Umm Umara—Al-Qaeda and Islamic State’s Mysterious Poetess and Jihadist Parenting Advisor
Umm Umara—Al-Qaeda and Islamic State’s Mysterious Poetess and Jihadist Parenting Advisor
Background
The editor and occasional contributor to the al-Qaeda affiliated magazine The Daughter of Islam, Umm Umara al-Muhajirah, is carving out a new, female role within the terrorist movement through literature and art, since the launch of her magazine in September 2017. Umm Umara was once a member of Islamic State (IS), having signed a petition issued by “the jihadist Media Platform” in support of the hijra of IS poetess Ahlam Al Nasr (Christian Dogma, November 11, 2014). Little is known about Umm Umara’s personal life; she was among IS’ first popular writers, but later turned to favor the group’s rival, al-Qaeda. She rose to prominence through the release of her book Children in the Incubators of Jihad, which provided a thorough insight into the jihadist perspective on child-rearing in the then-IS Caliphate (Madamasr, October 20, 2017).
The Jihadist Educator
With an introduction written by the radical cleric Sheikh Omar Mahmood (a.k.a. Abu Qatada al-Falastini), Umm Umara’s book Children in the Incubators of Jihad highlights the crucial elements of the jihadist group’s prospective on raising children (Bayaan, June 7, 2018). Umm Umara explains the necessity of militarizing children. This is done by introducing them to a system of all-encompassing militancy saying “their dreams, and conversations are militants, and their jokes are militant too” (Madamasr, October 20, 2017). The children are to be taught the meaning of “martyrdom, death and paradise, and they will be prepared for losing their fathers and one day to be orphans” (Alhilalalyoum, August 7, 2018). Umm Umara then calls on mothers to be the “incubators of jihad” by raising the children. This role reflects Abu Qatada al-Falastini’s ideology on female jihadism, as he writes in the book’s introduction.
Umm Umara’s meticulously-crafted writing (in Arabic, of course) shows the transition of IS encouraging female militants to focus on waging violent jihad, towards pushing women to be intelligent educators who think thoroughly about the needs of child-rearing. For example, in her book, she records methods of raising children from age two until adolescence, giving tips on dealing with each stage’s challenges.
She gives an insurgent’s twist to modern insights into child education, warning mothers not to expose children from the age two until age three to “weapons, or pistols especially bombs and burning liquids.” She advises mothers to teach their children the English language, in order to learn the “language of the enemy.” Umm Umara then advises parents not to use violence towards their children even if they misbehave, garnering credibility and allowing her literature to be appealing to a wider audience, especially of Western-born jihadists.
Umm Umara’s books are believed to be part of the educational curriculum of IS schools (one of which was launched in southern Damascus, as announced by IS weekly Al-Naba in May 29, 2017) (Aman-Dostor, February 1). Umm Umara has now adopted a role as a moderate educator who advises parents, especially mothers, not to expose their children to the horrific scenes of beheadings, and to make sure that weapons and explosions are out of children’s reach. This advice challenges hardcore militant educators, suggesting that she might be a Western-born jihadist who relocated to Syria to join the group.
Literary Couplings with World Renowned Militant Ideologues
Umm Umara’s collaboration with Abu Qatada al-Falastini in several publications reflects not only her prominent role within al-Qaeda’s ranks, but also her role as one half of an extremist team. Abu Qatada (born Omar Mahmoud Othman) is a renowned radical cleric who fought deportation from the United Kingdom to Jordan for eight years after being accused of being al-Qaeda’s spiritual propagandist. Despite his constant denial of any terrorist links, he was frequently imprisoned in the United Kingdom without formal charges. Abu Qatada is a significant figure within al-Qaeda who offered to free the British hostage Stephen Malcolm if the UK agreed to deport him to either a country of his choice or one of the countries that had witnessed the Arab Spring, but not to Jordan (Sky News Arabia, April 30, 2012). Abu Qatada was finally flown out of the UK in July 2013 and later acquitted by Amman’s State Security Court of conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts (YouTube, September 24, 2014).
By writing the introduction to Umm Umara’s book, Abu Qatada gives her an elevated significance within al-Qaeda. This kind of coupling has been a trend within IS as well, as can be seen with the poetess Ahlam al-Nasr and Mohamed Mahmoud (a.k.a Abu Usama al-Gharib). [1] These couplings are formed adopting an IS-approved template in which a woman will typically be paired with a more radical jihadist ideologist — Abu Qatada, in the case of Umm Umara’s book. He also contributed to her latest magazine, The Daughter of Islam. The latest issue featured Umm Umara writing passionately about the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip being a part of a “generation of honor,” bringing into question whether she is Palestinian by origin or at least a passionate advocate of the Palestinian cause. Her constant association with Abu Qatada as part of one of these ideological couplings to the Palestinian cause has allowed the reach of their voice and writing to rapidly gather global momentum (particularly on social media apps like Telegram), amassing their followers from across a vast variety of demographics.
Umm Umara’s feminized approach enabled IS to garner a wider reach, particularly to women who can relate to the topics Umm Umara writes on. These topics range from beauty tips, to marriage, and to cooking. She advocates a morally humane ethic that is manifested in her writing, especially when it comes to parenting and civil matters related to punishment and reward, and the significance of dealing with its psychological impacts on children and teenagers. Umm Umara attempted to attract women to IS, arguing that they would perform a different kind of jihad at home that was as important as that done by men outside the household, by playing a significant role in child-rearing (7iber, October 2, 2017).
From IS to al-Qaeda
Umm Umara’s apparent shift—taking place sometime in 2017—from dedicated IS propagandist to editor of an al-Qaeda-affiliated magazine provides deeper insight into her ideology. This decision could be seen not simply as a change in loyalty to another rival group. Instead, with the loss of the physical IS caliphate, the decision could be a pretext for Umm Umara to maintain her outreach to female jihadists, with the aim of giving them hope for the continuity of jihad beyond the dissolution of its territorial state. Abu Qatada — who has been a critic of IS, describing the group as a “bubble soon to burst” during his appearance before the Jordanian court, may have enticed Umm Umara to switch to al-Qaeda (YouTube, September 7, 2014).
Umm Umara often alternates between the language of an educator who gives tips on raising children, to writing on the role of female jihadists and drawing parallels to the heroism and honor of Gazans. Umm Umara attempts to humanize female jihadists as mothers who are responsible for their children. She has taken on the role of a jihadist child education advisor, referencing the use of a non-violent approach to raising children and avoiding exposing them to terrifying images of beheading. The woman with a worldview saturated by the beliefs of Islamist extremism, started her path to radicalization by writing several books that stand as a guide to jihadist mothers and their hijra to the land of Islam (Syria). It is this uniquely manipulative rhetoric that made her an important female militant in the Islamic State organizational structure, and now makes her a valuable propagandist to al-Qaeda.
The Rising Genre of Militarized Jihadist Feminism
Umm Umara pioneered the writing of textbooks and educational materials for children raised in the Caliphate. However, with her turn to al-Qaeda, her writing has grown into the women’s magazine The Daughter of Islam. Though this women-oriented magazine seemingly gives tips about beauty, parenting, marriage, cooking, etc., it is a feminine publication that is implicitly militarized. In some of its issues, especially in articles written by Umm Umara in the Ramadan issue, she relates the necessity of waging jihad during Ramadan to historical Islamic Muslim battles that took place during the same holy Muslim month (the 17th of Ramadan), during which the Battle of Badr took place. [2] She goes further to describe Ramadan as the month of battles and triumphs, in reference to the early wars with Mecca fought by the Prophet Muhammad and his followers, enticing jihadists to increase the number of suicide bombings (Akhbarak, May 8).
Analyzing The Daughter of Islam could explain the IS and al-Qaeda’s encouragement of women jihadists. The magazine—which is a high-quality production—attempts to embolden women to take on greater responsibilities within jihadist groups, such as becoming mujahideen and dealing with challenges in the jihadist refugee camps created following the fall of the Caliphate.
Most jihadist poetry is written by IS men and records their jihadist experience. The Daughter of Islam, however, allows women the chance to de-construct and examine their role in jihadist organizations. The magazine has the further benefit of allowing for longer form content, unlike the compact tweets of jihadist brides and recruiters which were popular among IS foreign fighters.
Conclusion
Umm Umara’s sudden shift from IS loyalist to a literary militant figure in al-Qaeda publications does not necessarily reflect a wider change of loyalty among the community of female insurgents. However, both groups are emphasizing their narrative through literary publications, in order to attract a greater number of sympathetic female militants, which would bolster their insurgencies. The publications, and the works of militants like Umm Umara, also provide hope to sympathetic audiences after the fall of the Caliphate’s physical territory, as their own experiences can be reflected in an art form or in textbooks. This cements the ideology in their minds, adding to the influence of the terrorist group.
Notes
[1] Ahlam al-Nasr is a Syrian revolutionary poetess turned Islamic State propagandist (Jamestown Special Report – Women in Jihad, March 6). [2] The Battle of Badr is a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in the Prophet Muhammad’s struggle with his enemies which has been considered a crucial victory in Islamic history, despite the few numbers of Muslims who fought in support of the Prophet.
