Al Baghdadi seeks big role for Daesh women
He created all-women unit to monitor female activity in Raqqa
Tracking information about Al Baghdadi’s multiple marriages has been difficult, but apparently three are officially registered and a fourth one is recent, and that was after the establishment of Daesh. All of his wives wear the hijab but not the full-face cover (niqab).
His first wife Asma Fawzi Al Qubaisi, 36, is his cousin and the mother of his five eldest children: Hufaiza, Omayma, Yaman, Hasan and Fatima. Very little is known about her, and none of Daesh’s top commanders have ever seen her in public or know for sure if she lives with him in Mosul. The second is Israa Rajab Mahal Al Qaisi, the 31-year-old Iraqi mother of his youngest son, Ali.
The most recent wife — until proven otherwise — remains the product of social gossip in Raqqa. She is reportedly a German woman who joined Daesh early this year. Nobody knows her name or age. The third and last confirmed wife — and the one we know the most about — was the young brunette, Saja Al Dulaimi, who he has divorced.
A snapshot of her coming out of a Syrian prison in March 2014 was seen. She was released as part of a muchpublicised prisoner swap in exchange for nuns kidnapped in the ancient Christian village of Maaloula. The photo revealed her light complexion; she was not wearing black, like all the other women from Daesh, but a long beige coat.
Saja was born in 1978 into the powerful Al Dulaim tribe, a seven-million strong clan stretched across Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Kuwait. Every Iraqi leader since 1921 has treated them lavishly, and Al Baghdadi is no exception. They were rich, after all, always well-connected and trustworthy when it came to a word of honour.
Secular resistance
The entire clan fell from official grace with the US occupation of 2003. Like the Baathists of Iraq, they took up arms and headed for the underground, at first leading a secular resistance to the American occupation. When Al Qaida surfaced, Saja’s father Hamid Ebrahim Al Dulaimi joined Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. This is where he befriended Abu Mohammad Al Julani, the Syrian Al Qaida operative who in turn, introduced him to Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
Al Baghdadi saw plenty of reason to marry into the Al Dulaim tribe, despite the fact that Saja was a widow, her first husband having been killed in 2010.
As a political and social nobody, it would make Al Baghdadi important, providing a tribal umbrella that he desperately needed in Iraqi politics. Al Baghdadi seems to be taking his cue from Saddam Hussain who played tribal politics brilliantly, treating tribal leaders like kings in exchange for unlimited support from their community elders.
The Al Dulaimi have been incorporated into Daesh, with Saja’s brother Omar becoming commander of a Daesh unit in Mosul while her young brother Khalid is part of Al Baghdadi’s entourage.
Failed suicide bomber
Her sister Du’aa is an Al Qaida member who tried, but failed, to blow herself up in a crowd in the all-Kurdish city of Arbil in 2008. Their father was a founding commander of Daesh and a member of its Shura Council. The Syrian Army killed him in September 2013.
The wives of caliphs in Islamic history have generally lived in the shadows of their husbands. Al Baghdadi, however, sees a major role for his wives in the future of Daesh.
Although Daesh warriors have done great injustice to the women citizens of Raqqa, this contradicts Al Baghdadi’s vision for the future of his state, or at least of his wives. He wants the state’s women to play an active role in society and even fight if needed.
One of the manifestations of his vision is the Khansaa Brigade, the all-women unit he created to monitor female activity on the streets of Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital in Syria. Unmarried foreign women who come to Raqqa are treated well.
Running their errands
They pay no rent and a Daesh officer is charged with running all of their errands from a distance, until each of them is properly wed.
Widows are given a Daesh pension of $300 (Dh1101) per month — a good amount when converted into Syrian pounds. European women coming to Daesh are encouraged to complete their university degrees before making the lifetime decision.
Al Baghdadi wanted to revamp university campuses in Mosul and Raqqa, restricting one to a women-only institution. Not only would its classes be free of charge, but women would get a state grant to complete their higher education.
Al Baghdadi is willing to pay Daesh women — and only Daesh women — in order for them to obtain a higher education.
It is public knowledge in Raqqa, says the wife of one Daesh warrior that Al Baghdadi wants to increase the ratio of women in Daesh. He reportedly once said: “This state has no future if it has nothing but men. Never in my life have I heard of a state with no women. We need more women!”