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These Might Be The 17 Most Important Tweets About The OSU Terrorist

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Terrorism expert Amarnath Amarasingam spun off a series of tweets Tuesday to contextualize the Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the Ohio State attack Monday.

1. A few comments about the #OhioState attack. First, people once again talking about how “ISIS claims everything”, which simply isn't true. https://t.co/OpQldoZL6d

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

ISIS claimed responsibility for Abdul Razak Ali Artan’s Tuesday stabbing spree on Ohio State University’s campus, calling him a “soldier” of the terrorist organization. Amarasingam first noted the ISIS’s threshold for claiming an attack is unknown, and await evidence that it was indeed connected to them.

The reported text of a Facebook rant Artan posted hours before the attack provide some clues as to Artan’s motivations and mental state.

Law enforcement official tells @ShimonPro this is text from a Facebook post believed to be by suspect in OSU attack pic.twitter.com/31S6MPjNTu

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 29, 2016

Amarasingam highlights the mention of former al-Qaida leader Anwar- Al-Awalki. Awalki was an U.S. born jihadi, who rose to the head of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2011.

Awalki’s videotaped sermons and writings have been connected to nearly every major terrorist attack in the U.S. since his death including the Chattanooga shootings, the NYC bombing, the Boston Bombers, and others captured by the FBI.

Beyond Awalki’s mention, Artan ridicules Muslim scholars who argue against radical islamic ideas. Amarasingam notes that these scholars are often targets of ISIS propaganda, and see them as some of the biggest obstacles to their ideology they face.

Finally he warned that the facts of Artan’s case need to emerge before ISIS’s true link to the attack can be found. Artan may have been in contact with an ISIS recruiter, as other U.S. inspired would-be terrorists have been.

FBI documents released in November reveal that Syria based ISIS recruiter Junaid Hussain directed Ohio man Munir Abdulkader to kill a U.S. service-member and attack a police station. Hussain has been connected to multiple other unsuccessful U.S. terrorist plots, and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2015.

2. Historically, they've been quite meticulous about what they claim, usually waiting for evidence that the individual was inspired by them.

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

3. This evidentiary threshold does seem to be changing over time, but we don’t know much about what they look for before claiming attacks.

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

4. See this interesting article by @maxbearak from July, which includes quotes from myself, @intelwire and others. https://t.co/sRtUewRTEQ

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

5. Secondly, if this Facebook post is real, a few things are important. One is the mention of Awlaki. https://t.co/lO7Hf2ZJnN

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

6. As one Nusra (JFS) fighter told me: “First I became a Salafi and later I listened to Awlaki, which turned me more hard-line.”

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

7. Similarly, an ISIS fighter told me, “his arguments were so clear and powerful. That’s why he was killed.” Can’t really argue with that.

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

8. Awlaki provided a sense of purpose, a revolutionary fervor and sense of justice – and he connected with them in a way that others didn't.

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

9. Also, with respect to the Facebook post: while we have selectively focused on the mention of “dawla” and “Awlaki”, what he spends most

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

10. Of his time on is suffering of Muslims. This can't be ignored, and genuine answers must be provided for youth who have questions.

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

11. Another important aspect of the post is mention of scholars like Yasir Qadhi and others, who are mentioned in ISIS publications often.

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

12.ISIS calls them “munafiqeen” (hypocrites), & they recognize these voices from inside Muslim community as the biggest challenges they face

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

13. Thirdly, as @rcallimachi has noted, we really should wait for the evidence. Individuals who we have https://t.co/FVOdNP9f6q

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

14. Dismissed as lone actors have turned out to be fairly well connected. See @BridgetMoreng on this: https://t.co/PdG0etPvEX

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

15. Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, in my research with the Somali community for various projects, one thing is clear:

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

16. There is a lot of un-diagnosed trauma linked to the refugee experience, a lot of racism experienced once they land in host countries &

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

17. Many of the men report experiences of being seen as a triple threat: Muslim, Somali, and black.

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) November 29, 2016

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