With the FBI on alert for home-grown terrorists, the agency is monitoring troubling cases of vandalism in Northwest D.C. that seem to express support for so-called Islamic State militants.
Graffiti on a traffic camera at the busy intersection of Connecticut Avenue NW and Calvert Street NW reads, in Arabic, “Allah Akbar” followed by “ISIS,” referring to the terror group.
“It’s strange,” said tourist Lacey Rase. “I don’t know why anyone would do that.”
“It probably was a prank,” said D.C. resident Tim Schwedes. “I’m not going to announce it to anybody if I actually plan on doing something.”
A passerby disagreed, saying, “Whoever did that, I think, is supporting ISIS. I don’t think it’s a prank.”
Photos of another, nearly identical, tag were tweeted in late September just south of Dupont Circle. That graffiti has since been removed.
Many residents in Woodley Park say they see all sorts of graffiti across the city and, frankly, they walked right past the vandalism because they don’t understand Arabic. But a few said the “ISIS” tag did catch their attention.
The FBI said, “We are aware of the graffiti and the photos of it appearing on social media sites. We urge anyone who sees suspicious activity or if anyone has any information about this vandalism to report it to the local authorities or to the FBI.”
But why did the graffiti include the words “Allah Akbar?”
Nihad Awad, the national director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said, “The word ‘Allah Akbar’ means ‘God is great.’ We use it in our prayer at least 20 times a day.”
According to Awad, American Muslims totally reject ISIS and its twisted interpretation of Islam. He suspects the graffiti was a prank, or a ploy to drum up fear.
“I don’t think the handwriting is authentic,” Awad said. “It could be like someone is copying it from another place.”
No matter the motive, many say the message is unsettling.
“It shows that they wanted somebody to see it,” said tourist Aaron Riley. “They wanted to be known. You don’t put a piece of graffiti up somewhere so that nobody sees it.”