A third Western hostage has been killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS. His name was David Haines, and like Steven Sotloff and James Foley, he was not involved in the fight against ISIS but was a civilian. He was a British humanitarian aid worker in Syria, Sudan, Croatia, and Libya, and was known to help whoever needed it, regardless of race or religion (The Independant). He had two daughters, ages 4 and 17, and had traveled the world working with the UN and aiding humanitarian projects like the Paris­based Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development.

In a statement released by the Foreign Office, David’s brother, Mike Haines said “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.”

The British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that anything will be done in order to “…hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice” (CNN). Despite this statement, there has been little description of how this idyllic plan will be carried out. The difficulty for everyone in the situation of reading news about a group of people labeled “terrorists” is that it is impossible to comprehend how an innocent person could be killed just to prove a point or make an idea known.

However, the fact that they kill each person with a message that countries allied with America should “leave our people alone” proves that ISIS members believe that they are acting in defense. They claim that their leader, Abu Bakr al­Baghdadi, has a direct link to the prophet Muhammed. Therefore, as per Islamic tradition, ISIS believes that it has the right to rule Muslim territories as the next caliphate. When Western countries saw ISIS’s aggressive expansion and human rights abuses, they began intervening and saying “no.” ISIS viewed this as a threat not only to their power, but also to their interpretation of Islam, which is extremely different compared to almost all Muslims.

Unfortunately, the interpretation of Islam by ISIS members enables them to kill and torture others without religious repercussions since they feel threatened. Leaders from countries including the United States, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia are seeking to put down ISIS, and will hopefully find an
answer soon.