Three Malaysians ‘join Islamic State as comfort women’

KUALA LUMPUR — Three Malaysian women have allegedly travelled to the Middle East as comfort women for Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq, senior intelligence officials said.

Jihad Al Nikah, or sexual jihad, refers to women joining the struggle by offering sex to boost the morale of fighters.

“This concept may seem controversial, but it has arisen as certain Muslim women here are showing sympathy for the Islamic State struggle,” an intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Malaysian Insider.

One of the Malaysian women, in her 30s, travelled to the Middle East last December. She went to Turkey before meeting up with middlemen who helped her complete her journey to Syria via land routes, said the official.

Another woman, in her 40s, is believed to have linked up with the Islamic State in April this year, the official added.

Apart from Malaysian women, Sunni Muslim women from Australia and the United Kingdom have also joined the Islamic State to perform sexual jihad, the Insider reported, noting that the militant group had issued an edict in June ordering conscription for sexual jihad.

“Shortly after the town of Mosul in Iraq was captured by Islamic State forces, people were ordered to send unmarried women to jihad for sex,” the intelligence official revealed. “In its proclamation, the Islamic State threatened to impose Syariah law on all those who failed to comply with the edict or decree.”

More than 600 British Muslims, including women involved in sexual jihad, are believed to have joined the extremist group, which recently uploaded a video showing one of its militants beheading American journalist James Foley.

Up to 50 Malaysians may also have been fighting for the brutal regime that has seized a swathe of Syria and Iraq, the intelligence official added.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday broke his silence over the Islamic State militants, condemning their actions in the Middle East.

“Muslims around the world have watched in horror as a new conflict tears into Syria and Iraq. As reports of mass executions and killings of civilians surface, and graphic evidence of brutality emerges, we have been appalled,” he said in a five-paragraph statement.

“When states fail or are broken by war, extremists see opportunity. They prey on the differences between people, using faith as a cover for atrocities. But they do not speak for us.”

He urged the public to fight the extremism with moderation and work to rebuild the bonds between communities shattered by the war.

“We are deeply saddened by the crimes committed in the name of Islam, a religion of peace. We deplore those responsible and call on the international community to act in concert to prevent further violence,” he said. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER