Islamic State extremists hold X Factor-style Koran recital competition with top prize of £400
But security experts warns that losers could face the wrath of the terror group if their knowledge of Islamic holy book is not good enough
ISIS chiefs are holding a bizarre X Factor-style contest to see which fanatic can recite the Koran best.
Extremists are being offered a £400 jackpot if they recall the most passages from Islam's holy book.
But unlike Simon Cowell's hit TV talent show, those who fail to make the grade could face ghastly consequences.
Pamphlets advertising the competition were handed out around the self-declared caliphate's capital Raqqa recently.
And one Middle East security expert says entrants are, quite literally, putting their neck on the line by participating.
They told : "I would be extremely reluctant to enter any kind of competition under ISIS.
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''The winner may be lauded as a religious expert but I would not like to speculate on what may happen to anyone whose knowledge of the Koran was found to be less than exemplary."
Failure to adhere to ISIS' strict Sharia version of Islam has led to hundreds of grisly punishments across Syria and Iraq in recent months.
In June, three men were crucified because they broke the Ramadan fast.
Homosexuals are regularly hurled from buildings to their deaths.
While fighters who flee the battlefield have been boiled alive.
The group held an Olympic-style multi-event sports competition earlier this year.
Events included musical chairs and tug-of-war as the embattled terror state tried to show off its softer side to terrified locals.
The group is currently on the back foot as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish forces slowly move on the key cities of Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa in Syria.
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