Iraqis blame ‘ISIS mentality’ for the killing of flamboyant student

Iraqis on Monday used social media to direct their anger against the killing of an Iraqi student and actor who was found dead following multiple stabbings hours after he was kidnapped by militias in the capital Baghdad.

The militias had reportedly threatened Karar Noushi, a visual art student, for his flamboyant mannerisms and the “tight” clothes he wore. Noushi also acted in plays staged in Baghdad.

“It is true that ISIS has been dismantled militarily but its ideology is still active. You want a proof? The killing_of_ Kara_-Noushi,” Hussain Al-Iraqi wrote in Arabic on Monday on Twitter, using the hashtag that is going viral.

Mosa Al-Omari also snubbed the “mentality” behind Noushi’s killing. “What a strange mentality, they killed him because of his photos on social media and under the pretext that he does not represent Iraqis. As if you represent Iraqis!” he wrote on Twitter.

‘Readymade prey’

Yousif Alghalibi added in disdain: “Your clothes and your hairstyle made you a readymade prey for blood suckers. Family of the young Karar Noushi confirms news of his killing. His body was found hours after his kidnaping,”

Pictures and videos of Noushi are being widely circulated on social media. There are pictures of him on a poster of a comedy and one posing with actress Shayma Jaafar.

A woman by the nickname Al-Zanbaqa Al-Hamara or The Red Lily wrote in Arabic on Twitter: “I am so saddened for the killing of a handsome Baghdadi man because of his fashion and elegance. He is a visual arts student and he takes photoshoots for his cinematic work.”

On Shakwmakw, a popular Facebook page for Iraqis, the actor’s killing was condemned. “They killed him because only because he does not look like them.”

It is not the first time that an Iraqi male has been killed for the way he dressed or behaved and before the rise of ISIS as a Caliphate in Iraq in 2014.

In March 2012, dozens of Iraqi teenagers were killed for donning “Emo” hair styles.