‘Thank Allah for twitter’: Jihadists taking over Iraq celebrate freedom from the press

In the past year, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the militant group now controlling provinces of Iraq and Syria has used Twitter as a platform on which to proselytise its ideology.

Out of Nineveh province: Iraqis at a Kurdish checkpoint 25 miles west of Arbil, on June 10. / Safin Hamed / AFP / Getty Images
Out of Nineveh province: Iraqis at a Kurdish checkpoint 25 miles west of Arbil, on June 10. / Safin Hamed / AFP / Getty Images

“Praise be to Allah, who gave Twitter to the mujahideen so that they may share their joys and not have to listen to the BBC, al-Arabia, Al-Jazeera,” wrote on ISIS affiliate on his Twitter page in Arabic on Tuesday.

The message, which was posted on a profile entitled “Soldiers of Iraq and the Levant”, triggered enthusiastic responses from dozens of jihadists earnestly retweeted the message and posted replies also “thanking Allah”. “We are so satisfied,” wrote one.

ISIS’s use of social media and other 21st century tools is incongruous with the material it posts on it, which often promotes a ruthless and medieval style of rule. In the last year, members have used the platform to post gruesome pictures of the public executions and crucifixions the group has conducted in cities under their control.

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