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The Middle East is trolling Isis with parody videos hijacking famous propaganda song

Parody is being used to undermine the extremist group's propaganda

Heather Saul
Thursday 05 March 2015 05:37 EST
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An Isis propaganda video purporting to show fighters near the Iraqi city of Tikrit
An Isis propaganda video purporting to show fighters near the Iraqi city of Tikrit (AFP/Getty)

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The Middle East is trolling Isis by using a jihadi anthem from their propaganda videos over clips of people dancing.

The group is famous for disseminating propaganda videos via the internet and social media, some of which contain Islamist hymns known as nasheeds.

NBC News noted in December that the highly produced music usually features a chorus singing in perfect harmony, producing songs that “would stand alongside any commercially produced record”.

One recognisable song is now being played over videos of satirical dancing and circulated across the internet with a viral hashtag, playing Isis at its own game.

Many of those mocking Isis with the YouTube videos appear to be from Egypt, with one showing three women dressed as militants and a hostage belly dancing, before bursting out laughing. It has already had more than 250,000 views.

Not everyone is amused by the videos however. Some have blasted them for being “insensitive” to the families of victims and described them as "stupid".

More recently, a couple provoked outrage with their Isis-themed wedding that used the same song and culminated in the newlyweds dancing in a cage reminiscent of the one used to burn Jordanian pilot First Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh alive.

A man brandishes a knife in front of the cage
A man brandishes a knife in front of the cage

The groom, Ahmed Shehata, was given a balaclava, produced a gun and begins dancing with his bride in a cage surrounded by guests brandishing fake knives.

Explaining his decision to have a wedding parodying Isis, he said: "The events inflicted by Daesh [an Arabic name for Isis] is what made me think about the wedding in a different way. It will not be forgotten by everyone."

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