Officially, the taking of hostages is forbidden in Islam. A stance reiterated today by the Ithna’ashari scholars in Iraq. So that means the kidnappers are either Sunni or are acting out of an interest other than Islam. I don’t believe they are Sunni at this point – are at least are not acting under that identity – as it would disenfranchise the community. These are pseudo-nationalists, and the behavior is not intrinsic to Muslims. Just a clarification for those who were wondering if hostage taking was tenet of faith.
Related Posts
Speaking Event: Confronting Fear and Hate in NYC Forum, March 21, 2017
Details of the event can be found here.
My #torture statement at ACLU blog
Find it here.
Ben Kingsley is/was Muslim
No, really. The following article is in German, but he talks about his father being Ismaili and growing up in Zanzibar. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/artikel/202/24178/