Al-Qaeda has launched a women's magazine Al Shamikha (meaning the majestic woman), which mixes tips on skin care with articles on 'marrying a mujahedeen' and carrying out suicide attacks. The first issue of the 30-page publication was released recently by the al Qaeda-affiliated Al Fajr Media Centre and must be ordered online.
Its cover features the barrel of a sub-machine gun next to the image of a woman in a veil. The magazine features exclusive interviews with martyrs' wives who praise their husbands' decisions to die in suicide bombings. Many of the featured articles have female authors.
According to its editor Saleh Youssef, the aim of the magazine is to educate women and involve them in the war against the enemies of Islam. " Because women constitute half of the population - and one might even say that they are the population since they give birth to the next generation - the enemies of Islam are bent on preventing the Muslim woman from knowing the truth about her religion and her role, since they know all too well what would happen if women entered the field of jihad." "The nation of Islam needs women who know the truth about their religion and about the battle and its dimensions and know what is expected of them," he added.
The US security establishment is reportedly concerned with al Qa'ida's publishing ambitions, which are evidently seek to recruit more followers from the Muslim world. The launch of Al-Shamikha comes nine months after al Qaeda launched an English glossy, Inspire, a magazine targeting young Muslims in the West, whom it hopes to incite to acts of terrorism. Inspire is believed to be edited by a US citizen-turned-militant, Samir Khan, currently in hiding in Yemen.
