“ISIS HERE” banner in Ferguson, Missouri
This banner is in line with supporters of the Islamic State taking photos of the Islamic State flag held in front of the White House and other landmarks. The objective is to “strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60) and to emphasize the desire of Islamic State jihadis to strike within the U.S. The fact that they have supporters here in the U.S. who can hold the banner in Missouri and the sign at the White House shows that such a strike is a very real possibility.
Meanwhile, not just the jihadis quoted here but Hamas-linked CAIR and other Islamic supremacists in the U.S. are trying to exploit the unrest in Ferguson to further their own victimhood narrative. It has carried them this far, why abandon it now?
“‘How is democracy treating you guys?’ ISIS militants take to social media to encourage Ferguson protesters to embrace Islamic extremism,” by John Hall, Daily Mail, August 19, 2014 (thanks to Bob):
ISIS militants and their supporters are using social media to encourage protesters in Ferguson to embrace radical Islam and fight against the U.S. government.
Jihadists in Syria and Iraq and their sympathisers in the West have taken to Twitter to send messages of support to hundreds of demonstrators taking part in a ninth night of angry protests in the U.S. city following the shooting by police of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
The militants’ tweets denounce local officers for the way they have attempted to quell the violence, make reference to historic acts of police brutality, and even use the hashtag #FergusonUnderISIS in an attempt to get angry young men in the city to declare allegiance to the Islamist group.
The news comes as footage purportedly taken from the scene of the Ferguson protests appeared to show one demonstrator marching along a street holding a sign reading ‘ISIS is here’.
One ISIS sympathiser calling himself Mujahid Miski, who claims to be from Minneapolis–Saint Paul but suggests he is now based in ‘the horn of Africa’, has led the campaign to encourage those taking part in the protests to embrace radical Islam.
In one message he tweets: ‘So how is democracy treating you guys? #FergusonUnderIS #Ferguson.’
He adds: ‘I thought u guys back in #Ferguson were supposed to be Free & that u had equal rights. I’d really like to know what changed? #FergusonUnderIS’.
Miski goes on to retweet dozens of messages by a Twitter user with the handle @AmreekiWitness, who claims to monitor and support the growth of radical Islam in the U.S..
Amreeki Witness’ messages focus on the treatment of black people in the U.S., praise Malcolm X for embracing Islam and urge angry young black men to take up the religion as it means the police ‘will fear you’.
In one message Amreeki Witness mocks the curfew police have imposed in Ferguson to bring an end to the disorder, saying: ‘We IS guys hate you for your freedom, eh? Just like that freedom uplifting curfew in #Ferguson? Wake up, or they’ll never let you outside.’
As the social media campaign began to take hold, with dozens of radical Islamists commenting on the Ferguson protests, Amreeki Witness tweeted: ‘May be time to organize the Muslims in America upon haqq and mobilize to #Ferguson. Defend the oppressed, start jihad here.’
The message attracted a large response, with one Islamist calling himself Amarka Al-Ahlam responding: ‘Preach, brother. We must organize brigades in preparation for the oncoming storm. #FergusonUnderIS #JihadinFerguson.’
Amreeki Witness added: ‘They cower in fear of us whilst they massacre and oppress you! It’s time to strike fear into the hearts of the oppressors. #FergusonUnderIS’.
News of the militants’ campaign to encourage Ferguson demonstrators to embrace radical Islamism comes as footage purportedly from a CNN live stream of the protests appeared to show one young man holding a sign reading ‘ISIS is here.’
It is not known whether the banner – footage of which has not yet been independently verified – was in support of the militant group or, as seems more likely, it was an attempt to compare ISIS to the local police force or the U.S. government.
Nevertheless stills of the alleged CNN footage were embraced by jihadists who have claimed they prove jihadists are already playing their part in the protests.
Chilling images of the alleged ISIS banner being carried by demonstrators have been widely shared by ISIS sympathisers on social media, who have used them to encourage supporters based in America to travel to Ferguson to further stoke the violence in the city.
News of ISIS’ attempt to hijack the Ferguson protests come as Palestinian Twitter users sent messages of support to the demonstrators and gave advice on the best way to cope with the tear gas police are using to disperse crowds.
As images emerged of heavily armed police and armoured tanks on the streets of nearby St Louis, many Palestinian Twitter users expressed their solidarity with demonstrators.
The messages of support from Palestinians come amid reports that many of the Ferguson protesters were heard chanting ‘Gaza Strip’ as they marched through the heart of the city.
RELATED ARTICLE: California: Black convert to Islam killed waging jihad for ISIS in Syria