[PART 3] FINDING LOVE AND JIHAD
BY: ANA P.SANTOS
Facebook, Telegram: Dating and vows
The loneliness and isolation of migrant life transform the internet into a platform where they can anchor onto something familiar, like religion. It is also online where these women are exposed to extremist interpretations of Islam.
Bhakti cited a story in the 2018 edition Al Fatihin (The Conquerors), a digital magazine circulated in jihadist group chats on Telegram and WhatsApp. A two-page article entitled, “The Tasks of Muslim Women in Fighting Against the Enemy” detailed how women must take up the religious fight and encourage their husbands and children to do the same. At the bottom corner of the first page was a black and white photo of a lone woman in a burqa firing a rifle from behind a barricade captioned, “The courage of Muslim women in the Islamic State against kuffar (non-believer) aggression.”
Another edition of Al Fatihin released in the same year, contained a full-page illustration that could be mistaken for a feminine hygiene product had it not been sandwiched between pages reporting beheadings and other war news. A pink flower in full bloom fills the centre of the page headlined as “Jihad Wanita” or “Jihad Woman.” Surrounding the flower are 6 paragraphs about a woman’s obligation to take up jihad.
Once onboard, said Bhakti, “women can become more militant and aggressive, recruiting others or matchmaking other women with jihadists” who are looking for a benefactor who can bankroll their dream to be a mujahideen or a suicide bombing partner.
Facebook is the de facto dating site to meet men who introduce them to radical religious teachings, while Telegram is a virtual space where marriages and vows to carry out terror attacks are exchanged.
“Women’s involvement in violent extremism is shifting from supporter to initiator and now, perpetrator,” said Bhakti.
Filipino migrant workers also vulnerable
Similar to Indonesia, the Philippines is a labour exporting country where women make up more than half of the labour migrant market. Many are employed as domestic workers, mostly in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf.
There have been two reported cases of Filipino women arrested for involvement in terrorist activities. Lady Joy Ibana Balinang (also spelt as Lady Giro Bali Nang) was arrested in 2015 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, along with Syrian national Mohammad Shafiq Al Barazi.
Balancing had run away from her employer and was allegedly sewing together explosive belts. It was unclear if they were romantically involved or if Balinang was coerced into engaging in terrorist acts. According to Saudi authorities, Barazi was suspected of turning the home he and Balinang were sharing into a bomb factory and keeping a safehouse for militant fugitives.
In August 2016, a 32-year-old unnamed Filipina suspected of having ties to ISIS’ affiliate in Libya was arrested in Kuwait for joining the Islamic State and plotting attacks. Kuwaiti authorities monitored her emails and found her correspondence with the Libyan associate of ISIS.
“She confessed she was ready to carry out any terrorist attack once circumstances and means were ripe in order to undermine security and stability in Kuwait, as well as ignite sedition,” the state-run Kuwait News Agency reported.
The woman’s husband reported to be a Somali national and active ISIS fighter in Libya, asked her to go to Kuwait as a domestic helper. It is uncertain if these two reported cases were outliers or indicative of a wider trend of Filipino female migrants becoming radicalized.
Source: Rappler.com– 28 Disember 2019
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