On January 15, 2022, Malik Faisal Akram took hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas. His goal was to compel the release of Aafia Siddiqui.
Aafia Siddiqui is a singular figure within the history of jihadism, particularly in the West. Her case has understandably acquired a great deal of international interest and scrutiny, especially after her arrest, conviction, and imprisonment during the early 2010s.
Without a doubt, the high-profile nature of her case and her relatively unique status as a woman with a reported operational role in al-Qaida contributed to her infamy, as does the enduring belief among her supporters that she was unjustly convicted.
Nevertheless, decades after her story initially made headlines, today’s jihadi groups remain committed to ensuring her release from prison and continue to use her imprisonment as a propaganda device.
This was an international news story live streamed on social media. A news story in which the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was uncharacteristically relevant.
Because CAIR was also running a campaign to free Aafia Siddiqui. So CAIR must have known that reports that Akram was Siddiqui’s brother were false.
And CAIR knew more than just that.
CAIR also ran a very intense Twitter campaign in support of Aafia Siddiqui that spiked dramatically right around the time Malik Akram struck. Local TV station KXAS called this “chatter.”