CROATIA: ISIL’s Western Balkan Caliphettes
With the June 2014 establishment of a “caliphate” in the territories of Iraq and Syria, announced by the self-proclaimed “caliph” and leader of ISIL Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, his appeal to all Muslims to migrate to these territories has been viewed by some “true believers” in the Western Balkans as a mandatory religious duty. A new wave of Muslim men and women from the Balkans, motivated by a combination of religious and other factors, have left home for the “caliphate,” where the Balkan contingent has supported groups fighting the Assad regime since the beginning of the civil war in Syria. The number of Western Balkans citizens in ISIL territories is not precisely known, but up to 1,000 are thought to make up the Balkan contingent – including male fighters, a much smaller percentage of female fighters, women and children who accompanied their husbands and fathers, some women who traveled alone (often in order to marry), and a small number of teenagers, most of whom have left home without the consent of their parents. The motives and expectations of women in this contingent are difficult to grasp; for, despite ISIL propaganda that compares living in its territory to being at a “Disneyland for Muslims,” the group is among the most notorious terrorist organizations in the world, infamous for its brutal abuse, derogation, and mistreatment of women. [...]
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