Would-be jihadist women irked at Zawahiri's instructions to stay home

They want to join in the fight to impose a system that would give their husband the right to beat them and have multiple wives, give them half the inheritance of a male relative, and make their testimony in court worth half that of a man. But to restrict them from waging armed jihad to that end -- well, that's just too much!

"Al Qaeda to Muslim Extremist Women: Stay Home, Raise Kids," from the Associated Press, May 31:

CAIRO, Egypt — Muslim extremist women are challenging Al Qaeda's refusal to include — or at least acknowledge — women in its ranks, in an emotional debate that gives rare insight into the gender conflicts lurking beneath one of the strictest strains of Islam.

In response to a female questioner, Al Qaeda No. 2 leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri said in April that the terrorist group does not have women. A woman's role, he said on the Internet audio recording, is limited to caring for the homes and children of Al Qaeda fighters.

His remarks have since prompted an outcry from fundamentalist women, who are fighting or pleading for the right to be terrorists. The statements have also created some confusion, because suicide bombings by women seem to be on the rise, at least within the Iraq branch of Al Qaeda.

A'eeda Dahsheh is a Palestinian mother of four in Lebanon who said she supports al-Zawahiri and has chosen to raise children at home as her form of jihad. However, she said, she also supports any woman who chooses instead to take part in terror attacks.

Another woman signed a more than 2,000-word essay of protest online as Rabeebat al-Silah, Arabic for "Companion of Weapons."

"How many times have I wished I were a man ... When Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri said there are no women in Al Qaeda, he saddened and hurt me," wrote "Companion of Weapons," who said she listened to the speech 10 times. "I felt that my heart was about to explode in my chest...I am powerless."

And you're just noticing that now.

Such postings have appeared anonymously on discussion forums of Web sites that host videos from top Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden. While the most popular site requires names and passwords, many people use only nicknames, making their identities and locations impossible to verify.

However, groups that monitor such sites say the postings appear credible because of the knowledge and passion they betray. Many appear to represent computer-literate women arguing in the most modern of venues — the Internet — for rights within a feudal version of Islam.

"Women were very disappointed because what al-Zawahiri said is not what's happening today in the Middle East, especially in Iraq or in Palestinian groups," said Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors militant Web sites. "Suicide operations are being carried out by women, who play an important role in jihad." [...]

Al-Zawahiri's comments came in a two-hour audio recording posted on an Islamic militant Web site, where he answered hundreds of questions sent in by Al Qaeda sympathizers. He praised the wives of mujahedeen, or holy warriors. He also said a Muslim woman should "be ready for any service the mujahedeen need from her," but advised against traveling to a war front like Afghanistan without a male guardian. [...]

Indeed, would they be safe among the supposedly pious male mujahedin?

The Internet is the only "breathing space" for women who are often shrouded in black veils and confined to their homes, "Ossama2001" wrote. She said al-Zawahiri's words "opened old wounds" and pleaded with God to liberate women so they can participate in holy war.

Women bent on becoming militants have at least one place to turn to. A niche magazine called "al-Khansaa" — named for a female poet in pre-Islamic Arabia who wrote lamentations for two brothers killed in battle — has popped up online. The magazine is published by a group that calls itself the "women's information office in the Arab peninsula," and its contents include articles on women's terrorist training camps, according to SITE.

Its first issue, with a hot pink cover and gold embossed lettering, appeared in August 2004 with the lead article "Biography of the Female Mujahedeen."

The article read:

"We will stand, covered by our veils and wrapped in our robes, weapons in hand, our children in our laps, with the Quran and the Sunna [sayings] of the Prophet of Allah directing and guiding us."

The message is obvious, but one can't help but wonder: How can you stand with your children in your lap?