BREAKING NEWS: Moving Beyond Osama bin Laden

SAVE –Sisters Against Violent Extremism is the world’s first female counter-terrorism platform. To date, civil society, and especially women, have been almost completely neglected in the fight against violent extremism. It is naïve to think that Bin Laden’s death is the end of our struggle; to achieve long-term change, we must ensure that we tackle terrorism at its roots by engaging families, communities and societies.

Last night, President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda, has been killed in a military operation in northern Pakistan, almost ten years after the 9/11 terror attacks.

Bin Laden was a figurehead for the Al-Qaeda movement, acting as a driving force for the successful spread of the group’s ideology. His death is not an occasion for celebration, but a crucial turning point in the struggle against violent extremism.

In the last decade, we have learnt much about effective methods of combating terrorism. We must be aware that Al Qaeda’s forces might have the ability to quickly regroup if we do not react effectively at this critical juncture. It is clear that military approaches play a valuable role in reducing the immediate threat posed by terrorist groupings, and governmental and political approaches by their very nature move more slowly and can achieve significant change in the medium-term. However, to achieve a long-term shift in attitudes toward violent extremism and to reduce the allure of extremist ideologies, civil society must become a central player to effect a change in perspectives among communities and to propagate a culture of non-violence and tolerance.

The death of Bin Laden is not enough to eradicate the threat of violent extremism. The removal of Al Qaeda’s central ideological leader is, however, an opportunity to engage vulnerable communities, to join moderate Muslim voices with civil society voices across borders of nationalities, ethnicities, and religions, and to highlight the human cost of terrorism to create a powerful counter-narrative to Bin Laden’s violent ideology.

SAVE taps into the potential of women to act as early-warning systems in their homes, communities and among restless youth. Supporting women in their efforts to propagate a tolerant environment that does not allow for the development of violent ideologies is key to the long-term success of efforts to counter violent extremism.

The Mothers for Change campaign is at the heart of our work. In their central role in the family, mothers are key educators of the young generation and perfectly situated to recognize the early signs of radicalization in family members and community groups. To recognize and mobilize their power, mothers must be provided with the right tools.

This morning, SAVE collected the statements of SAVE sisters from around the globe, to share their views on how to move forward.

Aicha el Wafi, whose son, Zacarias, was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens in connection with the September 11, 2001 attacks, is a SAVE testimonial and sends a message to mothers around the globe:

“I would like to say to all the mothers—to the mothers in Israel, in Palestine, in Europe, and in America: There is no one else but the mothers. They must protect their children, and raise them to respect themselves, their countries, and others. When their children begin to see and hear things, they don’t always recognize the danger in it. I only realized what was happening when it was too late; I was naïve. I loved my children, and I thought my love sufficed to protect them from harm. But extremist organizations take advantage of children who do not understand, and love is not enough.

“I send a message of courage to all the mothers around the world. You need to seize your children’s attention. You need to show them how to be respectful, and you need to show them that there are good people. But you also need to show them the bad, and to show them which dangers are lurking. Love can move mountains, but you need to direct your children.”

Furthermore, SAVE promotes the voices of victims of terrorism who bear witness to the human cost of such violence. These courageous individuals, many of whom have managed to turn their grief into activism for meaningful change, carry extraordinary weight and can contribute to developing new strategies for combating radical ideologies. Their eyewitness testimonials offer a powerful new perspective to the young generation, discouraging the use of violence through a confrontation with the consequences of terrorist actions.

Gill Hicks is a young Australian who lost both legs in the 7/7 terrorist attack in London. Since the bombings, Gill has begun reaching out to young generation to educate them on the real effects of terrorist acts, particularly in volatile communities. She leads conversations with vulnerable youth, encouraging them to think about such questions as, “does it help any Palestinian, or does it lessen the grievances of any other group that I am sitting here without my legs?”

Gill says: “We must be aware that we cannot just kill an idea and an ideology. This highly concerns me. I urge people to continue to lead by example, to reflect that which we want to be back in the world. We can only fight the idea with another idea.”

Without respect for women's rights, there can be no democracy or peace in the Middle East

Edit Schlaffer, Executive Director of SAVE

Dear Women without Borders, dear SAVE sisters, dear friends,

Terrorism has become part of our life - the attacks on innocent commuters on the underground in Minsk, Belarus, is the most recent proof.

I am writing from the conference Preventing Terrorism: Developing Comprehensive Solutions to the Challenges of Radicalization in Dakar, where military and civil society actors, state representatives from across Africa, and experts from the West have come together to analyze growing radicalization and methods of containment. There is a lot of talk about the role of religion, and speaker after speaker stresses the fact that religion does not lead to terrorism.

Obviously what is driving youth radicalization from Yemen to Pakistan and Somalia is the perception of injustice. These real and perceived injustices feed into Al-Qaeda’s narratives and are part of their recruitment approach. Women and girls are still not key targets of radicalization and certainly should be recognized as part of the solution. Equipped with self-confidence and the right tools for debate they will be the driving force for moderation.

Anouar Boukhars, a US scholar of Moroccan descent brought to our attention in a very impressive way here in Dakar that the crushing of democratic hopes in Egypt will eventually lead not only to frustration but to anti-Western sentiments. This is a very timely warning. Men and women stood side by side in the Egyptian uprising, but shortly after Mubarak was forced to leave, new democratic hopes were put to the test. Women called for a rally to celebrate their success on the occasion of International Women’s Day, but they were beaten up and chased from Tahrir Square. The message is clear: thank you for the revolution, now go back home.

The rebels and revolutionaries have to keep in mind: Democracy is gender inclusive. This is our responsibility: to alert the international community to make sure that all sections of society are supported and represented equally in the political and social process.

Women are just as important for moderation as enlightened religious and other community leaders. When we call for more moderate forces to be brought to the forefront, women must certainly be recognized as valuable players in combating extremism. The voices and actions of women are in high demand - they represent a new global talent pool and are credible drivers against insecurity, radicalization and violent extremism.

With best wishes,

Edit Schlaffer and the Women without Borders / SAVE team

BREAKING NEWS: SAVE Yemen, Massive explosion kills 160

A massive explosion hit an ammunitions factory today in the town of Jaar, Abyan, among rising fears that Islamist extremism will be used as an excuse for President Saleh to stay in power. Maha* told us that 160 people have so far died due to the blast, many of them women and children. Yemeni people expect the government to announce that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is behind the incident, although most believe it is a plot by the government. According to people on the ground, government soldiers had left the factory, leaving it open for locals to raid. The blast took place while the civilians were inside the factory. “Yemenis think this is one of Saleh’s plays to prove to the international community that Yemen will descend into chaos if he steps down,” said Maha. “Saleh is playing the Al-Qaeda card.”

Safe hands could be a woman’s hands: protesters support Amat Al Alim Alsoswa for president

President Saleh now appears on television daily to make statements about his intentions. The latest reports show that he withdrew an offer to step down within 6 months, saying that he will only leave if he can turn the country over to “safe hands”.

Speculation that those hands could be female has increased over the last few days. Although many at first identified Tawakkol Karman as a strong option for change in Yemen, support has increased for another candidate: Amat Al Alim Alsoswa. Alsoswa is famous for being one of the only women to reach high government postings in Yemen. She was educated in Egypt and the USA, and became Yemen’s first woman undersecretary for the Ministry of Information, first woman ambassador to the Netherlands, and first woman minister for Human Rights. She is now Director of the UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States. “Alsoswa is very respected in Yemen,” said Maha. “Yemen has been ruled by queens before, and those were the best times this country knew. It would be great for us to be ruled by a woman in modern times. I doubt that it is possible, but who knows; during a revolution, miracles can happen.”

Women’s role in the protests is changing day by day. Women have begun to stay overnight in Change Square, sleeping in tents. Such practices would never normally be accepted in Yemen. Some Yemenis express their concern over Facebook: “One protester wrote on Facebook that he respects all the women who have joined the revolution, but that he does not like the fact that women are staying in the tents,” said Maha.

Discontent with international intentions

Certain segments of the Yemeni society have expressed their wish for the international community to ask Saleh to step down. After observing the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, Yemeni youth leaders expected a stronger reaction from other governments in support of their drive for change. The revolutionaries continue to reject Saleh’s claim that the country will descend into civil war, should he step down. They emphasize that, although there are a predicted 60 million guns in Yemen, the revolution has been peaceful from the beginning.

Sandstorm increases difficulties in Sana’a as revolution drifts towards stalemate

A huge sandstorm hit Sana’a yesterday, where people are still protesting by the thousands in the streets. Young people in Change Square are wearing masks and struggling to breathe in the dust-filled air. The sandstorm began on Sunday, and is predicted to continue for three days. Maha, our contact in Yemen, says it is one of the strongest she has seen. Some schools have stopped teaching due to the sand, but protesters remain undeterred.

Other sections of the population are beginning to lose their optimism. “Yemen will collapse economically before it collapses politically,” commented one Yemeni professor. Prices have increased exponentially since the beginning of the revolution. Maha estimates that the price of gas has gone up 50%. Gas is now hardly available outside the black market. “I do not know how they are surviving,” Maha said of the large number of Yemenis who live in poverty. Many of them live on less than 1 US dollar a day.

*Name has been changed.

Much more to Yemen than what we see in the news

Yemen is often portrayed by the news media as a failed state and terrorist haven. Alice Hackmann, who recently returned from two years in Yemen as a reporter for the Yemen Times, tells the other side of the story.

First published in Common Ground News Service. Photos by Women without Borders / SAVE.

 The beautiful architecture of Sana'a, Yemen's capital city

The British media’s focus on a young British Muslim woman who stabbed a British Member of Parliament last month once again shines a gloomy spotlight on Yemen. According to The Guardian, Roshonara Choudhry, a 21-year-old student who stabbed the politician for supporting the war in Iraq, told the police: "I've been listening to lectures by Anwar al-Awlaki.... He's an Islamic scholar. He lives in Yemen."

As the media concentrates on al-Awlaki’s online sermons, his role in the launch of Al Qaeda’s new magazine, and the Yemeni government’s ongoing battle against Al Qaeda, the real Yemen has been drowned out. Yet it is this narrative – that of the vast majority of the population, not of a few hundred militants – that holds the key to better understanding, breaking stereotypes and perhaps ultimately less extremism.

Inside a coffee shop, near King’s Cross station in central London, British-born Yemeni Abubakr al-Shamahi, 21, sips his hot chocolate and talks passionately about his home country. Not once does he talk about extremism. Instead, he talks of corruption and his fear that donors’ money is not properly spent on long-term development, he laughs at Yemeni parents’ matchmaking, and he raves about the beauty of the old city of Sana’a. No one he knows has been influenced at all by the radical sermons of al-Awlaki.

This is the real Yemen. It is not al-Awlaki’s falsified narrative of a West-hating, militant-training Yemen. It is a country of over 22 million people – over 70 per cent of whom are under the age of 25 – struggling for development and the privilege to join the World Trade Organization. On Facebook, this is what the English-speaking youth in Yemen are telling the world. A Yemeni-Canadian, Issmat Alakhali, 32, attracted over 4,500 users to his page, “I know someone in Yemen and he/she is not a terrorist!” which he launched in January. More recently, Atiaf A., another young Yemeni, started a video project called “I’m Yemeni, I’m not a terrorist”.

And yet, in an interview last May, Al-Awlaki said that he enjoyed free movement among the tribes of Yemen because “the people of Yemen hate Americans.” This is not true. Most young Yemenis learn English because, apart from it being the international language of business, they also dream of emigrating to the United States or Europe to study or to work.

 

For the average young Yemeni, daily grievances are far more important than politics. Graduates hope to find a job. Young men struggle to accumulate enough jobs to be able to get married. New couples battle with price hikes. Nearly half of the population lives on less than two dollars a day and social development indicators – such as child malnutrition, maternal mortality and educational attainment – remain extremely poor, according to the UN’s World Food Program.

Yemeni children

In the north of the country, hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have been displaced by six rounds of war between the government and the Houthi rebels. In the south, a growing secessionist movement threatens the unity of the country, while each month thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants arrive on the coast from the Horn of Africa. Nationwide, the next generation will struggle for water to drink as the country’s population continues to increase and its already depleted aquifers rapidly run dry.

Instead of focusing always on Al Qaeda, the international media should highlight the efforts of youth-led initiatives such as Resonate! Yemen, Me for My country, Ayoon Shabah (Arabic for “youth’s eyes”) and the Yemeni Children’s Parliament to tackle some of the country’s other issues. They should profile social entrepreneurs like Hayat al-Hibshi who set up the Assada Women’s Association to help girls from marginalised poor communities go to school.

The media should also highlight positive exchanges between the Muslim communities of Britain and Yemen, such as the British-Somali charity that helped to set up a day care centre for young refugee mothers in Sana’a earlier this year.

More media focus on positive community-led change in Yemen, instead of terrorism, would counter negative stereotypes of both Yemenis and Muslims in the West. The effect would be more respect for Muslims in the West, less feelings of alienation or anger among their children and, perhaps, less reason to listen to a radical preacher in the first place.

Saudi female cashiers fatwa increases women's economic vulnerability

 Female Saudi cashiers are forbidden by recent fatwa. Amer Hilabi / AFP via www.thenational.ae

It is now prohibited for women to work as cashiers in Saudi Arabia’s shops, according to a fatwa issued by the Senior Board of Ulema at the end of October.

Many Saudis have been expressing their frustration with the ruling, which is intended to prevent the mixing of sexes by preventing women from seeking jobs where they could encounter men.

A conservative preacher called for a boycott of supermarkets employing female cashiers back in August, violating a government restriction on fatwas issued by clerics outside of the Senior Board of Ulema. The board itself has now taken up the idea, stating that  “It is not permitted for a Muslim woman to work in a mixed environment with men who are not related to them, and women should look for jobs that do not lead to them interacting with men which might cause attraction from both sides.”

The Saudi Gazette pointed out the inconsistency of the fatwa with other recent rulings by Saudi clerics. A fatwa approved by Shaykh Bin Baz which stated that “a human being, man or woman, is required to work and practice business,” and that “it is acceptable for women to work for what men require and for men to work for what women require in a way that does not harm either of them.”

A piece in Okaz, translated by Arab News, pointed out the obvious gender discrimination present in the fatwa, asking: “why is it not considered gender mixing when a man sits on the cashier’s desk and sells cheese, beans and olives to women?

“Why is it not permissible when the opposite happens? Why is it considered gender mixing and against Islam when a woman sits at the cashier’s desk selling cheese, beans and olives to men?”

The greatest danger of this fatwa is that many women working in these jobs need the money urgently, as commentators have pointed out. This fatwa makes it even more difficult for them to support themselves economically. As many studies have shown, lack of economic and social opportunities is one of the main driving forces that encourage individuals to join extremist movements. Often these groups offer a sense of purpose and the opportunity to earn money to people who are otherwise unemployed or vulnerable. Several high-profile cases, such as that of Wafa'a AL-Shahri, have shown that Saudi Arabia’s women are far from impermeable to the allure of extremist movements such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Taking more job opportunities away from women can only be a step backwards in the struggle for gender equality and the fight against violent extremism.

Yemen and the "packages of death": Women's changing role in extremist organizations.

Although one woman's name has been cleared, we must be vigilant about the changing role of women in extremist organizations. Fahmia Al-Fotih gives us a unique insight into Yemeni reactions to the package bombs and analyzes why extremist organizations target women to play key roles in promoting their ideologies.

 Photo: AFP/GETTY via www.telegraph.co.uk. Female students protest the arrest of Hanan Al-Samawi

It has been a year since the founding of the SAVE Yemen chapter and I was hoping to celebrate the 1^st anniversary of SAVE Yemen differently. 

But again, Yemen has been grabbing the international media headlines because of 'infamous' terrorist activities.

Last week’s package bombs mark the first incident of its kind in Yemen, as it involves a woman, a young 22-year old student. The computer science student, Hanan AL-Samawi, had never thought that she would be a suspect of terrorism. Neither did her family or her friends.

Despite the fact that the name of the student has been cleared, the incident has increased fears that AL Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) might have penetrated the university system. At the same time, Yemeni people and human rights activists expressed their fear that counterterrorism measures might be accompanied by violations of human rights.

The students at Sana'a University demonstrated in support of their colleague who, along with her sick mother, was detained by security (female soldiers of the Yemeni Counter Terrorism Unit. For more on this Unit, follow this link http://ht.ly/36tSy).  However, there are some who say that the girl was arrested and investigated by governmental and national bodies.

The 'packages of death' were a shock for everyone, but the shock was even bigger for Yemenis. The involvement of a woman in such an incident was highly provocative in a very conservative society where the names of women are not usually revealed in public, let alone mentioned in connection with such a heinous crime and across the international media.   

More importantly, the incident has raised questions about the possibility of recruiting women within AL Qaeda in Yemen, along a similar vein to Iraq's female suicide bombers or Chechnya’s Black Widows. Many have started to wonder if the time has come for us to start hearing about AL Qaeda’s women.

When Hanan's name was cleared, many speculated a man disguised in women’s clothes might have sent the bomb packages using the personal information of the university student. Others say it might have been a woman seeking revenge (perhaps whose husband was killed by local or foreign security). 

Analysts believe that recruiting women into AL Qaeda in Yemen is contradictory to the religious and ideological beliefs of the organization. AL Qaeda believes in women’s traditional role centered on the family and house, and forbids male-female interaction. However, the call by AL Qaeda’s leaders in Iraq for women to take part in suicide bombing operations marks a turning point in the organization's ideologies and beliefs. The calls for women to join the Jihad are continuing. Some people ironically commented that 'there are some vacancies now within the AL Qaeda organization'.

Terrorists are aware that they are targets and thus their mobility becomes restricted by the need to stay undercover. From this stems the need to use women in the implementation of terrorist operations. In conservative societies, women are less suspicious than men.

Women have played - and still play - an essential role within the organization through logistical support (shelter and food for instance), preaching and spreading AL Qaeda ideologies.

Nowadays, the role of women has surpassed the 'traditional' role and goes beyond the provision of food and shelter. Undeniably, women play a vital role in promoting extremist and terrorist ideologies among community members and mobilizing and allocating money and human resources.

More surprisingly, in recent years, we have started to hear about the key role of women in electronic media in this regard. Alarmingly, a study has revealed that 40% of websites that promote extremist ideologies or who sympathize with AL-Qaeda are run by young women who are between 18-25 years old. The most well-known of those women is Saudi-born Om Osama who, along with her tech-savvy female staff, was running a magazine until she was arrested.  Of course, there are blogs, chat rooms and forums through which recruitment for AL Qaeda is taking place.

Again, a woman to become a suspect in a terrorist act is a new phenomenon in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, however, has already seen three high-profile cases of women becoming involved in terrorist acts and having links with AL Qaeda. The Saudi authorities have captured two of these women (Heela AL-Qaseer and Om Osama). The third - Wafa'a AL-Shahri – escaped from Saudi Arabia to join her husband in AL Qaeda in Yemen.

Yet, the positive thing, I think, is that people have seriously started to question the role of women in fighting terrorism and challenging extremism, which in turn will strengthen the position of SAVE and its mission.

Seeing these events, it is difficult to be anything but pessimistic, but I have faith that there is a hope or miracle out there to save Yemen. That hope or miracle stems from Yemen’s peaceful people, particularly its women.

Al Qaeda's First English Language Magazine Is Here

By Marc Ambinder

As the U.S. struggles to manage its efforts to influence opinion about Al Qaeda abroad, Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula has produced its first English-language propaganda magazine.

It's called "Inspire,"  and you can read parts of it below. A U.S. official said early this morning that the magazine appears to be authentic.

"Inspire" includes a "message to the people of Yemen" directly transcribed from Ayman Al-Zawahari, Al Qaeda's second in command, a message from Osama Bin Laden on "how to save the earth,"  and the cover includes a quotation from Anwar Al-Awlaki, the American born cleric who is believed to be directly connected to the attempt to destroy an airplane over Detroit by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Christmas Day. (The director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Michael Leiter, made that disclosure at a security forum in Aspen, CO, Fox News reported.)

The table of contents teases an interview with the leader of AQAP who promises to "answer various questions pertaining to the jihad in the Arabian Peninsula."  It includes a feature about how to "make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom."

AQAP's first effort to post the magazine to jihadist websites failed Wednesday, as many of the pages were contaminated with a virus. (I half seriously believe that U.S. cyber warriors might have had a hand in that little surprise.)

The U.S. is quite worried about Al Qaeda's new publishing ambitions, which mark a more sophisticated effort to engage the English-language world and to recruit English-speaking Muslims to join the cause.

The copy was obtained from a private researcher. AQAP had advertised for days that the magazine would appear with the interviews specified in the table of contents. It is possible, although not likely, that the magazine is a fabrication, a  production of a Western intelligence agency that wants to undermine Al Qaeda by eroding confidence in its production and distribution networks. The U.S. is engaged in direct net-based warfare with jihadis; this sort of operation would not be too difficult to pull off.

Since I am not completely certain that the clean PDF doesn't contain a hidden virus, I've elected not to post it just yet.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/print/2010/06/al-qaedas-first-english-language-magazine-is-here/59006

A Letter from Tawakkol Karman, Chairwoman, Women Journalists Without Chains

SAVE Yemen’s second chapter meeting was held in conjunction with Women Journalists Without Chains, and we have high hopes that this partnership will continue to result in productive discussions and actions against violent extremism in Yemen. Tawakkol Karman, the Chairwoman of Women Journalists Without Chains, wrote us the following letter expressing her views about the future of our partnership and her hopes that together we can start to create a new culture of tolerance and acceptance in Yemen.

Dear Dr. Edit,

I am very glad to cooperate with Women without Borders. You are a very crucial partner for us in Women Journalists Without Chains, not because of the slight similarity of the name of the two organizations but because we have many things in common and we very much agree on objectives and concepts, especially those related to challenging terrorism and extremism. We agree also on our vision of how to deal with the issues of extremism and terrorism. I have come to that conclusion after meeting Fahmia, your wonderful coordinator here in Yemen, listening to her explanation of the mission of Women without Borders and her talks about your personality, strength, and influence.

Terrorism and extremism are issues that our organization had touched upon before the world started to talk about al-Qaeda and its increasing presence in Yemen. We see that extremism is not only carrying weapons, but it is rejecting and marginalizing the ‘other.’ Consequently, it pushes the ‘other’ to resort to violent recourses to defend his point of view or to prove his existence. Using weapons, bombings, and other terrorist acts is a result of a big accumulative process that has started with disrespecting and marginalizing the ‘other’ combined with hostile attitudes towards him. This process usually starts in early age. That means that extremism is a result of a failure in raising our children, a failure in culture and the absence of belief in the value of dialogue and coexistence.

"A New Alliance Against Terror Cells" by Dr. Edit Schlaffer

Our fear of terrorism has once again caught up with us. It takes only one radical, who carries out his meticulous plans with deadly determination, to blow up the carefully constructed structure of secret intelligence and security measures. 


It is interesting to note the immediate reactions to the newest attempt to attack a passenger plane en route to Detroit. They include strict security measures from full-body x-rays to the expansion of the flight ban for those on the terror watch list. But: we all know that our security is not guaranteed, nor are the terror experts trying to reassure us. The images from a US training video that depict how the amount of powder Umar Abdulmutallab had hidden in his underclothes could blow up a Boeing in a matter of seconds will haunt us for a long time to come. At the very latest, they will reappear during our next overseas flight.