Smuggled video testimony documents harsh rule of Syrian Islamist group
Moving testimony of how a jihadi group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis), has imposed its own strict interpretation of sharia law has emerged in a series of video interviews smuggled out of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa.
The group – which operated under the auspices of al-Qaida until it recently severed the association – gained full control the city after lethal clashes with other brigades in the Syrian opposition left hundreds of dead.
The group has also been one of the most prominent kidnappers of western journalists, a number of whom are reputedly being held in Isis prisons in Raqqa.
Although the brutal rule of Isis has been well documented – most recently in an Amnesty International report in December, which detailed killings, arbitrary trials and detention and the abuse of children as young as eight – the new interviews that have emerged provide an intimate and chilling depiction of day-to-day life under the group.
Since taking control of Raqqa the group has banned music, signing and smoking, with the threat of severe penalties for any violators including public flogging.
The videos of life on the streets of Raqqa were recorded by an activist who attached a camera to a car and drove around the town and also interviewed resident who asked for their identities to be kept hidden.
The footage shows the group's black banner hanging over one of the main streets and the overspill from a mosque praying in a street.
In one segment of the film an unnamed taxi driver is interviewed describing the punishments for listening to music.
"I like listening to music and I also like to listen to [tapes of the] Qur'an," he explains, filmed from behind to hide his face. "But the Islamic state has forbidden us from listening to music and forced us to listen to the Qur'an only.
"What should I do now?" he asks describing a familiar dilemma to residents of the city: "Should I listen to music or not? They have forced us to either listen to Qur'an or face being whipped or other [punishments].
"At the same time we are not allowed to smoke any more. If they see anyone holding a pack of cigarettes he will get a couple of blows from a whip. They have also prohibited any place to stock or keep cigarettes. If they find a place with cigarettes they'll burn the entire inventory, put the owner in jail and whip him."
For "Fatima" from the Tawsea district of the city the problems have been different.
"After Isis occupied Raqqa they imposed the full face veil, which is not required in Islam. In Raqqa where we've lived together, both Muslims and Christians, these kinds of rules can be forced on us as Muslims.
"But this stuff can't be imposed on Christians, and many Christian families were forced to leave Raqqa because of issues like the veil and others. Even at home, when we go out into the balcony, we [have to] go out veiled. We're not used to this kind of stuff. It is a suppression of personal freedom. We are not used to that."
Fatima's comments were echoed by Aisha from the Mashle district.
"After Isis took control of course the veil was forced on all women. I wear the veil because that is what our religion demands of us. But our religion is tolerant. They can't cannot impose the hijab. People feel they are being forced to wear the hijab. [I think Muslim women] should wear the hijab but Islam is not the only religion in Raqqa. There are many other religions and [Isis] should respect that.
"There have been many whippings of women because of this. Some were even executed. People have been plunged into a state of fear and horror.
"And now when we go into the buses they now separate the men and women, and that is unacceptable. Who gives them the right to enforce these things? Our religion is Islam and is nothing close to this religion. Our religion is a religion of guidance. Not a religion forcibly imposed."
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