Special By By Paul Iddon Jun 20, 2014 in Politics Many Iraqis and those concerned about Iraq and its future in light of the current threat to the country posed by the rampaging ISIS terror gang have taken to social media sites to show their opposition to ISIS and support of a secular unified Iraq. He is a pioneer and active promulgator of the He has also protested against the bias he sees inherent in some media coverage and reporting on the present Iraq crisis. He was kind enough to answer some questions I had for him about the cause he passionately advocates. i) First of all, could you please tell us a little about yourself? I’m Sajad Jiyad a British Iraqi and Director of Policy at the Iraqi Centre for Integration and Cohesion (ICIC) based in London. I’ve conducted research on Iraq, the Middle East, and Islamic Studies. ii) In a nutshell what does the #no2isis social media campaign hope to achieve and what can ordinary people who are concerned about the crisis in Iraq do in order to help further the cause and the message of this campaign? 1. Quash ISIS lies, rumours and propaganda about what is going on in Iraq and what ISIS actually stands for. 2. Warn the EU, US and UK of the dangers of allowing ISIS to operate without hindrance as they have been doing up till now. 3. Explain that ISIS is anti-human and sectarian, it attacks Muslims and non-Muslims alike and their hate agenda is rejected by all. We ask for everyone to read up about Iraq and what ISIS is doing there so they can get a better understanding and then join the campaign by reaching out to others, informing them of the campaign and why they must speak out against ISIS. Simple gestures like a tweet or Facebook post can be very effective. iii) Can you tell us about some of the propaganda tactics you know of which ISIS is using on social media websites to promulgate its cause? They will spread rumours that they are attacking a particular area, to cause panic and for people to flee, this is reported by some wire services and unfortunately ISIS then lay in ambush for the people fleeing as happened in Tal Afar on Sunday. They also spread lies and use fake images in order to stoke sectarian tensions and recruit people to their cause. Above all they use social media to display their ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power to give different images to supporters and enemies. Sajad Jiyad picketing the British Broadcasting Corporation over its reporting of the crisis in Iraq. Sajad Jiyad iv) You have picketed the British Broadcasting Corporation due to the sectarian bias you see inherent in their reporting on the Iraq crisis and have went as far as to say that their sectarian language endangers lives. Could you elaborate on what you mean by that statement and how you became convinced that this is so? An example is how they reported Ayatullah Sistani’s statement on 13 June calling for ALL Iraqi citizens of ALL sects and religions to volunteer for the Iraqi armed forces ONLY. It was headlined as 'Sistani calls for Shias to take up arms' and the report did not reflect the statement accurately. Another example is referring to ISIS as ‘Sunni extremists’ when the official Association of Sunni scholars in Iraq has declared them to be outside of Islam and in no way representative of Sunni Islam, and it is known ISIS kills as many Sunnis as it does Shia. There are plenty of other instances of how their reporting is using unacceptable sectarian language, as are other media outlets. The picket was meant put pressure on the BBC, after we sent dozens of letters to editors without receiving a reply, in order to change their use of terms and review their editorial policy. v) Are you hopeful that Iraq and Iraqis can overcome this current crisis and keep the country together? Yes I am, Iraqis are very resilient and there is a general will from people of all backgrounds to keep Iraq united and defeat ISIS. Sajad Jiyad is one of these people. He has been very active in campaigning against the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) group which threatens to tear Iraq apart.He is a pioneer and active promulgator of the #no2isis Twitter campaign which seeks to expose the groups propaganda and crimes against the Iraqi people.He has also protested against the bias he sees inherent in some media coverage and reporting on the present Iraq crisis.He was kind enough to answer some questions I had for him about the cause he passionately advocates.I’m Sajad Jiyad a British Iraqi and Director of Policy at the Iraqi Centre for Integration and Cohesion (ICIC) based in London. I’ve conducted research on Iraq, the Middle East, and Islamic Studies.1. Quash ISIS lies, rumours and propaganda about what is going on in Iraq and what ISIS actually stands for.2. Warn the EU, US and UK of the dangers of allowing ISIS to operate without hindrance as they have been doing up till now.3. Explain that ISIS is anti-human and sectarian, it attacks Muslims and non-Muslims alike and their hate agenda is rejected by all.We ask for everyone to read up about Iraq and what ISIS is doing there so they can get a better understanding and then join the campaign by reaching out to others, informing them of the campaign and why they must speak out against ISIS. Simple gestures like a tweet or Facebook post can be very effective.They will spread rumours that they are attacking a particular area, to cause panic and for people to flee, this is reported by some wire services and unfortunately ISIS then lay in ambush for the people fleeing as happened in Tal Afar on Sunday. They also spread lies and use fake images in order to stoke sectarian tensions and recruit people to their cause. Above all they use social media to display their ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ power to give different images to supporters and enemies.An example is how they reported Ayatullah Sistani’s statement on 13 June calling for ALL Iraqi citizens of ALL sects and religions to volunteer for the Iraqi armed forces ONLY. It was headlined as 'Sistani calls for Shias to take up arms' and the report did not reflect the statement accurately. Another example is referring to ISIS as ‘Sunni extremists’ when the official Association of Sunni scholars in Iraq has declared them to be outside of Islam and in no way representative of Sunni Islam, and it is known ISIS kills as many Sunnis as it does Shia. There are plenty of other instances of how their reporting is using unacceptable sectarian language, as are other media outlets. The picket was meant put pressure on the BBC, after we sent dozens of letters to editors without receiving a reply, in order to change their use of terms and review their editorial policy.Yes I am, Iraqis are very resilient and there is a general will from people of all backgrounds to keep Iraq united and defeat ISIS. More about Iraq, Isis, Social media, Ali Sistani, Sajad Jiyad Iraq Isis Social media Ali Sistani Sajad Jiyad