A few hours after the Islamic State group published a video in Spanish for the first time, threatening more attacks in the country, netizens accross Spain launched a fight back with their sharpest weapon: humour.
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Twitter users have done parodies of the jihadist featured in the video by changing the audio, adding subtitles or creating memes.
He has been identified by Spanish intelligence as Abdullah Ahram Pérez, known to his comrades as “El Qurtubi” which means “from Córdoba” in Arabic.
But it turns out that El Cordobés is also the pseudonim of a notable bull fighter… who has been embroiled in a decades-long paternity claim.
So the first and most obvious jokes were about the bull fighting star.
El Cordobés niega la paternidad de Abu Lais Al Qurtubí, el terrorista del ISIShttps://t.co/0BUkpPb7I4
— El Jueves (@eljueves) August 24, 2017
El Cordobés denies paternity of Al Qurtubí, the ISIL terrorist
El cordobes alias El Niño del Kalifato, en su ya habitual salto de la rana. pic.twitter.com/v36Wa1MvlN
— Lola Mento (@JavialinMiniyo) August 24, 2017
Also the fact that his mother’s name is Tomasa – she’s from Spain and went to Syria with her children in 2014 to join the Islamic State – has been a source of amusement to the web.
No puedes ser terrorista del ISIS y que tu madre se llame Tomasa Pérez Mollejas. No es serio. pic.twitter.com/4JJSfs23IH
— El Padre de Brian (@ElPadreDeBrian) August 24, 2017
You cannot be an ISIL terrorist and having a mother called Tomasa Pérez Mollejas. It’s not serious
Then there are the classic ‘photoshoppers’, depicting the terrorist in all sort of situations.
As a rapper:
Al oeste en Filadelfia, crecía y vivía
Sin hacer mucho caso a la policía pic.twitter.com/6YGkiUNcnF— Arezno (@Arezno) August 23, 2017
At Seville’s “Feria de Abril” festival:
#ReconquistaDeAlAndalus#ElCordobésYihadista nos invita a su Caseta en la Calle "Bombita" 125
— Ecce Betis Oé (@RoalesAntonio) August 24, 2017
Madre no me riñas más
Por salir de Yihadista pic.twitter.com/dkqfQ4p9NU
As a hipster:
El hijo de la Tomasa,se fue a conocer mundo y volvió hecho un hipster con aires de superioridad. pic.twitter.com/lGiOR7R92t
— Dios (@Sr_Dios) August 24, 2017
He went to see the world, he came back as a pretentious hipster.
Selling products (Dash washing powder sounds similar to the word used for ISIL in Spanish Dáesch):
-¿Sabes algo del hijo de la Tomasa?
— POLLOTARI (@Ruizdegauna) August 25, 2017
-¿El Cordobés? Creo que trabaja en una empresa de detergentes ... se llama Dash o algo así. pic.twitter.com/PrRKp1J1F6
Or starring in a TV dating show:
Tiene un imán para las mujeres. pic.twitter.com/t4gDLrlvJf
— nogaret (@nogaret) August 24, 2017
Another popular gag was switching El Cordobés’ beard and headgear.
¿Nadie se ha dado cuenta que El Cordobés, el chico la Tomasa, tiene el pelo/barba reversible? pic.twitter.com/m0z8Lbr5IS
— Nano A Lázaro (@NanoLazaro) August 25, 2017
This article has been edited for clarity, spelling and punctuation from the original.
