Social media rallies behind pilot captured by ISIS

After a Jordanian pilot was captured by Islamic State(ISIS) last week, a social media campaign has gone viral in a few Arab nations. The pilot, identified as Muadh al-Kasasbeh was captured after he had to eject from his F-16 jet right before it

went on to crash near the proclaimed capital of ISIS, Raqqa. Images released of him showed him to be naked from the waist down with a bloodied mouth, as he was being dragged away from a water body.

The 26 year old pilot was showered with messages of support and solidarity on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter. The trending hashtag in Arabic, which translates to #WeAreAllMuadh was also widely used

One of the more prominent persons to show support were Jordanian Queen Rania, who posted an Instagram image that showed a fighter jet formed using the letters of the captive's first name Muadh.

The following are some of the tweets that were tweeted in support of the first lieutenant-

"I don't support war or violence, but I do believe in defence against a violent group of psychopaths who've hijacked my religion." said @rdawud

"I don't support war or violence, but I do believe in defence against a violent group of psychopaths who've hijacked my religion." said @rdawud

In response, ISIS sympathisers too joined in, critical of those supporting the pilot. One tweet said "If you have enough time to cry 4 a pilot who killed 100s of innocents, then understand that u lost not only islam but also humanity," said @Muslims_Way, adding one of the hashtags.

Jordan has been firm in its response to the capture of the young pilot and has threatened ISIS that it will face "grave consequences" , if any harm comes to him. Although ISIS has executed many prisoners of war in Syria and Iraq, it is being expected that they will use the pilot to gain ransom or a prisoner exchange.