Sexual jihad

Sexual jihad (Arabic: جهاد النكاح‎, romanized: jihad al-nikah) refers to the modern practice in which Sunni Muslim women sympathetic to Salafi jihadism travel to warzones such as Syria and voluntarily offer themselves to be "married" to jihadist militants, often repeatedly and in temporary marriages, serving sexual comfort roles to help boost the fighters' morale. The concept however does not exist in Islam as a religion.[1][2]

This article is about the alleged practice of Sunni women volunteering to marry Salafi jihadist militants. It is not to be confused with Love Jihad, a conspiracy theory about converting Indian non-Muslims to Islam.
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Publicity first arose in 2013, and the veracity of the practice became the subject of greater debate in September 2013 after the Interior Minister of the 98.45% Muslim nation of Tunisia made a public statement identifying it as a significant issue.[3][4][5] Critics dismissed claims of "sexual jihad" as unfounded and political propaganda.[6]

Reports and allegations

The term originated from an alleged fatwa titled Jihad ul Nikaah and attributed to a Saudi Salafi cleric Sheikh Mohamad al-Arefe around 2013, that called for Sunni women supporters to come forward for sex jihad and boost the mujaheddin fighting the Syrian government in Syria.[7] Sheikh al-Arefe himself has denied allegations that he issued such a fatwa, dismissing it on his Twitter account as a "fabrication",[8] and stressing that anyone who circulates or believes it is insane.[9]

Allegations of this practice are related to the Tunisian government's war effort against Al Qaida-linked terrorism in the mountainous Jebel ech Chambi region bordering Algeria. The Tunisian coalition government alleges that the practice began with Tunisian girls sympathetic to the Islamic jihad movement there, and then spread with Tunisian girls volunteering comfort to Syrian jihadis.[6]

In April 2013, the Grand Mufti of Tunisia, Othman Battikh, claimed that Tunisian girls were visiting Syria to take part in a sexual jihad.[10][6] In July 2013, President Moncef Marzouki replaced him as Mufti with Battikh alleging that he was replaced as punishment for speaking out.[6]

In July 2013, on a Facebook page claiming to be connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, a commentator promoted "sexual jihad". The page has been deemed a "hoax," and a senior Muslim Brotherhood supported called the page a "smear campaign".[11][12]

On September 19, 2013, Lofti bin Jeddou, the Interior Minister of Tunisia, stated in the National Constituent Assembly that Sunni Tunisian women traveling to Syria for sex jihad were having sex with 20, 30 and even up to 100 rebels, and that some of the women had returned home pregnant.[13] On October 6, 2013, a Tunisian official downplayed this prior claim, saying at most 15 Tunisian women traveled to Syria, though some were forced to have sex with several Islamist militants.[14]

The Tunisian Jihadist Abu Qusay, who was interviewed by Tunisian TV after his return from Syria, confirmed that stories about "Jihad al-Nikah" or what is also referred to as "sexual Jihad" are not just a rumors but are real, as he himself had experienced it firsthand. He also confirmed the nationalities of the girls who travel to Syria to partake in this kind of Jihad.[15] But some sources cast doubt on his story, and said he was never in Syria.[16]

According to several media outlets, after this supposed fatwa ISIL fighters told families to "hand over [their] daughters for sex". Despite Sheikh Mohamad al-Arefe's denial, the Daily Mirror reported that "leaflets in the captured cities of Mosul and Tikrit claim the women—virgins or not—must join jihad (...) and cleanse themselves by sleeping with militants. Those that refuse to do so are violating God's will, it is claimed, and will be beaten or killed. ISIL fighters have been taking women captive in Syria since last year [2013] when a Saudi-based cleric issued a fatwa (...) telling them to."[17] It has also been suggested that Sunni women from Australia, the United Kingdom and Malaysia have voluntarily joined ISIL as comfort women.[18]

In June 2014, it was reported by the Egyptian Daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm that a Kuwaiti television show Kuwait wa al-Nas had reported that activists on social media were circulating reports that the Islamist group ISIL (the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) put up posters calling on the people of Mosul to bring them their unmarried girls to participate in "jihad al-nikah" or sex jihad. The statement was not independently verified by either Al-Masry Al-Youm or by Kuwait wa al-Nas.[19]

In December 2014, the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights announced that one member of ISIL had killed at least 150 females, including pregnant women, in Fallujah who refused to participate in sexual jihad.[20][21] No images have surfaced of the massacre, and no one has been able to independently verify it.[22]

In August 2015, a Kurdistan Democratic Party spokesman claimed that ISIL had executed 19 women who refused to participate in "sexual jihad".[23]

Skepticism

On October 7, 2013, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that "sex jihad" to Syria was "an elaborate disinformation campaign by the Syrian government to distract international attention from its own crimes."[24] Hilmi M. Zawati, an international criminal law and human rights jurist, argues that the fatwa was fabricated and widely disseminated by the Syrian government and its allies with the aim of tarnishing and stigmatizing the jihadist rebels among the conservative community in Syria.[25] This has been refuted by Algemeiner Journal as cover up, as many sex jihad victims cases have been reported in multiple media reports and several sex jihad volunteers have come forward to give interviews.[26]

See also

Islam

Middle East

Tunisia

Japan

References
  1. Speckhard, Anne; Yayla, Ahmet S. (2015). "Eyewitness Accounts from Recent Defectors from Islamic State: Why They Joined, What They Saw, Why They Quit". Perspectives on Terrorism. 9 (6). Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  2. Rayman, Noah (20 September 2013). "Tunisian women go on 'sex jihad' to Syria, minister says". Time. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  3. Salama, Vivian (25 September 2013). "Are Arab Women Flocking To Syria For 'Sex Jihad'?". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  4. "Sex Jihad raging in Syria, claims minister". The Daily Telegraph. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  5. Chernitsky, B.; Goldberg, R. (1 February 2014). "Tunisian Daily Al-Shurouq's Campaign Against 'Sexual Jihad'". MEMRI.
  6. "Tunisia's 'sexual jihad' - extremist fatwa or propaganda?". BBC News. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  7. "شيخ سعودي يدعو العراقيات إلى جهاد.... المناكحة" [A Saudi sheikh calls on Iraqi women to wage jihad]. Al Chourouk (in Arabic). 23 May 2013.
  8. العريفي: فتوى "جهاد النكاح" في سوريا افتراء ولا تصدر عن عاقل | العالم العربي | أنباء موسكو [Al-Arifi: The fatwa of "Marriage Jihad" in Syria is fabrication and is not issued by a sane person]. Anba Moscow (in Arabic). 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  9. al-Jalassi, Mohammad Yassin (28 March 2013). "Tunisians Raise Alarm on Possible Fatwa Encouraging 'Sexual Jihad'". Al-Monitor.
  10. "Mufti: serving Syrian terrorists sexually is haram". El Alam. 20 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 November 2013.
  11. Sridharan, Vasudevan (13 July 2013). "Egypt: Is 'Sexual Jihad' Claim Part of Anti-Morsi Black Propaganda Campaign?". International Business Times. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  12. "Pro-Mursi protesters are awaiting signal for 'sexual Jihad': report". Al Arabiya. 13 July 2013.
  13. Nelson, Sara C. (20 September 2013). "Sexual Jihad Sees Tunisian Women Return From Syria Pregnant By Rebels, Says Minister". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  14. "Official: few Tunisian women waging Syria 'sex jihad'". Al Arabiya. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  15. Zen, Eretz (16 March 2014). "Tunisian Jihadist Confirms that Sexual Jihad in Syria is True from Firsthand Experience". Tunisian TV. Retrieved 23 July 2014 – via YouTube.
  16. "فتضاح قصة تونسي زعم "الجهاد" في سوريا" [The story of a Tunisian who claimed "jihad" in Syria becomes clear]. Al Arabiya.net (in Arabic). 18 March 2014.
  17. White, Stephen (22 June 2014). "ISIS fighters tells families "hand over your daughters for sex" after orders from cleric's fatwa". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  18. Shi-Ian, Lee (27 August 2014). "Malaysian women join Middle East jihadists as 'comfort women', reveals intelligence report". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  19. Ali, Isra Muhammad (18 June 2014). "إعلامي كويتي: «داعش» يطالب أهالي الموصل بتقديم غير المتزوجات لـ«جهاد النكاح" [Kuwaiti journalist: Daesh calls on the people of Mosul to submit unmarried women to "marriage jihad"]. Al-Masryalyoum (in Arabic).
  20. "ISIS Just Executed More Than 150 Women In Fallujah". Business Insider. NOW News. 17 December 2014.
  21. "Iraq: 150 women executed after refusing to marry ISIL militants". Turkish Press. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  22. "Photo of 'women murdered for refusing sex jihad' is fake". France 24. 18 December 2014.
  23. Withnall, Adam (6 August 2015). "Isis executes 19 women in Mosul 'for refusing to take part in sexual jihad'". The Independent. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  24. Reuter, Christoph (7 October 2013). "'Sex Jihad' and Other Lies: Assad's Elaborate Disinformation Campaign". Der Spiegel.
  25. Zawati, Hilmi M. (16 February 2016). "Sectarian War in Syria Introduced New Gender-Based Crimes". The Huffington Post.
  26. Ibrahim, Raymond (11 October 2013). "How Foreign Policy Magazine Covered Up Syrian Sex Jihad". The Algemeiner.
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