An Egyptian couple has been criticised after footage emerged of them throwing an Islamic State-themed wedding party.
Masked men with swords stormed the dance floor, forcing the bride and groom to follow them, as a jihadi anthem used in IS propaganda videos was played. The song's lyrics include: "Fighting is a way of life" and "the echoes of a silenced gun are beautiful".
The married couple were then led into a mock cage, similar to the one in which Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasabeh was burned alive by IS militants last month.
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The groom, Ahmed Shehata, said he had organised the act in secret, without telling his bride. "The idea came to me two weeks before the wedding, because I wanted a wedding night that is different and special and not like everybody else's," he told Egypt's Youm7 news network.
The stunt was intended to "parody" Islamic State, according to the Cairo Post. However, some of the wedding guests revealed that they feared that the attack was real. The video has been widely shared across social media, with many branding it offensive and distasteful.
The bride, Shymaa Mohammad Daif says the media has misconstrued the meaning behind the theme.
"It actually was a surprise for me," she told Think Progress. "At first i didn't understand what happened but then I was satisfied about it."
She said her husband had wanted to send a political message: "They came to the world by terrorism and murder, but our fun and smile will fight Isis."
"A cage of murder will be broken by Egyptians and they will dance and never be scared," she added.
Last month, IS militants abducted and beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians in a gruesome video. Egyptian war planes struck IS targets in Libya in retaliation.
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