A 14-year-old boy was publicly executed by Islamic State militants for allegedly missing Friday prayers. The teenager's parents were forced to watch their son be beheaded after he was charged with "apostasy," the abandonment of religious belief, in his hometown of Jarablus in Syria.
The city's central mosque is an ISIS dominant force in the region, with Friday prayers a focal point for preaching and promoting the group's self-proclaimed Caliphate, reports Christian Today. Pro-ISIS preachers often deliver speeches there.
A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him" (Bukhari 9.84.57). The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to all the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, cites Jihad Watch.
News of the boy's execution was shared by local activist Nasser Taljbini, who opposed the jihadist group. He told Syrian-based ARA News that an ISIS-controlled Sharia court ordered the teenager to be beheaded in public.
"Dozens of people attended the brutal execution, including the victim's parents who were forced to witness the beheading of their own son," he said.
Taljbini said ISIS is trying to prove it is still powerful despite all the military defeats. "The group is trying to terrorize people through conducting such public punishments."
Local sources in Jarablus state that ISIS sees teenagers as future jihadis who should receive a proper Sharia education to stay committed to the message of the so-called Caliphate.
Earlier this week, ISIS militants reportedly arrested dozens of women in Jarablus for violating the Sharia dress code, reports the Gateway Pundit.
