ISIS vs Kuwait’s Tabtabaie: a tale of two tweets

A single tweet can get you in a lot of trouble as trolls and haters might react aggressively to your views on social media.

Waleed al-Tabtabaie, is a former member of Kuwait’s parliament, who has more than half a million followers on Twitter, and he thinks he is radical Islamic cleric till he received a tweet carrying death threat to his life from an even more radical group.

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Indeed, it seems that some are more radical than others. Al-Qaeda-inspired militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is not open to criticism, even from a hardline co-religionist!

ISIS issued a death threat against al-Tabtabaie, in retaliation for his views for not having hardline views enough for the radical group.

Angered ISIS when he tweeted out a message on June 12: “The escape of [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s army signifies its refusal to engage in his lost battles. Yes, ISIS is mixing the cards, Sunnis do not want Maliki policies but they do not seek to get rid of him.”

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Radical Al-Tabtabaie’s tweet led to an outpouring of reactions on the social media from other radicals.

“You cannot win with fear, you ignorant, fool, jealous of the Islamic victory,” responded one Twitter user, who uses the ISIS flag as his profile picture.

In another tweet, the same apparent ISIS supporter mockingly said: “We believe you, now I hate ISIS. Poor man, hatred is playing on your mind.”

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Worse than that is when an angry on circulated details of his alleged home address in Kuwait.

Al-Tabtabaie is known for his radical views. His headline-grabbing rhetoric against Women, the West and Shiite Muslim Iran is in line with the general rhetoric of al-Qaeda and ISIS.