Reverend Fred Nile has fallen foul of Islamic State propaganda claiming to show a Christian execution

FRED Fred Nile tweeted this image of a Christian smiling bravely at his execution by Islamic jihadists with the hashtag ‘saved’. But all is not as it seems.

REVEREND Fred Nile has fallen foul of Islamic State propaganda: He’s posted a tweet purporting to show the execution of an Iraqi Christian when it was in fact an Iranian murderer.

The outspoken Christian lobbyist and NSW Senator tweeted the series of images showing a smiling young man being led to the gallows before the stand beneath him is kicked away.

“How one Christian faced death at the hands of ISIS,” Reverend Nile tweeted. “He was already in Jesus’ arms. Psalms 23:4 #saved”.

At first it seemed to play right into Senator Nile’s hands.

He’s publicly promoting the campaign “God protect the Christians of the Middle East ... because our governments have failed them.”

Fred Nile’s deleted Twitter picture.

Within minutes, a string of public replies to his tweet had debunked his view.

The propaganda pictures are, in fact, from another place, in another time, and involving another religion.

Majid Kavoosifar, 28, together with his cousin and uncle, were sent to the gallows in central Tehran, Iran, in 2007. They had been convicted for the murder of a prominent judge.

Kavoosifar gained notoriety by accepting the noose with a grin, and giving a cheeky wave “goodbye”.

Senator Nile has since deleted his tweet, offering no apology or explanation.

Senator Fred Nile is supporting Christians in the Middle East

Islamic State, whose Sunni jihadist fighters have swept through Iraq and imposed a reign of terror over Shiite Islamists, as well as minority Christian and Yazidi groups, have a well-oiled social media propaganda machine.

RELATED: Christianity flees Iraq’s battle of the faiths

While many of their brutal images and claims have been verified, many more are deliberate distortions designed to invoke fear.

"ISIS Supporter Threatens to Blow Up Assyrian Church in Sydney" Church members were shaken. http://t.co/OV9oarPsEH #teamnile

— Fred Nile (@frednile) August 7, 2014

It’s a tactic that has served them well: Iraq government army discipline has tended to collapse before the onrushing jihadists even enter sight.

It’s a sure sign that the battle for “hearts and minds” has already been won — by fear.

Raise awareness in your community about the crisis in the Middle East #WeAreN #teamnile pic.twitter.com/CPh02OvBJg

— Fred Nile (@frednile) August 9, 2014

Late last week Islamic State forces overran the last Christian stronghold in northern Iraq, the town of Qaraqush.

It has been an enclave of one of the oldest versions of Christianity since the religion first reached the remote enclave almost 2000 years ago.

Almost all have now fled into Kurdish controlled regions, to Baghdad or neighbouring Turkey.

While their plight has not been as grim as that of the Yazidi people — tens of thousands of whom have only today escaped from the parched mountaintops where they sought refuge — the Christians are nevertheless real victims of Islamic State ethnic cleansing.