Germany-Based ISIS Supporter And Academic Malik Fndy, Arrested Following Release Of MEMRI TV Clip, Resumes Pro-ISIS Facebook Activity

In February 2016, German police arrested Malik Fndy, a Syrian-born Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Darmstadt, who had posted several videos on his private YouTube account proclaiming his support of ISIS. Fndy had also made numerous pro-ISIS posts on his Facebook account. The arrest followed a MEMRI TV clip[1] in which Fndy explained why he supported ISIS and justified the terrorist organization's burning of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh, as well as its practice of stoning women accused of adultery.

Following the initial investigation, Fndy posted another YouTube video in which he complained about "a distortion campaign by some German and American journalists" and thanked the German police for its "just treatment" of him.[2] At that point, Fndy halted his Facebook activity.

 
January 2016 video: "This Is Why I Support the Islamic State"

On May 19, Fndy resumed his activity on Facebook. "This is my new account," he wrote, "after my old account was disabled by Facebook... The Islamic Caliphate State is here to stay and to expand, whether the infidels, the [Shi'ite] Rafidites, the apostates, the hypocrites, and the traitors like it or not. I hope that this account will be a platform for stating Truth and vanquishing Falsehood... Your brother, Malik Fndy."[3] Since then, he has made numerous posts praising ISIS and attacking its enemies. He also posted a description of an exchange he had with one of his German interrogators.

The following are details:

 
June 2, 2016 Facebook post

Fndy posted an image from the ISIS film documenting the immolation of pilot Al-Kasasbeh, and wrote: "Whenever I watch the old and new publications of the Islamic State, I am filled with great pride of my support of this state, which raises the banner of my religion, whether the infidels and apostates like it or not, and defends my honor and blood of my folk from the aggressor pigs."[4]

 
Fndy's YouTube page (accessed June 8, 2016)

In his new account, Fndy has posted numerous attacks on Saudi Arabia's royal family and on the Shi'ites. He has reiterated his support of ISIS in many posts and has promoted ISIS-related content and social media accounts. On May 23, he posted a picture of German journalist Tobias Huch holding a weapon during his visit to the Peshmerga, and wrote: "The person in the picture is the German journalist Tobias Hoch [sic], who assisted in my arrest by the German authorities two months ago by distorting my image in cooperation with the Jewish Washington-based MEMRI institution, under the pretext that I support the Islamic State, after I had posted the video on YouTube."[5] Fndy wrote that the Peshmerga is an illegal organization in Germany and called upon the authorities to deal with Huch.

 
Fndy's Facebook page (accessed June 8, 2016)

On May 23, Fndy commented on the terror attacks in Tartus and Jableh in Syria, in which scores of civilians were killed. The attacks, he wrote in a Facebook post, were carried out by the "heroes of the Islamic State." In the Jableh attack, a suicide bomber helped carry the wounded from the first bombing into a hospital, where he blew himself up. Fndy commented on this incident: "By Allah, you will wish for a natural death, oh Alawites. As long as the mujahideen of the Islamic State maintain this mindset and these actions, you will enjoy nothing but the body parts of your children and your relatives. Thus you will learn the punishment of anyone fighting those who implement the law of Allah."[6]

Then, on June 6, he extended holiday greetings for the first day of the month of Ramadan to the ISIS leader: "I would like to congratulate the revered sheikh Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Al-Quraishi, the Caliph of the Muslims, on the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan in the land of the Islamic State. I pray that Allah will bless him and make him a thorn in the throats of the infidels, the apostates, and those who lead people astray. We congratulate our brothers on the frontiers of the glory and triumph of Islam. I pray for Allah to grant the Islamic State victory, domination, direction, and guidance."[7]

Police Interrogation

Fndy posted an account of his interrogation by the German police on Facebook, under the title "My Story with a German Interrogator":

"A few days ago, I had a date with a German interrogator in the German city of Darmstadt, where I was arrested some three months ago, in order to collect my stuff, 'most of' which is still held by them. After I finished the process, one of my interrogators came in. Anger was written all over his face. When the process of collecting my stuff was over, he said to me in a very loud voice (as if I was facing an Arab interrogator): The 'shit' you post on your Facebook account was all translated and you must delete it. You live in Germany, and if you want to live here, [know] that what you write is inappropriate for Germany. Or else go to Syria and there you can write whatever you like.' He also said that the fact that I am currently out of prison does not mean that they would not appeal a higher court to send me back in jail.  He added in derision: 'This is Germany. We don't have stoning of women here. This is what you are calling for.'

"I tried to interrupt him, but he said to me out of arrogance and hatred: 'Get out of here... Out... Out'.

"Naturally, I could not care less about what he told me. He who bears the truth does not care about the tyranny of the oppressive ill-wishers. I said to him calmly: 'I want to speak,' and he screamed: 'Speak!'

"I said to him: 'First of all, I am writing for the people of my country, not for Germany. This is my right. With regard to the issue of stoning - this is basic and substantiated in our Islamic religion.' At this point, he screamed to the point that the entire police station quaked, issuing a fatwa: There is no stoning in Islam. Then he added: 'Get out of here... Get out of here... Get out of here...'

"After that, I didn't pay any attention to him anymore. I turned to the person who gave me my stuff, and he [the interrogator] left the office in anger, closing the door behind him.

"My message to you, extraordinary interrogator, is:

"1. When you ask for a fatwa, turn to a Muslim, not someone who pretends to be a Muslim;

"2. Come and talk to me when you cut your ties with the Salul regime in Saudi Arabia, where the constitution allows stoning, which has been implemented several times;

"3. Since the German government supports the PKK politically and with weapons even though it deems this [organization] illegal, you should realize who is hallucinating and writing 'shit';

"4. When you leave our land, and stop fighting and bombing us, rest assured that I will leave your land, even though all I do is write, while you are killing openly, and covertly support Al-Assad and his helpers. The fact that you joined the American-led international coalition is the best proof of that;

"5. In our religion, oh interrogator, there are things that make me stand up to you and not fear you. The good thing that will become of me was decreed by Allah, and what Allah has written is also good.

"So don't think you can scream at me once again because, simply put, I am a Muslim and the believers stand behind me."

"May Allah bestow plenty upon you, oh Islamic State. The thrones quake upon hearing your name."

 

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