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slam forbids the taking of any human life, except for a just cause under the law (i.e. the Koran and Sunah) '€” that is, capital punishment for convicted murderers, fighting in wartime and self-defense.

'€œ['€¦] Whoever takes a single life [one soul], except if it be for murder or spreading mischief and corruption in the land '€” it would be as if he had killed the whole of humanity; and [likewise] if anyone saved one life, it would be as if he had saved the life of all people.'€ (QS: 5:32)

The recent havoc wrought by the Islamic State (IS) organization, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), needs to be condemned.

This terror group has obscenely hijacked the religion of peace, Islam. No verse in the holy Koran justifies their brutal killing of innocents, their persecution of minority groups including Christians and the Yazidi people, their forcible conversion of non-Muslims to Islam or any of their other horrific misdeeds. There is nothing whatsoever Islamic in their cause, and their ideology should be extinguished.

After we inadvertently watched the news on TV, my eight-year-old nephew asked profoundly, searching my face expectantly, '€œAuntie, is ISIS Islam? Why do they kill people?'€

I hesitated. So many jarring arguments and answers swam in my brain as how best to provide a reasonable answer for a child like him. I imagine there are many Muslim children with similar questions. It revolted me to watch the gruesome images of an alleged ISIS boy holding the decapitated head of a Syrian soldier like a toy, smiling proudly alongside his misguided father. Even those hardened by gruesome scenes in war-torn regions would find tough to stomach such a vivid contrast of innocence and brutality. I thought of my nephew; raw emotions assaulted me.

It is a tragedy of humanity. How can an ideology turn a man into a monster who encourages his sons to copy him? My heart ached. Frustration welled up inside of me. O, the foolishness of people! Surrendering to their carnal and primal savagery!

I looked my nephew in the eye. Repressing emotion, I hugged him close before answering. '€œMy dearest, ISIS or ISIL is not Islam. They are a group of lost people. You know the mango tree in your Grandpa'€™s backyard? It bears much juicy fruit every season, right?'€ He nodded, but confusion lined his face. '€œWell, sometimes, among the fruits, there are some which are rotten and full of maggots. We cannot eat them, so they should be thrown away lest they bring disease and make us sick, right?'€ Again, he nodded. He looked at me, scratched his nose and nodded again. Smiling, he said, '€œOh, OK I'€™ve got it! No bad fruit!'€ Then he ran to meet his friends who were calling him out to play.

After he left, I was still in a bad mood. I hoped my silly explanation could make him understand in the simplest way.

It angers me to see the exceptionally brutal methods used by the group bearing the Islamic symbol. It'€™s nothing more than identity theft. The mass beheading is sickening. The capture of the beautiful young Yazidi women for God knows what purpose by those sick men is nauseating. These terrorists have brought shame and disgrace to humanity. They have hijacked Islam.

The most frustrating fact is that this diseased ideology has spread its wings and flown to Indonesia.

Yuni Herlina
Depok-West Java