," Bernama reported him as saying.

The Islamic State militant group had released an online video clip yesterday, showing the beheading of US Army ranger-turned-aid-worker Kassig, who was captured while delivering relief supplies in Syria last year.

According to Bernama, the Islamic State video also showed the gruesome simultaneous beheadings of at least 18 men described as Syrian military personnel.

Islamic State, which was previously called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) or Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), is a splinter group of al-Qaeda, and it aims to set up an Islamic caliphate encompassing both Iraq and Syria, and possibly the entire Middle East. It has been classified as a terror organisation.

The prime minister's comments today is far removed from a speech he had made at a dinner to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Cheras Umno branch on June 24. At the time, he had called on party members to emulate the exploits of the militant group, saying the bravery shown was a virtue that Umno needed to demonstrate to survive and flourish.

“Whether we agree or not is another matter, the group Isil with the strength of just 1,300 people, can defeat an Iraqi army of 30,000 soldiers, until four, five generals with three, four stars run for their lives, jump out the window at night,” he had said, adding that Isil could defeat a bigger force simply because the latter was afraid of it. – November 17, 2014.

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