Her nickname is Um al-Mumenin — it means "mother of all believers" — and she was arrested for recruiting more than 80 women to be suicide bombers and masterminding 28 bombings throughout Iraq.
While violence has eased throughout the struggling country, the number of women carrying out suicide bombings has sharply risen according to US military numbers: 36 women in 2008 compared to eight in 2007. Unlike men who are promised everlasting paradise for martyrdom, there is little in it for women. The unsuspecting middle-age madam capitalized on this inequity by orchestrating rapes, only to convince women afterward that suicide bombing was the only way to escape their shame.
Women are ideal candidates because the long, flowing black robes they traditionally wear glide through security. The fact that most checkpoints are guarded by men, who allow them to pass without being searched, only makes things easier.
For now, the only relief in sight is that the US military is recruiting women for Iraqi security who can search women and, hopefully, counter the threat.
Dune
Chloﾎ
Calvin Klein
This is really sad! I am glad that there are more female guards to check women out.
1Liberty, martyrdom is non-discriminatory, women are promised paradise and even male lovers (the equivalent of the 70 virgins shtick) as well.
The rape story is horrific. More proof that terrorists are not born hating "us" and there is no way other than to annihilate "them" in order to save the world. Basically, if we can help create substantial peace, security, and normal lives for people, no one will want to temper with that and everyone will soon go with the status quo and drink their starbucks and complain about how useless their parliament is.
2This is all so sad... Its tragic because no one should have to suffer like that under any circumstances. And no one should recruit other people to kill other for a violent cause. Its like a complete circle, never ending and always growing.
3I cry for those women. They are guiltless; they have been murdered.
4It's sad that women in Iraq (and other countries) are made to feel ashamed and responsible for being raped.
5ohmygoodness!
6i hadn't heard about this either yet
that's disgusting
my heart breaks for these women, women bear the brunt of the war and it sickens me that the men who perpetrate these crimes are living in the lap of luxury and getting away with it.
7It disgusts me that a woman would plot to have other women raped and then capitalize on their shame. It makes my stomach turn.
8graylen, I completely agree. How could you intentionally orchestrate the rape of another woman? Why is everything so extreme?
9"Mother of all believers" is from hell.
10There are so many horrifying aspects to this. That these women were being targeted for rape. That one woman was manipulating so many other women into their deaths. That ultimately, men are using these women for something they will not do themselves. They are treating the women like their lives are disposable when theirs are not. Think of all the orphaned children! While they might hate the West, they are mostly killing their fellow Iraqis and Muslims (so different from what they claim is their cause). Just tragic.
11That is a sad case of humanity. It's amazing how humans are capable of profound acts of beauty and horrid acts evil. We are a peculiar creature no doubt.
12Jillness, I don't think we get the full story in our media. Talking to people who lived there and visited there many Iraqis say that these people don't even put up the "Islamic Jihad" story over there. They know they are killing innocent people in markets and prayer and not anyone from the west, not that a majority of Iraqis dislike the west.
These people are either in it for sectarian violence or to target Iraqis who are enjoying life after Saddam. Most of the people orchestrating these attacks are part of Saddam's Bath'i party and are specifically going after Muslims (Shia) and Iraqis.
The Al Qaeda structure really doesn't apply to Iraq, except in cases where Saddam's people are bringing in Al Qaeda people to kill those who "welcome the Americans"
This middle east is ridiculously complicated, the more I learn the more I know I have no clue. It is like Vietnam X 1000 - we had trouble there because we didn't know what type of warfare we were up against, with the Middle East we have no clue what we are up against in soooo many aspects.
13This is incredibly disgusting and disturbing.
14That is so sad on so many levels
15The only benefit I see from this is they are suicide bombing themselves out of existence.
16UnDave sometimes you have a way with words.
17That is so sick. These women are being raped and then manipulated on top of everything else. All I can say is that that's disgusting.
18Horrifying.
19Undave, you say lots of, um, silly things, but how does your warm fuzzy feeling about rape victims killing themselves fit in with your pro-life status?
20Pegona, I couldn't have said it better myself.
Dave, what a disgusting and horrible thing to say.
21Undave- Misogyny! Wow! I just sense so many warm feelings of respect for women, and caring for the broken and lost from your statement- a true Christian for sure. Ironically, your view is probably the same view held by the terrorists- "dirty women are better off dying!" These women were raped and shamed by a culture that hates sex and dirty women just as much as the conservative GOP. Thanks for giving me a reason not to waste my time on this site any more.
22OK, everyone calm down. I was not saying that the women were "dirty" and were "better off dying". I also did not say that I'm glad that these women are being convinced to kill themselves. What I said was
"The only benefit I see from this is they are suicide bombing themselves out of existence." meaning the terrorist (as in the men) are seriousily decreasing their gene pool, thus making it more and more difficult to find recruits, thus making it difficult sustain a campaign of terrorism.
I do find it interesting that you all jumped to such a horrifying and disgusting conclusion though, and also clarifies many of your (wrong) impressions regarding the GOP.
23Treading water must be pretty exhausting.
24"I do find it interesting that you all jumped to such a horrifying and disgusting conclusion though, and also clarifies many of your (wrong) impressions regarding the GOP. "
UD, the comment wasn't followed by a
, so how were we supposed to know what you
really meant after the succinct statement you made? 
25
@ em.
26"I do find it interesting that you all jumped to such a horrifying and disgusting conclusion though, and also clarifies many of your (wrong) impressions regarding the GOP."
I didn't think your response said anything regarding the GOP, just you.
27"I do find it interesting that you all jumped to such a horrifying and disgusting conclusion though, and also clarifies many of your (wrong) impressions regarding the GOP. "
Your seeing the silver lining of horrific abuse says very little to me about the GOP has a whole, unless the RNC adopted some new pro-rape-forced-suicide bombing plank in the platform I don't know about.
28My comment wasn't a joke, so why would I us a
? I find the misunderstanding funny,
in a "geez, would you stop jumping to conclusions if you don't understand" sort of way.
29good lord i got the meaning when he posted it.....put your talons away
30good lord i got the meaning when he posted it.....put your talons away
31I got it too Cat! Please relax those claws ladies!
32By being raped, you have brought shame not only on yourself, but on your family/clan, in the culture of that part of the world; martyrdom is presented as a way of restoring family honor. The best analogy is pre 1945 Japan, was the practice of seppuku (ritual suicide), to restore ones honor. By the way, men and boys were/are being raped by al Qaeda to get them to be suicide bombers. Real volunteers are kind of hard to find now in the Middle East.
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