The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Jihadis on social media continue to react to remarks made by two senior officials of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party in India, which were perceived as insulting to Islam. Posts ranged from mocking the Hindu religion to calls for retaliation, as well as criticism of "tyrant" regimes in Muslim countries, for failing to take action against such insults, including the Afghan Taliban.
The following report summarizes reactions by some pro-Al-Qaeda ideologues, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters, and Syria-based jihadis, as a follow-up to report published on June 8.[1]
Pro-ISIS Preacher: When Will Muslims Avenge The Prophet?
On June 10, 2022, a pro-ISIS preacher posted a clip on Telegram showing part of a lecture in which he discussed the perceived insults made by Indian officials against Prophet Muhammad. He incited Muslims attending the lecture, saying that the "cow worshipers" are making fun of the Prophet, while Muslim continue to bury their heads in the sand. "When are we going to stop acting like ants, where people keep stepping on us?" he asked.[2]
Pro-ISIS Magazine Denounces Taliban For Playing By UN Rules, Maintaining Ties With India
A pro-ISIS outlet which releases productions in Tajik, Pashto, and other languages, as well as translations of official ISIS material, published a new Pashto-language magazine titled: "The Sons of Cows and Their New Friends," The magazine disparaged the "Taliban militia" for following rules set by the United Nations and for maintaining relations with the "mocking Hindus."[3]
Al-Qaeda In The Indian Subcontinent (AQIS): We Will Bind Explosives To Our Bodies
In an attempt to reach the most hardline audiences in the Indian subcontinent and to promote its ongoing calls to avenge the Prophet, AQIS published a Bengali translation of its June 7, 2022 English-language statement, titled: "May Our Mothers Be Bereaved of Us If We Fail to Defend Our Prophet (SAWS): In View of the Disrespect Shown Towards The Best of Creation (SAWS) in India." In the statement, AQIS vowed: "We shall bind explosives [to] our bodies and the bodies of our children to blow away the ranks of those who dare to dishonor our Prophet." It added: "[Indian] terrorists should now await their end in Delhi and Bombay and in UP [Uttar Pradesh] and Gujarat."[4]
Prolific Pro-Al-Qaeda Outlet Offers Multiple Translations Of Incendiary Video
An unofficial pro-Al-Qaeda media organization[5] released translations of a video titled: "Punishment For Blasphemers Of The Prophet." The outlet provided a version subtitled in the Rohingya language and disseminated on social media. Originally released in Bengali, the video has since been translated into multiple languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Indonesian, and English.
Jihadi Idealogue Mocks Peaceful Protests
On June 11, 2022, a Jordan-based jihadi ideologue posted a clip by a newly-founded organization to "support" the Prophet, along with the comment: "This clip is the outcome of the peacefulness that is being spread among Muslims by the sheikhs of defeatism, who praise democracy, encourage peaceful protests, and slander jihad by calling it terrorism, denying Muslims the source of their pride. They led them to such a situation where nine non-handcuffed individuals were being whipped by a policeman, and their only reaction is wailing!"[6]
Canada-Based Cleric: Muslim Leaders Should Be Overthrown So A Proper Response To The Hindu Insult Can Be Enacted
On June 11, 2022, a Canada-based pro-Al-Qaeda cleric posted an image from a media report claiming that Hindu villagers "throwing cow dung at each other" during a religious ceremony. He commented: "These are the human-like Hindu animals who are insulting the finest of human beings [Prophet Muhammad]; meanwhile we remain silent, and we all do is tweet. The shame is not theirs, but ours, since we are not overthrowing our tyrants in power so that we can properly respond to these pigs."[7]
Syria-Based Jihadi Clerics Call For Protests
A Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) religious official and Shura Council member urged preachers delivering Friday sermons on June 10 to talk about the need to defend the honor of Prophet Muhammad from the "heinous crime of those cow-worshipping midgets who slander the honor of our Master and our beloved Muhammad."[8]
A Syria-based Saudi jihadi cleric published a poster advertising a rally to be held outside of the Indian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 9 at 15:00. The rally was part of a campaign dubbed "The Indignation of a Billion Muslims For the Sake of Allah's Messenger," intended to express anger over the remarks by India's ruling party officials.[9]
A Syrian jihadi cleric posted on his Telegram channel a short video purporting to show "Hindu mobs" in India beating Muslims, for protesting against the remarks about the Prophet. He commented: "Oh Allah – grant relief to our people in India and liberate our male and female prisoners in Syria and everywhere else." [10]
A Syrian jihadi cleric commented on the "insulting" remarks by asserting that in the "current global system," countries are most affected by actions that harm their economic interests. He described India as a country that "wages war on Islam," and called for "disciplining" India and "making the extremist Hindu party pay the price of its oppressive unbelieving policies." He urged Muslims to respond to the extent that they can, "with actions, not words."
[1] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Al-Qaeda In The Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) Denounces Perceived Wrongful Conviction By Bangladeshi Courts Of The Murderers Of Two Islam Critics, June 7, 2022.
[2] Telegram, June 10, 2022.
[3] Telegram, June 8, 2022.
[4] June 12, 2022.
[5] June 12, 2022.
[6] Twitter, June 11, 2022
[7] Telegram, June 11, 2022.
[8] Telegram, June 9, 2022.
[9] Telegram, June 9, 2022.
[10] Telegram, June 11, 2022.
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