On Sunday a group of Americans opposed to radical Islam held an art contest for depictions of the Muslim prophet Muhammad in Garland, Texas.

Two Muslims took exception to the contest — apparently Islam prohibits depictions of Muhammad — and decided to kill everyone who went to the exhibition. They got as far as two Garland police officers outside the facility.

The New York Daily News reports:

ISIS appeared to declare war on right-wing blogger Pamela Geller Tuesday in an ominous online message claiming it has fighters across America ready to attack “any target we desire.”

The threat, posted on JustPasteIt, singles out Geller, who helped plan a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest that was attacked by two gunmen in Garland, Tex. over the weekend. ISIS claimed responsibility for the shooting early Tuesday, marking the first time the terror group called an American attack one of its own.

The chilling Tuesday post also boasts of ISIS having “71 trained soldiers in 15 different states ready at our word to attack,” specifically naming only Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Michigan and California.

“The attack by the Islamic State in America is only the beginning of our efforts to establish a wiliyah in the heart of our enemy,” the message reads, apparently misspelling the Arabic word “wilayah,” meaning authority or governance. …

The authenticity of the post, as well as the group’s claim to the Texas shooting, have not been independently confirmed, and it is possible the threat is a hoax or a message from an ISIS sympathizer. ISIS has frequently used the anonymous message board JustPasteIt to publish propaganda, including the names and addresses of 100 U.S. service members in a call for an American jihad.

RELATED: WHO IS PAMELA GELLER, THE MUHAMMAD DRAWING CONTEST HOST?

The armed attackers who stormed the Sunday cartoon contest, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, were both shot dead by an off-duty officer outside. They were the only fatalities in an attack that also gave another guard a minor injury.

 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The front page of the New York Daily News on Aug. 31, 2014.

The JustPasteIt post claims both men knew they would be killed, and were only testing the waters for future terror.

“We knew that the target was protected. Our intention was to show how easy we give our lives for the Sake of Allah,” the post says.

 

Geller‘s reaction:

This threat illustrates the savagery and barbarism of the Islamic State. They want me dead for violating Sharia blasphemy laws. What remains to be seen is whether the free world will finally wake up and stand for the freedom of speech, or instead kowtow to this evil and continue to denounce me. What’s really frightening and astonishing about this threat is that the media in denouncing me is essentially allying with and even cheering on the Islamic State. I expected this from jihadists. I never expected it from my fellow Americans in the mainstream media.