Islamist extremists say they hope Trump win will sow division in the U.S.

Melania Trump and Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images)

Several radical Islamist extremists say they are thrilled with Donald Trump's victory, and hope it ushers in an era of chaos for the United States.

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, a senior al Qaeda member, used Twitter to share his thoughts on the win, The Guardian reports. "Trump reveals the real mentality of the Americans and their racism toward Muslims and Arabs and everything," he said. "He only reveals what his predecessors have kept hidden." A Syrian radical named Abdullah al-Muhaisny, believed by the U.S. to have a connection to al Qaeda, tweeted that Trump's win is an "important step toward the victory of the Sunnis. We have long tried to explain that the fight is not against terrorism, but against the Sunnis, and the mujahideen are just the frontline. The American strategy will not change much, what has changed is that the war is open and not secret, and that is a good thing."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.