Well, we know it won’t feature Mickey and Minnie in traditional Islamic garb. That didn’t go over so well.
But no matter how seemingly benign and innocent the matter at hand may seem, the jihadist has a knack for turning it into an instrument of death. Even cartoons. “Al-Qaida plans cartoon recruiting film for kids,” by Paisley Dodds for the Associated Press, July 20:
LONDON (AP) “” An al-Qaida affiliate says it plans to roll out what some have called a Disney-like animated cartoon aimed at recruiting children to the terror network.
Scenes from the proposed short film show young boys dressed in battle fatigues and participating in raids, killings and terror plots. It is the latest attempt by the terror organization to use multimedia to draw in potential recruits. Recently, a Yemen-based extremist group released an online women’s magazine with makeup and chastity tips.
News of the animated film was announced by a group called Abu al-Laith al-Yemen on the Arabic-language al-Shamouk jihadist website, the London-based Quilliam Foundation reported Wednesday. Quilliam, which was formed by former jihadists and now aims to stamp out extremism, said it appears the group is affiliated with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
There are screen captures at the Associated Press link above. In truth, the style looks more like a ripoff of Japanese-influenced cartoons than Disney. No word on a jihadi Pikachu, though.
“It’s a Disney-like film aimed at kids that tells stories of the Prophet, stories of holy wars and anti-Western propaganda,” said Noman Benotman, a former jihadist with links to al-Qaida who is now an analyst at Quilliam. “But I think it could backfire. Families will be angry that al-Qaida is directing this at their children.”…
If they believe in the jihad themselves, they won’t shield their children from indoctrination.