Pro-Islamists are recruiting teens to the jihadist militant
group ISIS via a Twitter account that shares pictures of cats.
‘Islamic State of Cat’ (@ISILcats) is ISIS’s latest propaganda tactic, and aims to show prospective jihadis its more benevolent side. The parody twitter account features pictures of fully-armed jihadi fighters posing with cats, kittens and puppies, handing out food to local children during Ramadan and eating pancakes.
The unidentified owner of the account has social media savvy, adopting the seemingly innocuous internet language ‘Lolcat’, which was made popular by picture-sharing website icanhas.cheezburger.com. Islamic State of Cat’s ‘twitter bio’ reads ‘I Can Haz Islamic State Plz :)’, while the jihadi fighters pictured are referred to as ‘Mewjahid’ – a catlike take on the Arabic word Mujahid, meaning one who struggles for the state of Allah or Islam.
The account has gained 3,721 followers since it was created on the 25th of June, and its popularity is growing rapidly. Follower @MyWhatNinja urged people to ‘go follow @ISILcats because islam + cats = world peace’, while @OccupyMyCat said Islamic State of Cat ‘have this social media thing nailed’.
Islamic State of Cat’s first tweet - ‘Bismillah, we start in the name of Allah’ - makes its owner’s religious leaning clear. The account holder also retweeted a tweet by user @RadioRome, labelling ‘USA’ ‘The biggest oppressor […] rapist […] [and] slanderer’ ‘on earth’.
Islamic State of Cat blends aggression with cuteness; ‘most important thing to put in your ammunition vest and bring to battle is a kitten’ reads the caption to a picture of a ginger moggy. The cats pictured have been named after notorious Islamic extremists Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi and Abu Hamza al-Masri, who was extradited to the US last October. ISIS jihadi Abu Muhammad al Amkiri – who lived in the US for 10 years before joining the cause – is shown ‘hugging’ a lamb in a picture the Islamic State of Cat describes as ‘Cuteness Defined’.
The parody account has a serious aim: recruiting young Muslims from the West to fight in Syria and elsewhere. Islamic State of Cat retweeted a video of secretive ISIS leader Caliph Ibrahim (Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi)’s speech, in which he demands Muslims to ‘obey’ and ‘assist’ him. Bizarrely, Islamic State of Cat also extended their appeal for ISIS recruits to Muslim One Direction boy-band member Zayn Malik, claiming he ‘needs to join jihad, not be another dumb sissy celebrity’.
The plea to Malik may have been a joke but there may be many young extremists who see the site as a call, or meow, to arms.
‘Islamic State of Cat’ (@ISILcats) is ISIS’s latest propaganda tactic, and aims to show prospective jihadis its more benevolent side. The parody twitter account features pictures of fully-armed jihadi fighters posing with cats, kittens and puppies, handing out food to local children during Ramadan and eating pancakes.
The unidentified owner of the account has social media savvy, adopting the seemingly innocuous internet language ‘Lolcat’, which was made popular by picture-sharing website icanhas.cheezburger.com. Islamic State of Cat’s ‘twitter bio’ reads ‘I Can Haz Islamic State Plz :)’, while the jihadi fighters pictured are referred to as ‘Mewjahid’ – a catlike take on the Arabic word Mujahid, meaning one who struggles for the state of Allah or Islam.
The account has gained 3,721 followers since it was created on the 25th of June, and its popularity is growing rapidly. Follower @MyWhatNinja urged people to ‘go follow @ISILcats because islam + cats = world peace’, while @OccupyMyCat said Islamic State of Cat ‘have this social media thing nailed’.
Islamic State of Cat’s first tweet - ‘Bismillah, we start in the name of Allah’ - makes its owner’s religious leaning clear. The account holder also retweeted a tweet by user @RadioRome, labelling ‘USA’ ‘The biggest oppressor […] rapist […] [and] slanderer’ ‘on earth’.
Islamic State of Cat blends aggression with cuteness; ‘most important thing to put in your ammunition vest and bring to battle is a kitten’ reads the caption to a picture of a ginger moggy. The cats pictured have been named after notorious Islamic extremists Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi and Abu Hamza al-Masri, who was extradited to the US last October. ISIS jihadi Abu Muhammad al Amkiri – who lived in the US for 10 years before joining the cause – is shown ‘hugging’ a lamb in a picture the Islamic State of Cat describes as ‘Cuteness Defined’.
The parody account has a serious aim: recruiting young Muslims from the West to fight in Syria and elsewhere. Islamic State of Cat retweeted a video of secretive ISIS leader Caliph Ibrahim (Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi)’s speech, in which he demands Muslims to ‘obey’ and ‘assist’ him. Bizarrely, Islamic State of Cat also extended their appeal for ISIS recruits to Muslim One Direction boy-band member Zayn Malik, claiming he ‘needs to join jihad, not be another dumb sissy celebrity’.
The plea to Malik may have been a joke but there may be many young extremists who see the site as a call, or meow, to arms.
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