A Michigan extremist cleric whose hate-filled sermons are said to have inspired the London Bridge terror attack has called on American Muslims to wage Jihad against the “infidel West” – and blamed the US led by “senile Pharaoh” Biden for what he called “massacre- many in Palestine.”
Ahmad Musa Jibril, 51, a radical Islamic preacher born in Dearborn, was seen in a video posted on social media arguing that Muslims in the US should turn away from what he described as uncaring “American-Zionist Islam”. the idea of Jihad.
“Yes, there is a holy war in Islam, it is Jihad,” Jibril lectured in a clip posted on X by an account linked to the fanatical imam.
“This may surprise many who grew up in the West, especially those who were born or grew up after 9/11, because there are more and more hypocrites, who spread American-Zionist Islam, and it has nothing. related to Islam, that version of Islam is and Islam that suits the enemy.”
In another video shared on a Telegram channel linked to Jibril, the Palestinian-American hardline preacher spoke about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, saying it should be seen as a “wake-up call” for young Muslims in the US to start “normalizing” Jihad.
“Jihad must be a common term, common on your tongue, on your social media, and in mosques and elsewhere,” Jibril said.
Ahmad Musa Jibril, 51, a Palestinian American radical preacher from Michigan, in a recent video called on young Muslims to embrace Jihad. Ahmad Musa Jibril/Telegram
In the Islamic tradition, jihad is generally used to refer to the righteous struggle against internal and external obstacles, according to the group Learning for Justice. Although it can involve a struggle against an oppressor, the perception of a violent “holy war” is largely a misinterpretation practiced by extremists.
Jibril was also unequivocal when discussing President Biden, whom he labeled a “terrorist,” and his administration’s policies toward Israel.
“You have seen the senile Pharaoh of our time, he has lost his mind about everything, except his loyalty and his support for the Jewish occupiers,” the extremist cleric said, adding that the US “is more to blame for the massacres in occupied Palestine Jews.”
Jibril blamed the US for what he called a “massacre in Palestine.” AFP via Getty Images
Jibril claimed that with war raging in the Middle East following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, now is the time for young people to understand that “the infidel West, especially the US, is the enemy of Muslims.”
He also suggested that Muslim mothers should “breastfeed their babies with the love of Jihad and the ambition to become mujahids and martyrs.”
One of the sickening words shared on X on November 25, caught the attention of the Middle East Media Research Institute, a watchdog based in Washington, DC.
“The comments are very inflammatory at a time when passions are already running high,” Alberto Fernandez, the Institute’s vice president, told The Post Friday, referring to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“Instead of downplaying the violent interpretation of Jihad, he sought to elevate it. Instead of downplaying the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims, he seeks to magnify them – actually mocking Muslims who are ‘trying to make Islam suitable, for the infidels’ (meaning Western infidels).”
The hardline imam slammed President Biden, calling him a “terrorist” and a “senile Pharaoh.” Reuters
The spread of “radicalizing” content on social media is particularly dangerous for impressionable young audiences, Fernandez also told Fox News Digital.
“If that’s what they’re saying openly, what are they saying not openly?” he warned.
Fernandez also warned that the war had acted as an “accelerator” to spread radical ideas about Islam.
“It accelerates something that is already happening, which is a kind of ideological war that is happening. So, it drives interest, and it drives people to be more extreme,” Fernandez said.
Jibril served more than six years in a high-security federal prison on fraud and conspiracy charges. Ahmad Musa Jibril/Telegram
It was previously reported that security experts had named Jibril as one of the most influential online recruiters for ISIS at the beginning of the terrorist group’s rise nearly a decade ago, according to Newsweek.
Jibril, who preaches an ultra-conservative version of Salafi Islam, has used his platform to call on young people to go to Syria and join the ranks of ISIS.
A survey conducted by The International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence in 2014 showed that more than half of the likes and followers of the X and Facebook accounts operated by Jibril at the time were members of ISIS.
“[The] the question of impact is important. Eight years ago Jibril was one of the TWO most influential Islamic figures in the English language who influenced fighters to join ISIS and Al-Qa’ida in Syria,” Fernandez told The Post, referring to a report from the UK-based organization.
In April 2014, 60 percent of foreign fighters in Syria also followed X Jibril’s account, the report added.
One of the perpetrators of the deadly London Bridge attack in June 2017 is said to have listened to Jibril’s sermon, before he and two accomplices killed pedestrians and then carried out a stabbing in the heart of the British capital.
The terrorist attack, which left eight people dead and dozens injured, was later claimed by ISIS.
Alarming revelations of online radicalization are sparking intense debate about the role of social media and extremism.
However, after conducting a review in June 2017 following the London Bridge massacre, YouTube refused to remove Jibril’s hateful video, concluding that the content did not support terrorism, the Detroit Free Press reported at the time.
The social media giant, which is owned by Google, said Jibril’s words could be classified as Islamic teachings such as interpretations of Islam’s holy book, the Quaran, the outlet said.
“As a former jailbird, Jibril is careful in using words but his goal seems clear. It is to polarize and sharpen differences,” Fernandez told The Post.
In 2004, Jibril was convicted of 42 criminal charges, including conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and possession of firearms and ammunition. He was sentenced to more than six years in a high-security federal prison, where he was released in 2012.
Active accounts linked to Jibril on social media have now amassed over 31,000 followers.
The Post has contacted YouTube and Facebook about the account.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
