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RAND Voices of Jihad Database

Recent Jihadist message board circulations have included a document encouraging women to take an active role in Jihad. This role does not involve active fighting, but it calls for women to encourage and support men in their active quest to join Jihad.

The document was allegedly written by Yusuf al-Ayiri, a former al-Qaeda leader and its chief propagandist who lived in Saudi Arabia and was subsequently killed by Saudi security forces in May 2003. Within, it cites Quranic verses and historical accounts of female "mujahidat" to encourage women to participate in Jihad.

"My sister," the author states, "you might hear these stories and think that they have been fabricated, but once you will learn that even today there are women similar to those of the past, you will believe the stories about [the women in] the past".

While explicitly stating that women should not actively engage in physical combat, the document does emphasizes the power that women hold over men, reminding them that their role in Jihad is a vital necessity for the entire Muslim Ummah (Community).

"We do not want you to enter the land of combat," the document reads, "for this might lead to vulgarity and temptation."

"The reason we address women in these pages is our observation that when a woman is convinced of something, no one will spur a man to fulfill it like she will. The saying 'Behind every great man stands a woman' was true for Muslim women at these times, for behind every great Mujahid stood a woman."

A summary of the document with translated highlights is provided to our Intel Service members.

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