REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUWAIT -- A prominent Arab activist has been the victim of an unfortunate case of mistaken identity after Twitter users and news outlets confused him for the leader of Islamic State (IS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Iyad El-Baghdadi, a renowned anti-oppression activist, was a far cry from anything that resembles an IS militant.

Born in Kuwait, he spent his life in the UAE before being given an ultimatum: indefinite imprisonment or immediate deportation, according to the Huffington Post. His constant tweeting about topics such as democracy and freedom in the Middle East during and after the Arab Spring apparently caused the UAE to see him as too much of a threat. He applied for political asylum in Norway after being unable to return to Kuwait.

He still maintained a strong Twitter presence, with nearly 70 thousand followers. However in the past week he has been the victim of a barrage of angry comments from people who have mistaken him for the leader of IS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

It all started when he translated a portion of al-Baghdadi’s recent speech which asks Muslims to join IS, and tweeted it. His translation kickstarted a viral campaign of Muslims hilariously responding with their reasons why they could not join.

Unfortunately there were those—including media outlets—who thought that El-Baghdadi was the leader of IS. He and his supporters are now working to clarify that he is very different from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, calling out Twitter users and news stations for their blatant ignorance.

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