To ISIS, Trump's travel order is "Blessed," proves they succeeded in scaring us

Reporting from Mosul, New York Times journalist Rukmini Callimachi, who has made a name for herself with her comprehensive analysis and reportage about Islamist extremism, is on the front lines of the Iraqi government’s battle against ISIS.

In a recent Twitter thread, Callimachi first discussed non-extremist Iraqis’ interest in Donald Trump’s Muslim immigration ban:

3. I reported here in Nov/Dec of last year. Guess what’s different on this trip? Everywhere I go, Iraqis want to ask about the visa ban

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

4. I’ve been asked about it by officers of the elite CTS division who speak fluent English and who work with US special forces.

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

5. On the banks of the Tigris, I was quizzed on the ban by Mohammed, with Iraq’s Federal Police, himself a former interpreter for US forces

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

More interestingly, and alarmingly, Callimachi revealed ISIS is celebrating the Muslim ban.

ISIS reportedly sees the ban as evidence that they have succeeded, through their terror tactics, in pushing the most powerful leader in the world into changing American policies. ISIS even has a special name for Trump’s Muslim ban — they call it “the Blessed Ban”:

7. My translator reached the resident at 2 am. ISIS is forbidding people under their rule to have phones. Resident hid his. Calls at night

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

8. The resident said ISIS has been openly celebrating the ban. They’ve even coined a phrase for it: الحظر المبارك

Or “The Blessed Ban”

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

9. Why are they calling it a “Blessed Ban?” Because ISIS sees this as *their* doing. They succeeded in scaring the daylight out of America

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

10. ISIS, according to this resident of Western Mosul, thinks their terror tactic worked. They frightened the most powerful man in the world

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

11. And they are celebrating, he says, because it proves to their followers that America really does “hate” Islam.

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

As we have seen play out since Trump signed the executive order, the Muslim ban hurts the very people who have supported the United States within Iraq and other countries, and who are being victimized themselves by ISIS and other violent extremists. Speaking from the now liberated streets of Eastern Mosul, Callimachi observed the same thing:

1 For the last 2 days, I've been reporting from eastern Mosul, now under Iraqi control. It's amazing to finally be able to walk freely here pic.twitter.com/4J2xoXmwzY

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

2. The front line is now demarcated by the Tigris River. We are waiting for the Iraqi army to make their push into Western Mosul: pic.twitter.com/kUTSf15WVQ

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

14. Among ppl affected by the ban is my own translator. He was scheduled to have his 2nd intv for a visa for ppl who worked with the US army

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

15. When you’re standing in the liberated streets of (eastern) Mosul, it’s clear who this ban is hurting: The people who helped us.

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) February 8, 2017

During one of the presidential election debates, Hillary Clinton warned that “what Donald Trump says about Muslims is used to recruit fighters” for Islamist extremist terrorist groups. She was right.

Now ensconced in the White House, and less than three weeks into his tenure, Trump has succeeded in giving ISIS a victory while undermining the values for which the United States stands.