“British mujahideen, from London, other foreigners, French, there are four Somalis staying nearby. Women. Their children are with them. I can take pictures of the kids. Do you want me to? They have a play area where the women take the children.”
“I just need the Norwegian ones!”
Osman did not get it. This was not really his thing.
“To be honest at the moment my mind is pretty occupied with the operation to rescue your girls. We were up until two last night planning, and now we’re all set but you have to send us the money.”
“Seek out information, no matter how insignificant, about Norwegian foreign fighters, make that your focus, bit by bit. It will yield a profit,” Sadiq replied.
When it came to his son-in-law, other tipsters stole a march on him.
On February 16, 2015, the online edition of Dagbladet reported: “IS leader from Bærum reported killed last autumn. But he was never dead. In actual fact he was badly wounded—but after receiving treatment at a hospital, where he managed to remain under the radar of Western authorities, Dagbladet can confirm that the twenty-four-year-old has been discharged and has returned to active service for IS.”
Sadiq’s son-in-law had, according to the newspaper, been promoted to a “midlevel command position, equivalent to the rank of sergeant in Norway.” According to the report, the twenty-four-year-old from Bærum, who went by the name Abu Siddiq in Syria, had been appointed to collect taxes on the Syrian oil IS exported via informal channels over the border into Turkey.
Sadiq had to pull himself together. He had known about this for a long time. Information was his new currency.
28
HOUSEWIVES OF RAQQA
Amanifesto appeared that spring. It was distributed in the way jihadists in 2015 preferred—online. Posted by the women’s brigade al-Khansa, it was titled “Women in the Islamic State: Manifesto and Case Study.”
Usually articles and documents were quickly translated into English, French, and Russian, but the women’s statement was published only in Arabic. Consequently, it escaped the notice of Western women considering a life in the Islamic State. It was aimed at women in the Arab world, particularly women in the Gulf, who were living lives not so dissimilar from what they could expect in the caliphate, minus the bombing. The manifesto urged all the women of Saudi Arabia to abandon that stronghold of hypocrisy in favor of the caliphate, in order to fulfill God’s plan for women as wives and mothers. Living for her family was a woman’s “divine right.”
The manifesto echoed the sentiments expressed in Halal Dating: Always keep an eye out for the devil. He never let up, he would pierce a woman’s heart, tempt her to undress in the sight of others, and encourage her to scorn God’s creation by having surgery on her nose, ears, and cheeks—or “hang things from her ears,… have hair in some places and not in others.” The devil’s work flourished in clothing stores and beauty salons, the authors warned.
“Abide in your houses! Do not display yourselves as was the display of the former times of ignorance!” the Koran 33:33 decreed. This was God’s command to the wives of the Prophet. For IS, the edict was to be obeyed by all women, only in some circumstances was it halal to go out. Doctors and teachers could work, but never more than three days a week. A woman could leave the home to study Islam, or if chosen to wage jihad, as long as she remained wary of the devil and was properly covered up.
This meant full niqab, ideally in three layers, and also covering the eyes. A woman being veiled and hidden from men was always preferable. But that did not take away her importance. A woman’s role could be likened to that of director—“the most important person in a production, who is behind the scenes organizing.”
The authors of the manifesto used the same rhetorical devices as the radical preachers Ayan had listened to prior to her departure: first ridicule, then threats. Western civilization was obsessed with science and carried out research on “the brain cells of crows, grains of sand, and the arteries of fish,” a distraction from the fundamental purpose of humanity—to worship God. Everything that went against or took time from the praise and veneration of God led directly to hell. As the Prophet said, “My prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for God, Lord of the worlds.” The blame for women being forced out of their natural state was ascribed to feminism. This had caused both sexes to become confused and lose sight of their distinctive characteristics. Only in the caliphate were Real Men and Real Women to be found, because God had created woman “of Adam and for Adam.” Women had forgotten their fundamental roles, and the destructive consequence of this “was obvious to anyone who looked.” Modern society was the work of the devil, under the guise of words like “development,” “progress,” and “culture.” The authors did, however, grant some latitude regarding the use of modern technology; sciences that “helped facilitate the lives of Muslims and their affairs” were permissible.
The tone was a religious variation on Soviet propaganda texts. Everyone was enthusiastic, well fed, and strong in belief. “Al-Khansa Media traveled these lands to check on the happy situation that Muslim women face on their return to what was there at the dawn of Islam. We saw the black robes that enrage the hypocrites and their friends and the progress that the state brings us. We are ascending to the summit of this glory through the expansion of the State of Muslims.”
The manifesto concluded with a call to rally for jihad: “Despite the raging war and the continued coalition against the Islamic State, the bombers in the sky flying back and forth, despite all this destruction, we find continued, patient, and steadfast construction, thanks be to God.”
Onward!
* * *
In the caliphate, a man had the
