I read earlier that the 72 hour demand was right out of the al qaeda handbook. Then I read this from blog JAWA Report:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/184410.php
(video) Terrorists Threaten to Murder Fox News Hostages
UPDATE: Not so fast. The video has an al Qaeda feel to it, but the content of what Wiig said was interesting. In the video Wiig implores his family and friends to pressure the local goernment in Gaza to get their release. Which is an odd request, if the demand is for the release of Muslim prisoners from U.S. jails--a common Islamist demand in Iraq.
But the statement by The Holy Jihad Brigades sounds very much along the lines of al Qaeda 3.0. UPDATE: And a group with a similar name has operated in the Palestinian territories, and is linked to al Qaeda. "Jihad Brigades in the Border Districts" is al Qaeda in Gaza.
Developing....scroll down for updates.
It is exactly as I feared. The Palestinian terror group that has taken Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig belongs to the cult of Abu Musab al Zarqawi. They have given the 72 hours notice. If their demands are not met, they will be murdered
That's horrible because we know and they know that their demands will not be met. You have to wonder what the purpose of this barbarism is, that is beyond building their own self esteem.
I have been struggling with a definition of a cult that would describe Islam and I think that I have come up with a pretty good definition. I think that a cult is any religion that benefits someone or group, other than or more than its followers, and uses mind control to keep the adherents in line.