[Barak Barfi,] Friend of Steven Sotloff Challenges ISIS Leader to Debate on Islam
By Rym Momtaz @RymMomtaz Follow on Twitter Sep 3, 2014 6:57pm
A close friend of Steven Sotloff’s today demanded to debate the leader of the Iraqi terror group that allegedly murdered the American journalist.
“I have a message to Abu Bakr,” Barak Barfi, a friend of Sotloff’s and family spokesperson, said in heated Arabic before television cameras late Wednesday, referring to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of ISIS. “You said Ramadan is a month of mercy but where is your mercy? You speak of Islam and the Holy Koran but I know the Koranic verses.”
Barfi then quoted a verse in the Muslim holy book about God’s disdain for oppressors.
“Abu Bakr, I am ready to debate you” Barfi said. “I come in peace, I don’t have a sword in my hand, I am ready for your answer.”
Barfi’s personal challenge to al-Baghdadi came after he read the first statement from Sotloff’s family since his death was confirmed by U.S. officials Tuesday. Sotloff appeared to have been murdered on camera by an ISIS fighter.
Video Appears to Show ISIS Execution of Second American Steven Sotloff [no, i'm not going to post that link]
Digital Feature: Who Is ISIS? [nor that one this time, we know who the bastards are]
The family said they would not “allow our enemies to hold us hostage with the one weapon they possess: fear.”
Barfi started the Arabic portion of his statement by addressing the Islamic world and reiterating Sotloff’s respect and love of Arab and Muslim culture.
Barfi, a researcher specialized in Arab and Islamic Affairs who is fluent in Arabic, had been coordinating efforts on behalf of the Sotloff family in order to secure the release of the writer since he disappeared in Syria in August 2013.
Big odds it won't happen, but wouldn't it be good. A debate on Islam between Barfi and Bakr would be a classic!
"In a lesser-known aphorism from Clausewitz, he says, “Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.” The executioner in the Sotloff video, as in the video that captured the beheading of the journalist James Foley, is wearing a mask. Is it the mark of a warrior? Or is it the mark of a murderer who knows, deep in his soul, that he should be ashamed?"
Group releases video showing murder of David Haines, weeks after killing US hostages James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Last updated: 14 Sep 2014 05:04
The Islamic State group has released a video purporting to show the beheading of British aid worker David Haines - an act described by the British prime minister as "pure evil".
The video, released late on Saturday, shows Haines, 44, being killed by in a desert location by a masked man. The father of two children, from Perth in Scotland, was abducted last year while working for the French aid agency Acted.
The video comes after the murder of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, both American journalists, in similar settings and manners.
The masked man in the latest video states Haines was killed because the UK's prime minister, David Cameron, had promised to arm Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq against the Islamic State fighters.
"This British man has to pay the price for your promise, Cameron, to arm the Peshmerga against the Islamic State."
The UK policy was announced earlier this week.
At the end of the video, another hostage was shown and the masked man said he would be killed if Cameron continued to support the fight against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIL.
The video was released a day after Haines' family appealed to the Islamic State group to free him.
Cameron said in a statement early on Sunday: "This is a despicable and appalling murder of an innocent aid worker. It is an act of pure evil.
"My heart goes out to the family of David Haines who have shown extraordinary courage and fortitude throughout this ordeal."
"We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes."
The US president, Barack Obama, condemned the "barbaric murder" and said his country stood shoulder to shoulder "with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve".
Mike Haines, David Hains' brother, said his brother was devoted to humanitarian work. "David was most alive and enthusiastic in his humanitarian roles.
"His joy and anticipation for the work he went to do in Syria is for myself and family the most important element of this whole sad affair. He was and is loved by all his family and will be missed terribly.''
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