If Allah wills, we will kill those who worship stones in Mecca and destroy the Kaaba. People go to Mecca to touch the stones, not for Allah.

There had been no verification that the Twitter account, which has since been taken down, to be owned by ISIS. However, if it is indeed true, this is a shocking development and is seemingly contradicting with their goal of recruiting Muslims worldwide to join their cause – in the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate. [caption id="attachment_38487" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Muslims performing their Hajj at the Kaaba in Mecca[/caption] The Kaaba is a very important location for Muslims, the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim who is able to do so to perform thepilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. Millions visit the site every year, and Muslims around the world are required to face the direction of the Kaaba when they perform their daily prayers. However, it does seems that these centuries old practices do not apply to the radical IS militants, and have been adding locations deemed sacred to majority of Muslims as their targets as well. IS militants have reportedly attacked several locations during the month of Ramadan, including the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. [caption id="attachment_38485" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Saladin and Guy of Lusignan after Battle of Hattin, and spared him from execution despite going to war over opposing beliefs / Wikipedia[/caption] Their actions show deviations from the true teachings of Islam, where peace, tolerance and respect are key, even at war. There had been stories of Saladin, the first Sultan of Egypt, had actually agreed to provide fresh water and supplies to his enemy, Richard Lionheart, the King of England in the midst of war, believing that he was required to help even an enemy in need – even offered the services of his personal physician, a significant gesture given that Islamic medicine was considered to be advanced compared with Europe’s at the time. Unfortunately, it does not seem that the Islamic State would ever bring themselves to do that, instead preferring to resort to violence, even when the opponent is an innocent civilian.