The video shows the American seated on the ground and dressed in an orange jumpsuit (AFP)

By Samir Haddad, Mazen Ghazi IOL Correspondents

BAGHDAD, May 12 (IslamOnline.net) – Iraqis strongly condemned Wednesday, May 13, the beheading of an American citizen in Iraq by unknown people, saying it is against the true essence of Islam.

Dr Muthana Harith al-Dhari, Secretary General of Muslim Scholars Association, strongly denounced the killing, saying it runs counter to the teachings of Islam and "does disservice to our religion and our cause."

The Sunni scholar stressed this is a condemned operation whether carried out by Iraqis or non-Iraqis and whether the slain was a civilian or a military personnel.

"Even if he was a military personnel he should be treated as a prisoner who, according to Shari'ah, must not be killed," he told IslamOnline.net.

Deputy Head of the Islamic Party Iyaad Samarrai said the abhorrent treatment of Iraqi prisoners by  U.S. soldiers should never give an excuse for treating  U.S. prisoners the same way.

"This is absolutely wrong," he told IOL, asserting that "Islam does prohibit the killing or the maltreatment of prisoners."

Samarrai said such acts harm the interest of the Iraqi people and their cause to end the U.S.-led occupation.

"Non-Iraqis are also required not to act on their own, as their practices worsen matters," he added.

A video put on a website linked to Al-Qaeda shows the beheading of Nicholas Berg with his executioners saying it came in revenge for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. troops.

Berg arrived in  Iraq for the first time in December 2003. In mid March, Berg was held by the U.S. military in the northern city of Mosul for no apparent reason, prompting his father to file a lawsuit in a federal court in Philadelphia, British daily The Independent said.

He was released by the Americans on April 6 and disappeared since April 9 in unknown circumstances, the daily said.

His father Michael lashed out at the U.S. military and Bush administration, saying his son might still be alive had he not been detained by U.S. officials in Iraq without being charged and without access to a lawyer.    

Under the title "The moment of revenge: a young man beheaded for television," the mass-circulation paper likened the horrific incident to the Iraqi prisoner scandal as " cruel image for cruel image".

Against Islam

Al-Dawa Party, led by Shiite Interim Governing Council member Ibrahim Al-Jafari, also condemned the decapitation of the American citizen in the strongest possible terms.

"Undoubtedly, we reject these acts, which run counter to the true essence of Islam and are totally unjustified," said Jawad Al-Malki, a member of the party’s politburo.

He said such acts tarnish the image of Islam and play into the hands of subjective media.

"The beheading of Berg is shocking, grisly, unjustified violence and an act of terrorism," he told IOL.

"By the same token, we condemn the barbaric and terrorist practices of  U.S. soldiers against Iraqi prisoners, but as we don’t want this to befall our people, we don’t want it to befall others as well."  

Out Of Control

Mohammad Bashar Al-Faidi, professor of Islamic studies in Al-Imam Al-Azam University, said the tit-for-tat reprisals have slipped out of control.

He said the days to come will witness more violence as repercussions for the maltreatment of Iraqi prisoners "which tattered the Iraqi dignity and honor".

But Faidi feared the beheading of the American citizen would overshadow the Iraqi prisoner scandal.

"It will surely drift the attention of public opinion from the torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners," he said.

William Warda, an Iraqi rights activist, criticized the beheading as "imprudent".

He said the Iraqi Human Rights Organization denounces the killing of any foreigner in such a gruesome way as it has condemned the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by occupation forces.

"We place all human beings on an equal footing irrespective of their race, religion and color," he told IOL.

The activist said the Iraqi people have behind them a time-honored civilization and reject such unwise practices.

The video, titled "Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi slaughtering an American", showed five hooded men standing behind Berg while one of them read a statement denouncing the abuses of Iraqi detainees at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.

The bearded victim was seated on the ground dressed in an orange jumpsuit while the statement was read.

After the statement was finished, Berg's captors decapitated him with a large knife.

The State Department said the body of Berg, a  Philadelphia resident, was found at the weekend dumped in Baghdad.

U.S. intelligence was investigating whether Al-Zarqawi, a leading Al-Qaeda operative, was involved in the slaying of 26-year-old Berg.