Al-Qaeda’s chick-lit: how to please your holy warrior

“GREET your husband with a smile when he comes and a smile when he goes.” So says a new magazine aimed at women in the Middle East. “Don’t dabble in his work,” it continues, and certainly don’t hector him. “Can you imagine all the bloodshed and bones he sees every day? Your fussing only increases the pressure.”

The magazine, launched in December, is called Beituki (“Your Home”). The publisher is al-Qaeda, which seems fed up with the way other jihadists empower their women. Al-Qaeda’s scribes tell female members to stay indoors and be good brides. “Make your house a paradise on earth,” it advises. “Prepare the food your husband loves, prepare his bed after that and do what he wants.”

The magazine appears, in part, to be a reaction to Islamic State (IS), which has called women to the front lines. IS has trained jihadistas to use weapons and given women a role in spreading propaganda online. Before the group lost Mosul, waves of female...Continue reading

Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2FG221o

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