...and the Islamic fascists think our culture is corrupt...
Images of horror top sellers in Baghdad's 'thieves market'
Amer Ouali (AFP) | Baghdad, September 21
Hostage throat-slitting videos rub shoulders with pornography in the stalls of central Baghdad's infamous "thieves market", as Islamic radicals immortalise their acts of terror in grisly films like Monday's beheading of a US national.
The latest video, posted on Monday night on an Islamic website, showed five masked gunmen reading out their Islamic verdict against their American captive Eugene "Jack" Armstrong and then slicing off the victim's head as he cried out in pain.
Once such gory videos are posted on the Internet it does not take long for them to make their way to the packed stalls of central Baghdad's Bab al-Sharqi marketplace where consumer appetite is hungry for bloody spectacle.
In the teeming open-air market, television sets rigged to sound systems broadcast the sounds and sights of tortured hostages, belly dancers and pornographic movie stars.
Shoppers can ask stallholders to play DVDs that catch their attention.
Behind a plastic case, a dull picture of a local singer on the cover, are concealed the grisly exploits of the Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) group of alleged Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.
The telltale sign is a little white rectangular sticker on the sleeve, on which is written by hand in Arabic, "Al-Assifa" (storm).
The televisions show images, some of them previously aired on the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera, of hostages being murdered or attacks on US forces in the rebel stronghold of Fallujah.
The graphic footage is accompanied by a martial beat and thunderous songs about "resistance" and "honor".
In one video, an Egyptian hostage his hands tied behind his back sits in front of a banner with the Tawhid wal Jihad emblem.
He makes his confession, swearing he planted electronic bugs in Iraqi cities so US warplanes could pick out their targets. He confesses he provided women to coalition soldiers.
Standing behind him, three masked men prepare to deliver their judgement. Two grip Kalashnikovs, while the third brandishes a knife and reads out his verdict.
"The spies are sent from Satan's caravan," the man says. And in a sudden motion, the Egyptian's throat is sliced and his head cut off amid cries of "Allah Akbar" (God is Greatest).
"The Nepalese, the Bulgarians and others will be subjected to the same fate," warns the executioner.
Pedestrians pass by these grotesque flickering images. No one says a word. Asked where they got the discs, the vendors refuse to answer.
One wryly asks: "Do you want some culture?"
And he takes out a DVD entitled "A special night with good time girls", featuring a lingerie-clad woman surrounded by busty companions on the cover.
He pops it in the player and the plot unfolds: a woman dances in a tight shoulderless dress as turbaned men watch and she occasionally caresses them.
Leaning over the counter, the saleman interjects: "There are better things that I could show you but I can't do it here."
A passer-by winks: "He means blue movies."
Images of horror top sellers in Baghdad's 'thieves market'
Amer Ouali (AFP) | Baghdad, September 21
Hostage throat-slitting videos rub shoulders with pornography in the stalls of central Baghdad's infamous "thieves market", as Islamic radicals immortalise their acts of terror in grisly films like Monday's beheading of a US national.
The latest video, posted on Monday night on an Islamic website, showed five masked gunmen reading out their Islamic verdict against their American captive Eugene "Jack" Armstrong and then slicing off the victim's head as he cried out in pain.
Once such gory videos are posted on the Internet it does not take long for them to make their way to the packed stalls of central Baghdad's Bab al-Sharqi marketplace where consumer appetite is hungry for bloody spectacle.
In the teeming open-air market, television sets rigged to sound systems broadcast the sounds and sights of tortured hostages, belly dancers and pornographic movie stars.
Shoppers can ask stallholders to play DVDs that catch their attention.
Behind a plastic case, a dull picture of a local singer on the cover, are concealed the grisly exploits of the Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War) group of alleged Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.
The telltale sign is a little white rectangular sticker on the sleeve, on which is written by hand in Arabic, "Al-Assifa" (storm).
The televisions show images, some of them previously aired on the Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera, of hostages being murdered or attacks on US forces in the rebel stronghold of Fallujah.
The graphic footage is accompanied by a martial beat and thunderous songs about "resistance" and "honor".
In one video, an Egyptian hostage his hands tied behind his back sits in front of a banner with the Tawhid wal Jihad emblem.
He makes his confession, swearing he planted electronic bugs in Iraqi cities so US warplanes could pick out their targets. He confesses he provided women to coalition soldiers.
Standing behind him, three masked men prepare to deliver their judgement. Two grip Kalashnikovs, while the third brandishes a knife and reads out his verdict.
"The spies are sent from Satan's caravan," the man says. And in a sudden motion, the Egyptian's throat is sliced and his head cut off amid cries of "Allah Akbar" (God is Greatest).
"The Nepalese, the Bulgarians and others will be subjected to the same fate," warns the executioner.
Pedestrians pass by these grotesque flickering images. No one says a word. Asked where they got the discs, the vendors refuse to answer.
One wryly asks: "Do you want some culture?"
And he takes out a DVD entitled "A special night with good time girls", featuring a lingerie-clad woman surrounded by busty companions on the cover.
He pops it in the player and the plot unfolds: a woman dances in a tight shoulderless dress as turbaned men watch and she occasionally caresses them.
Leaning over the counter, the saleman interjects: "There are better things that I could show you but I can't do it here."
A passer-by winks: "He means blue movies."
