Al-Qaeda has launched a women’s magazine, according to a report in the UK’s Daily Mail. The magazine is called Al-Shamikha, which means The Majestic Woman, and its first issue contains 31 pages of beauty, fashion and lifestyle tips appropriate for a terrorist.
Al-Shamikha features articles that range from the benign to the bellicose. There’s an article on making a honey face mask and another warning against exfoliating too aggressively. Another article advises readers that to maintain a clear complexion they should stay indoors with their faces covered and “not go out except when necessary.” When it is, readers are told to wear a niqab, a veil which covers the face, for “rewards by complying with the command of Allah Almighty.” Another article offers dating advice on “marrying a mujahideen.” Readers are also told that it’s their duty to raise children to be mujahideen who are ready for jihad.
An editorial explains that the magazine’s mission is to educate women and involve them in the war against the enemies of Islam. One of the publication’s articles is about a woman who glorifies her suicide-bomber husband for his bravery; another calls on readers to give their lives for the extremist Islamist cause.
The Daily Mail reports that the magazine “is being distributed online by the same Al-Qaeda media wing behind Inspire, a similarly slick magazine that encourages young Muslims in the West to commit terrorist atrocities.” The Daily Mail quotes James Brandon of Quilliam, an anti-extremism think tank who says, “Al-Qaeda see how effective magazines are at pushing the ideals of western culture and want to try the same thing. As a result, they have come up with a jihadist’s version of Cosmopolitan magazine.”
