Overview
Twitter personality “Abu Jandal” is a propagandist for ISIS. Jandal uses Twitter as a platform to advocate support for ISIS as well as promote other extremist accounts.Abu Jandal, Twitter, accessed June 23, 2015, https://twitter.com/Islamic_Proto. Under previous iterations of the account, Abu Jandal has condoned violence against civilians, including the victims of Paris’s January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks. CEP, “ISIS Supporters & Other Extremists Respond to Paris Terror Attack,” Storify, January 2015, https://storify.com/CEP/isis-supporters-respond-to-paris-terror-attack.
Abu Jandal has, in the past, maintained public and private accounts. From his private @Islamic_Proto account, Jandal has promoted his public @protocol_siyaam account.Abu Jandal, Twitter post, June 19, 2015, 3:08 p.m., https://twitter.com/Islamic_Proto/status/612019121132314624. Under both accounts, Abu Jandal frequently tweets in support of ISIS, publishing posts such as, “#IslamicState looks after & cares for the health of its residents!”Abu Jandal, Twitter post, May 10, 2015, 4:01 a.m., https://twitter.com/Islamic_Proto/status/597355841382125569. and “SubhanAllah Alhamdulilah a pledge of Allegiance to the Islamic State from the Caucasus! Kuffar drowning in rage!”Abu Jandal, Twitter post, June 21, 2015, https://twitter.com/protocol_siyaam/status/612592359772176384.
On August 28, 2015, Abu Jandal—under the handle @protocolaseer—tweeted out a trailer for what was then the newest video to come from ISIS’s Al Hayat media center. Following the post, Abu Jandal wrote, “Oh my new release just looks insanely good Alhamdulilah.. [praise Allah].”Abu Jandal, Twitter post, August 28, 2015, https://twitter.com/protocolaseer/status/637283637231243264.
Series of tweets posted on August 28, 2015.
Among a score of others, Abu Jandal has interacted with extremist propagandist Hallie Sheikh. Jandal has also promoted other extremist accounts, including that of Mizanur Rahman, known on Twitter as Abu Baraa.Abu Jandal, Twitter post, May 8, 2015, 6:35 a.m., https://twitter.com/Islamic_Proto/status/596669826850017281.
While Abu Jandal does not disclose his/her location, the propagandist occasionally uses “we” when referring to ISIS, hinting that he/she may live in ISIS-controlled territory. CEP believes that Abu Jandal may have once operated out of the United Kingdom, based on the propagandist’s writing style and references made to the U.K. policeAbu Jandal, Twitter post, June 20, 2015, 8:52 p.m., https://twitter.com/protocol_siyaam/status/612422819268456448. and an event in Cambridge.Abu Jandal, Twitter post, June 21, 2015, 8:06 a.m., https://twitter.com/protocol_siyaam/status/612592359772176384.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- ISIS
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, territory-controlling, religious, terrorist, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Islamist, jihadist, pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
- Position(s):
- Propagandist
ISIS is a violent jihadist group based in Iraq and Syria. The group has declared wilayas (provinces) in Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the North Caucasus. ISIS has also waged attacks in Turkey, Lebanon, France, Belgium, Iraq, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, and Kuwait.
History
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
In Their Own Words:
We reiterate once again that the brigades will directly target US bases across the region in case the US enemy commits a folly and decides to strike our resistance fighters and their camps [in Iraq].
Mar. 2023