Beheading is the act of removing one's head with a sword or axe as a form of capital punishment dating back to the Roman Empire. Seen as a relatively cheap and practical method of execution, its popularity grew until the notice of its inhumane ways due to the extreme blood spurts from the severed arteries. Nevertheless, it's beginning to reclaim its former popularity today throughout the Islamic world due to a portions belief of opposing culture(s) "contaminating" their culture of Islam, particularity Western culture as in the United States. The Hizballah, a Shia militia group has taken it as far as labeling United States as "the Great Satan" as being seen as the foremost corrupting force. To counter the opposing customs, the portion uses radical Islamic organizations such as The Hizballah and Al Qaeda to fight using Jihads (holy warriors) and terrorism as main instruments of persuasion. In addition to the two radical institutions above given, another group recently established has been displayed throughout worldly news being known for its extreme brutality; ISIS. Through strong belief of fundamentalism within the Islamic world, in addition to the ongoing conflict between the rival sub religions Sunni and Shia, have all contributed to the rise of the Al Qaeda offspring, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Islam is the second largest organized religion in the world, trailing behind Christianity by about half a billion followers. Followers of Islam live throughout the world however, most are mainly located near where the religion originated, the Middle East. The religion was founded by the prophet Mohammed, around 570 A.D, near the city of Mecca. Muslims, Islamic followers, believe there is one God; Allah, and their purpose of existence is to worship God. Alike to many religions such as Christianity and Buddhism, there are many different denominations within Islam, with Sunni and Shiite being the majority.