After the victory of Donald Trump in the US elections, shock, bafflement and despair were among the most common media reactions.
For the spokespeople of Daesh, however, the billionaire’s shock victory is a reason to celebrate.
Abu Omar Khorasani, a top commander of the group in Afghanistan, told Reuters in a discussion of Trump that “the guy is a complete maniac.
"His utter hate towards Muslims will make our job much easier because we can recruit thousands," Khorasani continued.
Other ISIS accounts praised the success of Trump at the election, calling the win “poetic justice” and an extension of 9/11, thanks in part to the mirror imagery of the two dates.
1. As expected, pro-ISIS accounts are pointing to the US election as a victory. One user calls Trump's election "poetic justice" pic.twitter.com/uEj6SRvhAY
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) 9 November 2016
“What we want is that their country be delivered to a donkey like Trump who will destroy it” one pro-Daesh message board, translated by @SiteIntelGroup, said.
5. Both al-Qaeda & ISIS chatrooms are rejoicing, calling election the start of America's demise. See below as translated by @siteintelgroup pic.twitter.com/eKUzB5Envj
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) 9 November 2016
If Daesh or similar groups conducts a terror attack successfully during Trump’s presidency, too, the likely response from Trump would be severe. In a recent interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, former President Henry Kissinger warned that Daesh may try and provoke a reaction from Trump that could serve their aims.
Kissinger tells me ISIS may try to provoke Trump to react to "a terror attack in a way that suits their purpose." https://t.co/lUl14Phuit
— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) 10 November 2016
Other pictures circulating on English language websites praised the idea that Trump would tell Muslims living in America that they weren’t wanted, pushing populations further from mainstream US society.
10) Jihadists continue discussing #Trump, circulating pics of Quranice verses & Hadiths regarding tyrants, mocking Muslim voters pic.twitter.com/vtqwz4tTnf
— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) 9 November 2016
A key strategy of Daesh recruitment is eliminating the “gray zone”, a term for when Muslims are a part of non-Muslim majority societies and in where the values of both are seen as compatible. Destroying the gray zone, between a fundamentalist religious extreme and the complete rejection of Islam, strategists believe, will force ordinary Muslims towards Jihadist ideas.
BS
