Muslim clerics condemn burning to death of Jordanian pilot as un-Islamic

Muslim clerics have condemned the burning to death of a Jordanian pilot by Islamic State (IS) militants, calling it un-Islamic.

According to Dawn, Egypt's top Muslim authority, the 1,000 year old Al-Azhar university revered by Sunni Muslims around the world, issued a statement expressing "deep anger over the lowly terrorist act" by what it called a "Satanic, terrorist" group.

The Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, expressed his angst over the incident, saying the killers deserved to be "killed, crucified or to have their limbs amputated."

The International Association of Muslim Scholars, headed by prominent cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi called the burning of Moaz al-Kasasbeh a criminal act.

Kasasbeh, who was taken hostage by the Islamic State (IS), was burned to death by the IS militants in Iraq.

The news of his death came forth after a video purporting to show him being burned alive surfaced on the internet.

The 22-minute-long video clip also shows the pilot walking at gunpoint amid rubble apparently caused by coalition air strikes.

While hailing Lt Kasasbeh as a hero and urging Jordanians to "stand united" in the face of hardship, Jordan's King Abdullah vowed "punishment and revenge that will be as huge as the loss of the Jordanians." He described the terror group as a "deviant criminal group."

The pilot was captured by IS militants after his plane crashed near Raqqa, Syria during a mission against the terror group in December.

The video was posted on a Twitter account known as a source for IS propaganda on Tuesday.