By Anas al-Bar | 2026-05-27

The "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) committed a violent and brutal act of genocide against the Yazidi community in northern Iraq.

This atrocity fundamentally violated the core, fundamental tenets of Islamic doctrine, exposing the group's deliberate perversion of the faith.

ISIS fighters attempted to justify their cruel actions by falsely claiming religious legitimacy through a literal application of Sharia law.

However, the foundational values and principles of Islam affirm the exact opposite of this violent interpretation.

The group deliberately distorted the faith to entrench its own extremist ideology, positioning themselves as the religion's sole representatives.

Members of the Yazidi minority were subjected to campaigns of killing and brutalization during ISIS's 2014 invasion of their historic town, Sinjar.

Estimates tragically indicate that approximately 5,000 Yazidis were killed, their bodies interred in dozens of mass graves that have since been discovered.

Furthermore, over 6,000 individuals were systematically abducted, with the vast majority being vulnerable women and children.

These women were heinously sold as "sabaya" (sex slaves), and to this day, roughly half of those abductees remain tragically missing.

"ISIS adopted an approach entirely devoid of any connection to religious principles," Yazidi Group for Documentation head Hussam Abdullah told Al-Fassel.

ISIS atrocities

During the brutal assault on Sinjar, the group explicitly issued fatwas, or religious rulings, rooted in its extremist ideology.

These rulings falsely authorized the extermination of all Yazidis under the pretext that they were dangerous infidels and devil-worshippers.

"Based on these completely false claims, unparalleled atrocities were committed, including the brutal execution of men and the systematic enslavement of women," Abdullah said.

They also forcibly recruited children, subjecting them to intense brainwashing to serve the so-called Caliphate.

Abdullah affirmed that the profound tragedy of the Yazidi community exposed the true, hideous face of this terrorist group.

"Its members sought only to ruthlessly destroy social coexistence and peace across the region," he added.

Betrayal of tolerance

Recently, Australian authorities brought charges of crimes against humanity, including enslavement, against two Australian women connected to ISIS.

These individuals had held a Yazidi woman captive in Syria, revealing one facet of the systematic mistreatment.

Such profound abuse was not limited solely to trafficking and enslavement; it also encompassed rape, forced marriage, and forced conversion.

Raad al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi researcher, attributed the extreme cruelty displayed toward the Yazidis to a "deviant ideological methodology".

He told Al-Fassel that this methodology violates all core values of tolerance, justice, and compassion, which are established foundations of the Islamic faith.

The systematic violence and inhumane conduct perpetrated by ISIS operatives are crimes committed by criminals and directly contradict all religious teachings.