ISIS-Linked Group Posts Notre Dame Cathedral Warning: 'Wait for the Next'
Supporters of the Islamic State group used Monday’s fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to threaten future attacks, even though the investigation of the blaze has so far shown no links to terrorism, according to published reports.
“Wait for the next,” was the translation given to one image posted by an Islamic State-linked group that showed flames near the bell towers of the cathedral, the U.K. Daily Mail reported, citing the privately run SITE Intelligence Group. The towers survived.
Another piece of propaganda spelled out “Have a good day,” in Arabic letters, while another called the fire “retribution and punishment,” SITE reported, according to the Daily Mail.
ISIS celebrate Notre Dame fire three years after failed bomb attack on Paris Cathedral https://t.co/CJLqmux8bG
— Fredricketts (@fredricketts) April 16, 2019
#Paris The infamous ISIS/Muntasir media celebrates Notre Dame Cathedral fire. These cowards ride every tragedy that hits the humanity. Don’t let’s forget@IsraelMFA @IsraelenFrance @RosannaMrtnz pic.twitter.com/M5nfEcQrtN
— Unofficial ✡MOSSAD✡ (@MossadNews) April 15, 2019
Although the cause of the fire was still under investigation Tuesday, the leading theory at the moment is that it was an accident caused by workers who were in the midst of a restoration project at the Paris landmark.
As of Monday, French officials said they had ruled out arson and terrorism as causes of the fire, the Washington Examiner reported.
None of the Islamic State propaganda pieces claimed responsibility for the fire itself.
In its reporting on reactions to the fire, the Middle East Media Research Institute said news of the fire was shared with joy among sites it monitors that support the Islamic State group, according to CNS.
“Jihadis celebrated the destruction of large parts of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in a devastating fire on April 15, 2019. Reactions by jihadis on social media refer to the cathedral as a symbol of Christianity and a major point of origin for the Crusades,” MEMRI reported.
“Several describe the fire as punishment for various crimes attributed to France or to Christians in general, such as France’s military intervention in Muslim countries or the mosque massacres in New Zealand. Some jihadis, including leading figures, view the incident as a good omen heralding calamities for the West and the global order,” the report observed.
The site provided comments it said came from terror supporters.
“I rejoice and praise Allah as I witness the fall of the oldest cross as a result of the fire in the church in France. This joy is mixed with sorrow, as I remember the massacres of Muslims and the burning of mosques by these infidels. Praise Allah who burned their churches and destroyed their crosses. And let there be no comfort to the hypocrites who expressed sorrow for this gladdening event,” one al-Qaeda supporter wrote, according to the site.
The site also shared comments identified as coming from “an Islamist rebel commander in Syria”:
“Far from foolish optimism, rather I sense it is an omen for great good. This year there have been many dreams revolving around the glad tidings of victory. Likewise, the events that are happening, if we look at them in a comprehensive perspective, we will find them to be arrangements of Divine predestination laying the foundations for the collapse of the international order and beforehand, or at the same time, the agents of the American domain,” he wrote.
“Today the oldest cross fell because of a fire in a church in Paris. By Allah, from the land of the den of lions [Syria] I read it as a great message, and see it as glad tidings,” he wrote, the site said.
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