Study Finds Western ISIS Women Are Not Victims They Are As Driven As Male Counterparts

There are at least 550 foreign female jihadists who have made their way to Syria and Iraq, and according to a study these women are not victims, they are just as driven and dangerous as their male counterparts.

Western women who join Islamic State militants are driven by the same ideological passion as many male recruits and should be seen as potentially dangerous cheerleaders, not victims, experts said. A new study out on Wednesday said the estimated 550 women who have travelled to Iraq and Syria are expected to marry, keep house and bear children.

Despite being banned from fighting, the study found they were active propagandists for the cause. “The violent language and dedication to the cause is as strong as we find in some of the men,” said extremism expert Ross Frenett of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, who coauthored the new report. “The worry is that as ISIS (the IS group) loses ground, as everyone hopes it does, that more and more of these women will transfer from the domestic world they’re in now to a more violent one,” he told AFP.

Much has been written about young women going to become “jihadist brides”, but the prevailing narrative of wide-eyed recruits drawn by a sense of excitement belies the importance of their own faith and passions.

Although Frenett and co are monitoring a slew of female jihadists on social media, and there are a plenty- they chose only 12 women living in Syria and Iraq to focus on. They are from the U.K., Canada, France and the Netherlands.

Some of the women endorsed the bloody beheadings carried out by the militants — “I wish I did” it, one said after US journalist Steven Sotloff was killed — as well as railing against Western governments and the suffering of Muslims. “My best friend is my grenade ... It’s an American one too. May Allah allow me to kill their Kanzeer [pig] soldiers with their own weapons,” one said. Crucially, the women also provide advice and encouragement to other women thinking of joining. “They’re actively recruiting women and providing them with assistance advice and referrals to go to ISIS-held territory,” said Frenett.

So, better beware when those women claim they have had enough of ISIS and want to go home.

Tougher Rules For Western Recruits Joining ISIS

According to the newspaper Asharq Alawsat, the Islamic State is afraid of infiltrators from Western intelligence agencies, so they plan on making it a tad harder for Western and foreign jihadists to join their ranks. I wonder if part of that decision had to with the fact that several Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels allegedly infiltrated an ISIS camp, and posing as cooks, poisoned about a dozen ISIS militants. 

But it definitely won't be as easy as it has been in the past.

Western recruits can no longer just show up at the Syrian border and join IS, according to the report. Instead, they need to present proof of identity and a character reference from "at least one sheikh known to [Islamic State] leadership," Islamist leaders in London told Asharq Alawsat.

According to the report, British jihadis already in Syria are providing character references for new recruits.

Outside the United Kingdom, another group, Sharia4Belgium (currently on trial in Belgium on charges of enlisting young men to fight in Syria) is providing endorsements for Islamic State recruits.

No references? They'll run a security check on the recruit.

They also have a bunch of new rules and regulations on how to behave, for those traveling to Syria for the first time, so they don't stand out, including:

Don't dress too conservatively.
No religious books.

However, some of the old rules haven't changed:

Don't tell friends and family.

And then you have jihadists giving advice via Ask.fm forum.

One British Islamic State militant, who calls himself Abu Fariss, answers questions from potential new recruits via his Ask.fm account.

New recruits should bring "warm clothes, good boots, gloves etc" to Syria, he advises.

And regarding character references, Abu Fariss has this to say to one would-be jihadist:

"Aki [brother], I would like to migrate to [IS], will you be my tazkiya [character reference]," he is asked.

"I won't be your tazkiya, however I can help bring you in and [IS] will sort you out. Giving tazkiya is a very big thing," Abu Fariss replies.

Fariss will also chat with wannabees on a private chat service called Kik, when it comes to "sensitive issues" like how to deal with parents when they find out he joined a terrorist group.

"I am scared. I knw my pqrents will be in deep pain and sorrow wht should i do," the potential recruit asked.

Abu Fariss  had this to say about his own experience:

"Some understand, some think what I'm doing is wrong but support my intention...some think I'n completely misguided. You cant always please everyone, so why not please the one worthy of it, Allah."

Source: RFE/RL