Wikimedia Commons"/>Islamic State fighters are referring to President Trump's executive order on immigration as "the Blessed Ban", as they believe it proves to their supporters that America really does "hate" Islam and that the terror group succeeded in frightening "the most powerful man in the world."
A resident in the Iraqi city of Mosul, ISIS' stronghold, told New York Times terror correspondent Rukmini Callimachi that the jihadists have been celebrating Trump's controversial decision to sign an executive order suspending the admission of refugees from seven countries to the US for the next four months.
She said that the terror group even coined a phrase for the order - "The Blessed Ban" - because the group believes it is their doing.
"They succeeded in scaring the daylight out of America," she explained. "ISIS, according to this resident of Western Mosul, thinks their terror tactic worked. They frightened the most powerful man in the world...And they are celebrating, he says, because it proves to their followers that America really does 'hate' Islam."
Iraq is one of the seven predominantly Muslim countries - along with Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - from which refugees and citizens are temporarily barred from entering.
According to The Washington Post, comments posted to pro-Islamic State social media accounts also predicted that the executive order would prompt American Muslims to side with the extremists.
"[Islamic State leader Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi has the right to come out and inform Trump that banning Muslims from entering America is a 'blessed ban,'" said one posting to a pro-Islamic State channel. The writer compared Trump's order to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which Islamic militant leaders at the time referred to as a "blessed invasion" that sparked anti-Western feelings across the Islamic world.
The president has also vowed to give Christian refugees priority, but some Christian leaders in the Middle East have warned that favoring Christians over other immigrants could actually backfire.
"Every reception policy that discriminates (between) the persecuted and suffering on religious grounds ultimately harms the Christians of the East" and would be "a trap for Christians in the Middle East," said Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad.
The ban sparked protests around the country, and last week, a judge issued a stay on the executive order which suspends its implementation.
Nevertheless, a new poll from Morning Consult and Politico shows Trump's executive order on immigration is one of his most popular so far; the order has a 55% approval rating (with 35% saying they "strongly approve") with only 38% of voters polled saying they disapprove of it.
Opinions about the ban fall along partisan lines - 82% of Republicans support the ban, while 65% of Democrats oppose it.
