Kidnapping infidels and releasing them for ransom or enslaving them, as well as killing them if that option is deemed most advantageous for the Muslims, is fully sanctioned in Islamic law: “As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, ‘When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks’ (Qur’an sura 47, verse 4)” — Abu’l-Hasan al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance), trans. by Dr. Asadullah Yate, (London), Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 1996, p. 192.
“Islamic State Egypt affiliate says beheads Croatian hostage: SITE,” by Omar Fahmy, Reuters, August 12, 2015:
Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate published a photograph it said showed the beheaded body of a Croatian hostage it had threatened to kill last week, the SITE monitoring service said on Wednesday.
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the picture, which carried a caption that said: “killing of the Croatian hostage, due to his country’s participation in the war against Islamic State, after the deadline expired … “.
If confirmed, it would be the first known beheading of a Western hostage held by Sinai Province, the Egyptian group which changed its name from Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis after it pledged allegiance to Islamic State.
A spokesman at the Egyptian Interior Ministry’s press office said: “We have seen this news on line but are currently making our own checks. If we confirm that it is indeed true, we will inform the media through a statement.”…
The photograph, circulating on Twitter accounts of Sinai Province supporters, shows a man’s severed head placed on his body, with a knife driven into sand next to it and the black Islamic State flag in the background.
Next to the picture are screenshots of Arabic language news articles with the headlines: “Croatia confirms its support for Egypt in efforts to fight terrorism and extremism” and “Croatia affirms its continued support for the Kurdistan region.”
Last week, an online video purportedly from Sinai Province showed a man who identified himself as Tomislav Salopek who said the group would kill him in 48 hours if Muslim women in Egyptian jails were not freed….