DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – An Islamist women’s group has launched an Internet magazine aimed at recruiting Arab women to fight holy wars against non-Muslims.

The Al-Khansaa magazine, launched about a week ago and expected to appear monthly, also provides fitness tips for female “jihadis,” or holy warriors, information on treating injuries and advice on raising children to fight nonbelievers.

The magazine, appearing on several extremist Islamic Web sites, claims to have been started “at the initiative” of two slain al-Qaida militants in Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz al-Moqrin and Issa Saad Mohammed bin Oushan.

In June, security forces killed al-Moqrin, who was believed to be al-Qaida’s chief in the Arab peninsula. Oushan, who was killed in July, and al-Moqrin were among Saudi Arabia’s 26 most-wanted militants.

The magazine said it was produced by the “women’s media center” in Saudi Arabia, an Islamic nation where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was born and Islam’s two holiest shrines are located.

Cairo-based Islamic expert Mohamed Salah poured scorn on the 22-page magazine, describing it as a “media stunt (by militants) to show their enemies that they can mobilize everyone, including women, against them.”

“What is new here is the use of the medium of the Internet to recruit women,” he added.

Al-Khansaa, the periodical’s title, was the name of a revered Arab poet who converted to Islam during the time of the 7th century Prophet Muhammad.

She later became associated with Muhammad’s close acquaintances and was known for eulogies written for her brother, a sturdy fighter in pre-Islamic days. Al-Khansaa also encouraged her four sons to take part in jihad to spread Islam. Her sons died in battle.

An unsigned magazine editorial says female Islamists “have set our lines next to our men to support them … raise their children and be prepared. May God elevate us to martyrs.”

“We will stand covered in our veils and abayas (ankle-length cloaks), with our weapons in our hands and our children in our arms,” it added. “The blood of our husbands and the limbs of our children are an offering to God.”

Women raising children, it says, must understand their “main mission is to present lions to the battlefield.”

Saudi journalist Saeed al-Sereihy condemned the magazine in an article published in the daily Okaz, saying its “rhetoric takes a very dangerous turn when it addresses women in light of their educational role and capacity to influence children’s upbringing.”

Evan Kohlmann, a Washington-based counterterrorism expert, said the magazine appeared linked to Islamic extremists who “know about religion and fighting, but (they are) not necessarily people who have an effect over al-Qaida.”

Its first issue includes tales of famous women fighters and criticism of calls for improved women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, a conservative kingdom where women enjoy far fewer freedoms and rights than men.

The magazine says even though jihad, in terms of actual fighting, is primarily a man’s duty, “women can fight without the permission of their husband or guardian since it would be a duty, and duties do not require consent.”

The notion is shocking in hard-line Saudi Arabia, where women are obliged to be accompanied by a male guardian at most times, particularly in public.

“Theoretically this sounds so interesting, but on the ground it is unrealistic” for female militants to be able to endure the same rigors as males, said Salah, the Egyptian expert.

Women did take part in the Egyptian Islamic Group’s 1990s anti-government insurgency, Salah noted, and at least four were tried for involvement in violence. Palestinian, Uzbek and Chechen women also have carried out militant acts, including suicide bombings.

The Tamil Tigers group fighting for independence in Sri Lanka used a woman, who detonated explosives strapped to her body, to assassinate former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during a 1991 campaign rally.

Kohlmann, the U.S. expert, did not rule out the effectiveness of female militants, who he believes can benefit from an element of surprise, as many people don’t expect women to carry out terror attacks.

“Using women does not really fit the (militant) model … which makes carrying out operations easier for them,” he said.

AP-ES-08-27-04 0351EDT



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