Al-Shorouk Newspaper, 2014
by Taameem Almaliki, Project Nur Program Coordinator
Since the war started in Syria, we continue to hear ugly words. One such word is Jihad Nikah, which means Jihad marriage. In reality there is no such thing as Jihad Nikah in Islamic jurisprudence. However, any married couple that has sexual relations outside of marriage is considered zina (adultery). In the past, fighters would go to different cities and stay there for one year or more. These men would marry a second wife in the second country to avoid committing adultery. This practice has now completely disappeared.
I did not know the real meaning of Jihadi bride or Jihad Nikah until I read a story about a Tunisian woman having intercourse with 100 men in Syria, with the approval of her husband, to entertain them. The story claims that her husband took her to Syria and when they arrived he was told that she should entertain the fighters as a way to support the Syrian fighters. They did not recruit the husband as fighter. However, when he was told to do this he at first refused. He then agreed because he was afraid of what the fighters would do to him and his wife. Anyway, she had slept with 100 fighters and lived in a building full of other women who are doing the same thing. Later on, the Tunisian government captured the woman and her husband after they returned back home. The Tunisian woman told the reporter of the article that she lived in Hell entertaining the fighters like this everyday.
I do not like to read or see this kind of news, but they are everywhere now. It is sexual slavery. Money and poverty are a huge factor for women who are subjected to this kind of slavery. Women who agree to do this kind of work receive money, there are tons of ways to earn living, and another question I have: why do they think any religion would allow such a crazy behavior by wives?
I do not know how people claim to be religious, when they force people to commit zina or force people into slavery. I do not understand why religious leaders accept sexual slavery as jihadi acts in Syria. Do they not realize that this is zina, which is banned in Islam? Why do some married woman feel a sense of pride by doing such acts for these fighters? I decided to do some research on Tunisian extremists who are involved with war in Syria. It turned out that a clergyman in Saudi Arabia, issued a ridiculous fatwa that allows for these kinds of acts.
In my opinion, if the ignorant clergy men continue to declare fatwa or religious statements to be followed by ignorant followers who suffer from poverty and other social problems, then the Muslim people will continue to suffer from this stigma against their religion. Extremists and their clergies have hijacked their religion. An average Muslim should think one thousand times before following such stupid people. Not every doctor is good and simply not every clergy is worth following. The Qur’an called for people to think for themselves and following a certain religions and religious edicts should not be imposed, it is a choice of the individual.Unfortunately, the misery continues for women who do not have an education or a sense of awareness. They continue to follow their husbands in the name of religion.
The United Nations and the international community should strengthen their effort for women’s rights. Resolution 1325 from United Nations Security Council (UNSC) states the following in this regard. The resolution “emphasizes the responsibility of all States to put an end to impunity and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and warcrimes including those relating to sexual and other violence against women and girls.” We should all make an effort to adhere to this resolution and end this kind of treatment against women and girls in Syria and the rest of the world.
Al-Shorouk (Arabic): “The ugliest hihad marriage story, Tunisian woman Um Asma in Syria had sex with 100 terrorists, and the husband was only crying“
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