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Leaflets claiming to be from the Islamic State found at Quantico Marine base, but Arabic is upside-down and reversed

Oct 30, 2014 6:10 pm By Robert Spencer

“We came from Mexico on a train.” Chilling and entirely possible. Nonetheless, this is likely to be just a hoax, as the Arabic text — “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet” — is upside-down and reversed, which is not an error that a member of the Islamic State is likely to make. Nonetheless, you never know, and so “Marine Corps commands in the National Capital region have been informed and are increasing situational awareness at their installations.”

“Possible Islamic State Leaflets Found in Quantico Marine Base,” by Bryan Preston, PJ Tatler, October 30, 2014:

Leaflets found at the site of the Marine Corps headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, Wednesday may have ties to the international terrorist organization ISIS, a source told the Tatler today. The leaflets, which portray the flag of the Islamic State, include a message in Arabic that says “We came from Mexico on a train.”

The leaflets raise the questions of whether the Islamic State has operatives in the heart of the United State’s Marine Corps headquarters, or alternatively, whether someone is testing security responses and military command communications.

The Tatler obtained a digital copy of the leaflet today, which is being distributed within the Marine Corps command. The source, who requested anonymity, wrote:

MCB Quantico personnel found 6-7 of these leaflets in Quantico Town (the shopping/residential area inside of Marine Corps Base Quantico) this afternoon (Wednesday). The picture depicts an ISIL banner. The translation of the writing is “We came from Mexico on a train.”

Marine Corps commands in the National Capital region have been informed and are increasing situational awareness at their installations.

The leaflet is being investigated by the Marine Corps, the FBI and Navy intelligence. The Tatler contacted public affairs at Quantico, but as of publication time the base has not commented.

Here is the one-page leaflet.

isis-leaflet-quantico

The Tatler has had the inscription independently translated. It says: “We are here from Mexico. We took the train.” Coupled with the ISIS flag, it is clearly intended to be a threat, connected to the porous U.S.-Mexico border.

But the ISIS flag is upside down and reversed with respect to the Arabic text. Here is an ISIS flag in its correct orientation.

ISISflag

“MCB Quantico” is Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Prince William County, VA, just outside of Washington, D.C. It is the Marine Corps’ headquarters, as well as the home of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Academy and Marine Corps Officer Candidate School. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is also headquartered at Quantico. The National Museum of the Marine Corps is also located at at the base. The U.S. Navy’s Indian Head facility is nearby…

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Filed Under: Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), United States Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. Salah says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    “Arabic is upside-down and reversed”

    It won’t be long before Islam itself will be upside-down and reversed. It has already started, and it is irreversible.

    Muslim scholar criticizing Al Azhar university’s teachings:
    http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/08/cannibalism-in-islam-taught-at-al-azhar.html

    Egyptian ex-Muslims tearing up the Qur’an:
    http://crossmuslims.blogspot.ca/2014/01/egyptian-muslims-tear-up-quran.html

  2. Jerry says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 9:50 pm

    I thought that:

    We come from DC in Air Force One

    may be more appropriate!

    • cassandra says

      Oct 31, 2014 at 4:36 am

      Perfect!!

  3. yohanan says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 10:28 pm

    Reversal of flag with inverted text doesn’t rule out the claimed affiliation with ISIS. The proofreading error could be by illiterate converts. Conversion to Islam reportedly doesn’t require learning to identify the Arabic script let alone to read Arabic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_conversion#Islam

    • mortimer says

      Oct 31, 2014 at 10:02 am

      Agreeing with yohanan. The graphics may have been done by someone unfamiliar with Arabic, yet the material probably came from a jihad sympathizer. Whoever prepared this may be in contact with people ready to carry out a terror attack.

      You can’t count on this being a hoax, no matter how clumsy the graphics.

  4. Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says

    Oct 30, 2014 at 10:45 pm

    What? Writing in reverse, like Leonardo da Vinci used to do?
    http://legacy.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeonardoRighttoLeft.html
    It’s a Da Vinci code! Dan Brown, call your office. You’re publisher is ready for a sequel.

  5. jimjames says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 5:44 am

    Reversed? Like from a mirror image? When this error is revealed so is its message. Clever way to advertise.

  6. Aardvark says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 9:16 am

    Just like the Coca Cola logo, which is supposed to say ‘no allah, no mecca’ if it is reversed and flipped upside down!

    And look at all those jihadis, with their heads shorn and wearing big black beards! They all look as if their heads are on upside down! I think that if you were able to look inside, you would see that their minds are upside down, too!

    What a crazy world these loons inhabit!

  7. Jay Boo says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 9:25 am

    Sing a song in Arabic.
    Sing a song of peace.
    Sing a song in Arabic.
    Sing of Mohammad’s blasphemy
    not just from Morocco to Tripoli.
    Sweeten the pot with Arabic honey.
    Round up the vile lot of satanic bees.

  8. mortimer says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 10:03 am

    Pure terrorism = Koran 8.60

  9. Darren says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 11:27 am

    Don’t worry after the FBI and NSA get done being taught about islam from the wahhabi imam and muslim broterhood appointed intel officer that penetrated the government (since it’s so easy to infiltrate the U.S government even cavemen do it) they will get right on it. The Department of Homeland Insecurity the agency that lost track of one million foreigners inside our borders couldn’t be reached for comment they were busy attending a seminar about how to understand islam better so they were all busy on prayer mats praying to mecca. When the spokeman of Home Land Insecurity was asked to comment he replied there is no god but allah.

    The brilliant minds at the pentagon were also busy coming up with the latest greatest strategy on how to celebrate islam to defeat IS. One general even had the idea that if we just convert to islam they will love us again. The CIA was busy having focus groups on focus groups to focus on focus groups while watching a power point projection on diversity is strength. Not to be outdone or thought of as not contributing the NSA was busy making you tube videos promoting interfaith dialog and making a rap celebrating the life of the perfect man of islam muhammad.

  10. Stephen David says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    Who would find it easier to write phrases in a language upside down and backwards… someone who knows the language well and can easily see what it looks like reversed… or someone who is ignorant of the language, and is copying directly from somewhere else, and then purposely reversing them?

    If someone were just planting a hoax, it seems to me they would try their best to make the result match the copied text as close as possible. Otherwise, what would the purpose be and who would it be fooling (as a hoax)?

    My guess is that this was created by someone who knows the language and is testing/messing with security to see their reactions.

  11. Bradamante says

    Oct 31, 2014 at 1:45 pm

    I find myself wondering how such a logo would end up reversed — what the actual process was of producing a mirror image. If a person printed off a picture from the internet, or slapped a picture down on a copying machine, it would not be reversed. What would produce reverse images? Where would someone get a hold of a reversed image? Maybe an iron-on transfer intended to be ironed onto a t-shirt, and instead used to make the original for this flyer? I don’t know. Any ideas?

    • St. Michael Defend Us says

      Oct 31, 2014 at 4:49 pm

      With today’s digital technology, I don’t think this would usually come up. However, a regular photographic negative I think could be reversed.
      Some copy machines can print transparencies instead of on paper, for some purposes.
      Some copy machines or printers can copy from older 35mm slides.
      Some of these reproduction techniques require a knowledge of how to use the technology, as well as a knowledge of correct appearance of the material reproduced.

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