The Sun stands together with anti-Isis #MakingAStand campaign urging faiths to unite in the face of extremism
The Sun has made a bold declaration in the war against Isis running with the headline “Britons of all to unite to defeat IS fanatics”.
The stunning image of a Muslim woman draped in a Union Jack
The front page ran as part of the #MakingAStand campaign, created by human rights consultancy firm Inspire, to prevent young women from being lured to join the conflict in Syria and Iraq.
Following the declaration, seven pages were devoted solely to the issue of extremism, followed by an editorial column which said: “We must help snuff out the warped ideology of IS and stem the flow of Britons to its ranks. First, we must not give way to Islamophobia. The military success of IS vastly exaggerates its support. It represents a tiny minority.
“Muslims of course have the greatest role to play. Their imams must ceaselessly condemn IS .Some lost young people are vulnerable to the lure of IS's persuasive online recruiters."
It added: "They buy into the delusion of glamour, of IS as 'cool' holy warriors. But IS recruits are, in reality, mainly gullible misfits and losers. Likewise, Muslim girls tempted to be jihadi brides must know the true fate awaiting them - as the property of child-raping savages."
The UK’s best-selling newspaper also granted the campaign’s co-director Sara Khan the opportunity to share her views in the tabloid. It read: "British Muslims are coming together to say that the so-called Islamic state has nothing to do with our faith. It's a twisted version of Islam that we condemn utterly. We won't tolerate Great Britain being poisoned by extremist propaganda.
"We oppose IS and extremism. We see how young people are being radicalised and fear that our children will be next."
The paper’s strategy was well received on Twitter with the content seen as a progressive step forward for the red top.
Credit where credit's due @TheSunNewspaper has done itself proud today making this its front page http://t.co/wcyBcKtV8H #MakingAStand
— DPB (@danpbowman) October 8, 2014
Excellent initiative in today's Sun http://t.co/OGZjILm0uD #makingastand #NO2ISIS pic.twitter.com/hjGpxGwdeC — Jonathan Russell (@JRussellEsq) October 8, 2014
Impressive campaigning front page from @TheSunNewspaper partnering with the impressive @sarakhaninspire #makingastand pic.twitter.com/3ew26uQ1IH — Matthew Rhodes (@MatthewRhodes) October 8, 2014
Sara Khan however came under fire for her views that Isis had hijacked her faith. In response to this she tweeted that she was pleased that she was irritating extremists.
You know your work matters when it irritates extremists. It only makes me even more committed. :) #makingastand — Sara Khan (@SaraKhanInspire) October 5, 2014
This comes after the newspaper was universally mocked for using its front page to run the 'BOY, 4, HAS MARK OF DEVIL' story in July, a parody article many believed below the newspaper's standards.