Jihadi Fighters, Supporters Tweet Reactions To Refugee Crisis Hitting Europe

The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.

Jihadi fighters and supporters have taken to Twitter to express their views regarding the influx of Syrian refugees to Europe. The photo of the drowned, lifeless body of three-year-old Syrian Kurdish refugee Aylan Kurdi has gone viral, triggering reactions online. This report covers a range of responses: Some criticize Europe, others the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad; some blame airstrikes by the coalition, saying that they force the Syrians to flee; and others criticize the Syrians for leaving their land for the lands of the infidels. Still others called the photo of the drowned boy "PKK propaganda" or hypothesized that Muslims who flee will end up being killed by the Westerners.

Female ISIS member Umm Faaris tweeted: "I wonder when the Syrians will realise that fleeing to kuffar [infidels] will never get them any benefit. They're only going to end up humiliated."[1]

She continued discussing the topic in a series of tweets, "Refugees die. Everyone's heartbroken & crying rivers. Civilians killed on a daily basis by airstrikes but it's only collateral damage. A couple of Yazidis chose to stay on top of a mountain where they actually live, everyone's screaming oppression against minorities. Sunnis in Iraq, Syria, Iran being oppressed for years but nobody bats an eyelid. Nobody cares. And when these people choose to die honoured instead of cowards when they pick up arms to defend them because no one else cares, they're the terrorists?"

On September 2, a Tumblr user wrote to Dutch ISIS fighter Israfil Yilmaz on his Tumblr blog, asking: "Why are there so many refugees coming to the west from Dawla [ISIS]?" The fighter answered, "Maybe it's because of the coalition bombings on the State? Ever thought about it? When people get bombed and are scared they flee the area, does that make sense to you? If the crusader coalition wouldn't bomb our areas and kill our people, nobody would leave our areas (unless they dislike living under the Shariah- but that's a different case."[2]

On September 1, another Tumblr user asked Yilmaz: "A lot of those refugees are fleeing the so-called caliphate.  They've seen it and they see that it is better to no longer follow religion in that way." Yilmaz replied, "Lies. They flee because the coalition and their proxies are waging war against IS so the people can't live in peace in their controlled areas. There a million + people living in Mosul, why are they not fleeing? Because they live in peace under Islamic Laws- and as soon as the apostates and the crusaders are going to attack Mosul thousands and thousands of people are going to be forced to leave."

On September 4, Yilmaz was asked for his opinion on the refugee crisis: "Assalamoalikum what does IS think/say about the current refugee crisis? (And yes I do think it's quite hypocritical for the world to be showing their concern now when thousands and thousands of Syrians have been killed by Bashir and the world remained quiet). In his response Yilmaz blamed the Arab countries in addition to the West: "Wa Aleykum as Salaam, I can't speak on behalf of the State, but I'm so happy to see the hypocritical approach by Europe and the West once again (not to mention the disgusting Arab countries who call themselves Muslims). More and more people will eventually have to flee as the fight to rid the earth from the Light of Allah (SWT) intensifies, they will never leave us Muslims alone and have no regard for Syrian lives. I sometimes can't believe all this is happening around me, when I first came here almost 4 years ago it was so much different."

Australian Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) fighter Ahmed Shaheed tweeted: "May allah guide all the children of these refugees who will live in Europe and may they grow up and terrorise the kuffar in there home lands."[3]

JN fighter Abu Sufyan[4] replied to a tweet by journalist Kareem Shaheen that read, "We are witnessing the rape of Palmyra, Syria's antiquities chief me." The fighter replied: "Muslims are downing and getting b[l]own to smithereens and this is what you care about?!"

ISIS supporter 1245421245x tweeted: "PKK propaganda with dead kid's body against the islamic state. They don't care about immigrants they only make propaganda. Kaffirs don't care about immigrants, kaffirs make war everywhere and they can only spread lies and make propagation against Muslims via media."[5]

ISIS supporter SamuraiMujahed [6] tweeted: "I sense another Holocaust coming ya ikhwan[brothers] this time for the Muslims (and Arabs) A lot of Anti Muslim tension building up with the migrants." A user called Mister Sad dollar replied, "nothing new just see what happned to Bosnian Muslims."[7]

SamuraiMujahed asked, "Do any one have the hadith were all the Arab looking people will [be] massacred by the kuffar in the West??" A user caled Sabran ya Nafsi [8][myself be patient] replied, "Nabi said' The Romans are going to appreach all of the Arabs who are living in their midst and every Arab man woman and child will be killed. They will all be exterminated (a Holocaust) in kitaab al fitan of Na'im ibn Hamad n1252." SamuraiMujahed replied, "Its amazing that all these Syrians are migrat[ing] to Europe."

A top ISIS disseminator account, Rami, which boasts 22,000 followers, deflected any blame from ISIS regarding the deaths of refugees. He tweeted, "Assad and the world killed that beautiful smile on the shores of Bodrum Turkey."[9]

An ISIS fighter called Rasas blamed the Syrians for their problems and tweeted, "The syrian refugee crisis [is] only what their hands have earned!"

An account called Abu Imaad, with ties to rebel fighters, tweeted: "Many will shed some tears for the children who drowned in the sea but only mujahidin are those who will do something about it."[10]

A female ISIS supporter called Ukht Mujahida ["Jihadi sister"] tweeted in Arabic, "The cub moved to the land of Tawheet from the land of Kufr and that cub's family left the land of wars to the land of Kufr. We can understand the silence of governments because they are deaf Satans. What is wrong with the people? If you hand us to Iran today, Iran will receive you tomorrow. Treat us as the infidel West."[11]

JN fighter Dread Muslim shared a link to a story that states that the child Aylan Kurdi's family had been denied refugee status by Canada. He added, "Democracy?"[12]

Dutch JN fighter Abu Saeed Al-Halabi reacted to the crisis by fêting the bravery of his fellow fighters. He also claimed that he personally knows European fighters who had taken a route similar to the one that refugees are currently travelling, only in the reverse direction. Additionally, he adds that some fighters had swum part of the route to reach Syria.[13]

On September 4, vocal ISIS supporter Muslimah tweeted a photo making the rounds online of refugees detained in a barred enclosure in Europe, next to a photo of two happy Syrian girls. She wrote, "While the kuffar lock Syrian children up in cages, Islamic State nourishes and protects the children."[14]