title:  Hillary Was Right: Trump Rant On Muslims Shows Up On New Terror Recruitment Video
text: After Hillary Clinton made the argument that Donald Trump s hateful rants against Muslims were fueling Islamic terrorism recruitment during a recent debate, Republicans and the Fox News crowd last their minds accusing her of lying.  Where were these videos?  They demanded. A reporter just found one.While ISIS s campaign of terror in the Middle East gets most of the headlines, an equally horrific group is operating out of Africa. Al-Shabab, linked to al-Qaeda, has been responsible for a number of massacres, terror attacks, and other human rights atrocities, primarily in Somalia and Kenya. Recently, the group s numbers and influence has dwindled after sustained opposition from a coalition of African governments. They are clearly desperate   so they are reportedly turning to the powerful recruitment tool known as Donald Trump.Harun Maruf, a journalist working with Voice of America, has been closely following Al-Shabab and its recruitment strategies. On January 1, he came across a new video that features   you guessed it   Trump s recent call for a  total Muslim ban. BREAKING: Al-Shabab issued a new video propaganda video targeting African Americans and US Muslims. #Somalia  Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) January 1, 2016BREAKING: Donald Trump's recent speech calling for "total Muslim ban" is on Al-Shabab recruitment video. #Somalia  Harun Maruf (@HarunMaruf) January 1, 2016The video itself features an English speaking narrator telling young Muslims that America is a racist nation. A clip of what appears to be an ISIS spokesman explains that Jim Crow laws targeting African Americans have morphed into religious discrimination, then cuts to Donald Trump calling for a  total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. 3) New #Shabaab vid shows #Trump proposing Muslim travel ban & Awlaki predicting bigotry & "concentration camps" pic.twitter.com/2KMpzYf3ui  Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) January 1, 2016It s easy to see why Trump s hateful remarks would be attractive to terrorist recruiters. For years, terrorism experts have warned that radical extremists rely on propaganda and fear-mongering about the West to get desperate people to join up with violent causes. The idea is to paint America as hostile to Muslims and therefore a natural  enemy  to Muslims around the world. If America hates Muslims, then lashing out against it is a natural conclusion, or so the thinking goes.Trump, with all of his small minded bigotry, is a boon for this propaganda. After all, just playing a clip of him spouting off hatred is enough to prove to many that Americans do hate Muslims. Nobody knows that better than the terrorists themselves.While Republicans took potshots at Hillary over her calling this spade a spade, her comments hold up remarkably well under scrutiny. Even before she set off a firestorm of conservative outrage during her debate appearance, she was unflinchingly calling out Republican Islamophobia. On December 8, she went so far as to release a statement warning all Republican candidates, not just Trump, to stop the hate.This kind of rhetoric sets us back in the fight against radical jihadists a fight we absolutely have to win, against a brutal, nihilistic enemy who twists Islam to justify mass murder. These jihadists cannot be contained; they have to be defeated. And the vast majority of Muslims here and abroad are on our side in this fight. Many are helping prevent radicalization, including here at home. So why would anyone suggest that they re the enemy? How does that help us? Radical jihadists are telling people that the United States hates Muslims and there s Donald Trump on TV screaming about how he s going to keep all Muslims out. He s strengthening the terrorists  argument.A desperate, losing terror group like Al-Shabab is staking their future on Trump. That should say it all.Feature image via YouTube