The UK Mirror, a tabloid magazine, is reporting that Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists have beheaded a popular street magician in Syria for defying their strict interpretation of Sharia law with his performances.
The Mirror reported that terrorists called his show “haram – or forbidden by the Koran – because it was idle entertainment and kept locals from praying and attending the mosque.”
“The magician was a popular man who entertained people with little tricks on the street like making coins or phone disappear,” allegedly said one witness who attended the show. “He was just called Sorcerer by people and children loved him. He was doing nothing anti-Islamic but he paid for it with his life.”
Islamic State terrorists, the report notes, consider magic tricks “anti-Islam” and an insult to God “because they created ‘illusions and falsehood.’” “This is the reality of life in Raqqa, murdered in the name of Allah for performing a few tricks,” said the witness quoted.
Radical Islamist groups captured Raqqa in March 2013. The Islamic State sealed the country under their control in August 2014 when militants captured a key Syrian air base in the city. Since then, the terrorist group implemented strict Sharia law. Patrols ensure all women wear proper Islamic attire, which is black from head to toe. Militants punish men if any woman under roof misbehaves.
In December, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the terrorists executed 1,878 people between June 28 and December 27. The report included an execution of 100 members who attempted to leave their base in Raqqa. Militants allegedly beheaded three men in October for “cursing the Lord in markets, streets, and homes.”