Al Qaeda-linked publication weighs in on the U.S. presidential race

Even Islamic terrorists are following the U.S. presidential campaign. Or perhaps, especially Islamic terrorists are following the U.S. presidential campaign, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. Over the weekend, an article on the U.S. election from al-Masra, an online publication linked to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, made the rounds on Islamic social media, the Middle East monitoring group SITE Intelligence Group said Monday. The author, using the name Adil al-Ahmad, had some of his facts wrong, The Wall Street Journal reports, but overall his analysis was a decently accurate assessment of the race.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the frontrunners, the article said. "As for the victory of Hillary Clinton, it will be an extension of the policy of Obama and the Democrats in the region, while the victory of Trump will be a drastic change in American policy toward Muslims, since the hostility that Trump bears and the Islamophobia from which he suffers will have a huge impact in the conflict in the Middle East region and the Muslim countries in general," al-Ahmad wrote, according to SITE's translation. Trump, he explains, "became famous for his anti-Muslim attitude, which threatens to increase the feelings of the Muslims against the United States once he takes over the governance."

John Kasich didn't merit mention in the article, but Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz got nods. Sanders will "achieve better results in the primary elections that take place in the Western states," the article notes, while Cruz will “not finish the presidential race, like Sanders." You can make your own guess about which candidate the al Qaeda group would prefer to win, and you can read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up