And in the photo, he has one index finger raised — the signal of adherence to Islamic monotheism that has become the sign of allegiance to the Islamic State. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was no “gullible teen”; he was a convinced jihad killer.
“Inside the bedroom of the Boston bomber: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev poses with jihadi black banner in the home where he and his brother hatched terrorist attack,” by Ashley Collman, Daily Mail, March 18, 2015 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers have been trying to paint him as a gullible teen who was recruited by his extremist brother to bomb the Boston Marathon finish line two years ago.
But today, prosecutors presented the jury with a never-before-seen photo that tells quite a different story.
Seen in the bedroom of his family home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sits at a computer chair and points to a black flag behind him – not unlike the kind used by extremist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Tsarnaev’s former best friend Stephen Silva testified in court on Tuesday that he saw the flag hanging in Dzhokhar’s room, the one time he visited the apartment to watch The Walking Dead.
Silva was also the friend who lent Tsarnaev the gun used to shoot an MIT police officer in a confrontation a few days after the bombings.
While the so-called Black Banner or Black Standard has been co-opted by Islamist extremist groups in recent years, it has much deeper origins in the Muslim world.
The prophet Muhammed used a black standard when he fought, which is why it continues to be used as a symbol for modern-day jihadists.
According to Boston University master Arabic lecturer Giselle Khoury, the flag reads: ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger’.
She told the Boston Herald that the statement is called ‘the shahada – the testimony’ which declares one’s belief in the Islamic faith.
However, quickly after the picture of the flag was shown in court today, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr ordered taken out of court since he found it ‘illegible’.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty said another witness, who did not take the stand today, would be explaining the flag’s significance further.
Tsarnaev, 21, is charged with killing three people and injuring 264 with a pair of homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the race’s crowded finish line on April 15, 2013, and shooting dead a university police officer three days later.
His former best friend Stephen Silva, who federal prosecutors contend loaned Tsarnaev the gun used in the shooting, testified in court on Tuesday that he had long been close with the defendant but had never met his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, who died following a gunfight with police four days after the bombing.
He said his brother was very strict, very opinionated, and that since I wasn’t a Muslim he might give me a little s*** for that,’ Silva said.
Defense lawyers opened the trial at U.S. District Court in Boston with the blunt admission that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had carried out the crimes he is charged with, focusing their hopes on the jury sentencing him to life in prison rather than the death penalty he could face if found guilty.
They contend Tamerlan was the driving force behind the attacks and that his younger sibling followed out of subservience.
Prosecutors called Silva, 21, to the witness stand to discuss the loan of the rusty Ruger P95 handgun they contend was used to shoot dead Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier on April 18, 2013.
Silva has pleaded guilty to federal gun and drug charges, but was offered leniency in exchange for his testimony.
He testified he had gotten the gun from a friend, intending to use it to protect his drug business, and also used it in a robbery.
Tsarnaev asked to borrow it, saying he too was interested in committing a robbery, Silva testified.
In the most aggressive cross-examination by the defense in eight days of testimony, Silva acknowledged having posted on Facebook and having told the FBI that he believed the bombing must have been Tamerlan’s idea.
‘At the time that’s what I felt, yes,’ Silva said in response to questioning by defense attorney Miriam Conrad.
He also acknowledged having told prosecutors in August he used ‘peer pressure’ to persuade Dzhokhar to smoke marijuana, which Silva sold.
‘That’s what I said but I stated it wrong,’ Silva said on Tuesday.
Silva also testified that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had once called him a ‘kafir,’ an Arabic word meaning non-believer or infidel, in response to Silva calling the defendant a ‘Russian refugee’….
Bruce Hachey says
when you are faced with a deadly disease like ebola virus you don’t talk it away or try to justify it ,you get rid of it . That your terrorist is like an ebola virus .He needs to be eliminated.
Don McKellar says
That would make a great cover for Rolling Stone.
Loretta Pienaar says
DITTO, Bruce Hachey! You’ve said it!!!
Lord Wrath says
However, quickly after the picture of the flag was shown in court today, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr ordered taken out of court since he found it ‘illegible’.
“Illegible”??? Another “judge” that needs to be thrown from a high place… Every thinking man knows what it means!!!
Bender says
“The prophet Muhammed used a black standard when he fought, which is why it continues to be used as a symbol for modern-day jihadists.”
– He is no prophet. Please always write that he was only “islamic prophet” and nothing else.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
As I recall the Holy Prophet never actually prophesized anything. Any of you Infidels in here have his prophecy track record?
Michael Copeland says
“The strongholds of Islam will be knocked down, one after the other, and then there will come many deceiving guides.
Faith [Islam] will crawl back to the Madina like a snake crawls back to its hole.”
http://www.answering-islam.org/Mna/frag1.1.html
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The time between the great war and the conquest of the city (Constantinople) will be six years, and the Dajjal (Antichrist) will come forth in the seventh.
Accordingly, Muslims conquered Jerusalem in 636 AD. Constantinople was taken over by Muslims in May 1453 AD. Yet the prophecy regarding Yathrib (Medina) being in ruins and Antichrist’s advent to take place seven months after the conquest of Constantinople did not materialize. Based on the preceding traditions Antichrist was to appear in November 1453.
Wow, so far the Holy Prophet is off 562 years, and counting. This brings up a deep question: then why did revered news entertainer Tim Russert publicly refer to him as “the Holy Prophet Mohammed”? Was it that Tim didn’t know how to count?
pumbar says
“Go for 20-1 odds on Green Goblin at the three thirty at Chepstow”.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
It was a happier time back in the day when Black Flag was known here only a cockroach spay. This one is nastier cuz it propels infestation instead of stopping it.
Don McKellar says
Funny post!
Don McKellar says
“However, quickly after the picture of the flag was shown in court today, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr ordered taken out of court since he found it ‘illegible’.”
This is the very strange and striking thing about this story.
So, does this mean that the judge thinks the flag is without meaning because he can’t read it?
Did the flag announce this puke’s guilt as an Islamic jihad killer on the same page as ISIS so clearly that it made the judge uncomfortable?
Or is the judge so sickened by the black flag of Islamic jihad that he doesn’t want it near him?
In any case, it is bizarre that the judge would order a photograph removed from the courtroom, as it is clear evidence of the accused’s motivations and reasons.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
There are a few peculiarities about this Daily Mail report.
(1) “[P]rosecutors presented the jury with a never-before-seen photo … Seen in the bedroom of his family home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sits at a computer chair and points to a black flag behind him”
But the photo accompanying the article shows no such thing. It is unusual to point to something that one is not looking at (“Look! Up in the sky!”). But here Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is looking at the camera while pointing to, if anything, the ceiling, not the flag behind him. Actually, he is not pointing to anything at all, but (as pointed out by Robert Spencer in his introduction) is instead flashing the religious mudra gang-sign of monotheism.
(Or possibly Dzhokhar is an Orthodox Christian, flashing the “Isa is the One [way to salvation]!” gesture; see
https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/what-does-this-hand-gesture-mean-in-icons/ )
(2) “[Q]uickly after the picture of the flag was shown in court today, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr ordered [it] taken out of court since he found it ‘illegible’.”
Looking at the photo, the flag is perfectly legible. A quotation from Beowulf that is printed in runes does not become illegible just because you can’t read the futhark alphabet. I suspect that the judge had some legal reason that has gone unreported.
(3) This report says, “The prophet Muhammed used a black standard when he fought.” What is the source of this color information? Ibn Ishaq’s biography? Some hadith? Some Quran passage? For Prophet-endorsed insect sprays, see http://www.blackflag.com/ .
mortimer says
“Silva also testified that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had once called him a ‘kafir’
In using the word ‘kafir’, Dzhokhar revealed his awareness of the dualistic Islamic doctrine that divides humanity into two groups of which one is destined to enslave the other. To a Muslim, ‘kafir’ is the worst word in human language. Allah hates Kafirs, so Muslims should hate them too. A Kafir is hated, not because of his character—he may be a highly ethical and cultured person—but because he does not believe Mohammed is a valid prophet of god. To a Muslim, ‘kafir’ is a more vicious cuss word and personal insult than the ‘n’-word is in English! ‘Kafir’ means all the following bad things and more… ‘an antagonist’, ‘a wrecker’, ‘an obstructionist’, ‘a denier’, ‘a spoiler’, ‘a hinderer’, ‘a saboteur’, ‘a vandal’, ‘a low, worthless person’, and ‘a sly, underhanded criminal’. Allah commands in the Koran that a Kafir may be robbed, enslaved, raped, mocked, insulted, cursed, tortured, crucified, killed, lied to and plotted against.
Dzhokhar revealed by using that word why he believed murdering runners and children at the Boston Marathon was pleasing to his angry, capricious deity. By using ‘kafir’, Dzhokhar proved by that choice of word, that he knew EXACTLY what he was doing.
Joseph says
he has one index finger raised — the signal of adherence to Islamic monotheism that has become the sign of allegiance to the Islamic State.
THANK YOU MR. ROBERT SPENCER!!!!!
I was wondering what was the deal with the one finger up.
Do you have many pictures of Obama using this covert gesture? or are there too many to count?
Don McKellar says
Here’s one where he flips an Islamic state allegiance salute to his moslem brothers with a “look how cool I am” facial expression — while the other moslem leaders’ eyes almost pop out of their heads as they recognize that, without question, he is one of them. It is UNMISTAKEABLE what’s going on in this picture. http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/02/robert-spencer-in-frontpage-why-obama-wont-call-the-jihadis-islami.
Contrasting the pictures of the Boston jihad bomber and Obama is remarkable…
http://www.jihadwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/TsarnaevIslamicflag.jpg
http://www.jihadwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/obama-isis-finger.jpeg
They should be together in a poster or a T-shirt.
Michael Copeland says
Obamch.a was photographed using the one finger salute at a gathering of world leaders recently. It was featured here at Jihad Watch.
Joseph says
THANKS
Don McKellar says
Here’s the link to the story. It is remarkable to compare Obama and this little monster both giving the same gesture. Watch the faces on the other muslim leaders when they see what Obama is doing.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/02/robert-spencer-in-frontpage-why-obama-wont-call-the-jihadis-islami.
Kyle_L says
Not so long ago, in my first-year university psychology class, we were openly discussing ISIS and other terrorist groups/attackers, and pondering at the reason for the recent acts of violence. I chose to stay quiet as I listened to the comments made by students.
“Maybe terrorists are blowing up cities in Western countries to show how it feels like to live in war-torn Islamic countries” (later referring to the Boston bombers)
“Most of these people are poor, and they probably just want to live a better life”
“Maybe the three schoolgirls who left the UK wanted to help the poor people in Syria.”
“Maybe they want to tell the US should get out of their lands.”
No one considered that perhaps Islam or jihad was to blame. Worse, only maybe two students (one being a Muslim) knew what “Shariah” was (she also claimed that Shariah promotes women’s rights), and only a handful knew what “jihad” is. It is very unsettling to know that our future leaders and voters do not bother to take some time and research.
gravenimage says
Depressing, Kyle—but hardly surprising. Did you weigh in with your greater knowledge?
Kyle_L says
Really wish I could. I’m a member of the school’s student union, and I’m sure if I’d provided some facts on jihadists’ motives I’d be called a ‘racist’ or an ‘Islamophobe’ and probably would have been removed from my position. I really do regret not speaking up, though; we should not be afraid to speak the truth.
Champ says
And in the photo, he has one index finger raised — the signal of adherence to Islamic monotheism that has become the sign of allegiance to the Islamic State.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whereas Christians use their index finger raised to say that ‘Jesus is the Way’!
Question: “Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?”
Answer: http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-only-way.html
duh_swami says
I was going to mention that the index finger salute was stolen/borrowed from Christians. The raised finger symbolizes the number 1, which means unity…
The basic idea is ‘God is one’…That fits for Islam as well, except for one fatal flaw…As you know, Allah is not God, but chaos, so unity cannot apply to him/it…
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
Question: “Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?”
Answer: “Jihad is the only way to Jannat.”
So, if you wanna booze it up and cavort in peachfuzz for all eternity, start killing now. In the name of Allah, ha ha ha.
JamesonRocks says
Interesting… “Tsarnaev’s former best friend Stephen Silva testified in court on Tuesday that he saw the flag hanging in Dzhokhar’s room, the one time he visited the apartment to watch The Walking Dead.”
The walkers in The Walking Dead are symbolic of moozies: mindless, destructive and no longer possessing any spark of humanity. Yup… art imitating life!
gravenimage says
They contend Tamerlan was the driving force behind the attacks and that his younger sibling followed out of subservience.
…………………………..
Uh…right. Did he also hang the Black Flag of Jihad on his wall out of “subservience” to his brother—as opposed to just subservience to Islam?
More:
[Silva] testified he had gotten the gun from a friend, intending to use it to protect his drug business, and also used it in a robbery.
Tsarnaev asked to borrow it, saying he too was interested in committing a robbery, Silva testified.
………………………….
Only with Islam would one find that claiming a desire to commit armed robbery is actually *much more benign* than what he finally had planned…
profitsbeard says
When convicted, hang him with a pigskin noose.
No Paradise for you, scum.
JamesonRocks says
Seems that since 1963 U.S. Federal executions have been facilitated by lethal injection. So, they’ll need to add pig urine to the drug mix…
ItsJo says
How Sick is America’s younger people who tried to make a ‘hero’ out of this younger KILLER? They expressed their thoughts that he could NOT have done this Killing at the Boston Marathon, as “he is SO cute”……what idiots, that Only know ‘celebrity information, but NOT history of this SICK CULT Of ISLAM.
He Deserves to be put to death for what he did WILLINGLY to those he helped KILL and those who HE HELPED MAIM, THAT HAVE TO LIVE THEIR LIVES WITHOUT THEIR LIMBS- Too bad HE can’t have the same “eye for an eye treatment done to Him. Perhaps it would give Others a Wake Up Call, if they even THINK of doing this “CULT’S BARBARISM Against Innocent People, who Love Life, as THEY LOVE DEATH and SAVAGERY.
Lioness says
Such a pity they didn’t shoot that bastard on the spot rather than have this expensive trial. Now he is the darling of the Jihadis, and liberals everywhere say that the poor kid was brain washed but deep down he is just a sweet little boy. I hope they exterminate this vermin soon.
PatnCats says
Well, I’m hoping the jury comes in with a guily verdict for this islamic bastard’s arrogance in murdering Our Countrymen in Boston, and then votes for the DEATH PENALITY for this little bastard. Good riddance, and we need to put many many more on trial. Which is more than he gave the people he and his brother gave any of the people they killed and maimed for life.
Boston says
This one of course hits close to home, as I live in a small town 20 min North of where this despicable excuse for a human being committed these horrible acts. The trial is actually moving on with a quickness I didnt expect, with the prosecution should be wrapping up their case next week. Heart wrenching stories abounded, unfortunately as you would expect, but the prosecution has left no stones turned on this one, providing in depth analysis of a huge amount of damning evidence. Twitter acounts have been reporting that the looks on the jurors faces is that of sickness and disbelief of what havoc this person and his dead brother caused. if there was ever ANYONE who deserves execution, it is him. Hopefully we will not have to wait for Justice to be done. It also bears mentioning that this tossled hair boy( Thanks Rolling Stone..) was on the full welfare ride thanks to Ultra Liberal Massachusetts. Free College Tuition, Subsidised Housing, EBT Card( Like a credit card that gets rebooted with $ 2000.00 a month, whether you used the previous months 2000 or not. If that aint enough, the dead brother was owner of a mercedes benz, No Job, same Benefits…My hatred for this person and his supporters knows no bounds.