ISIS continues to mobilize while U.S. promotes democracy

By MONA OSMER

CNN published a video interview on Monday, Oct. 6 of a female member of the notorious terrorist group ISIS in Urfa, Turkey. Her story is one of pure despair as her country is being overrun.

She calls herself Khadija, although that is not her real name. She is 25 years old and is a former elementary school teacher in Syria.

When the Syrian uprising began more than three and a half years ago, Khadija joined citizens who began peaceful protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Barrel bombs and national chaos became a reality throughout the streets of Syria when violence swept over the previously peaceful demonstrations that Khadjia spoke of.

“My problem was that I ran away to something uglier,” Khadija said as she began to defend her engagement with the ISIS terrorist group.

Social media and the growing prominence of ISIS made the group easily accessible, and Khadija began speaking to a man online who was a member. He promised her that ISIS was not a terrorist group as it appears, rather that they are interested solely in implementing Islam in a governmental setting.

Khadija then reached out to her cousin who had married an ISIS militant, and she convinced her family to move to Raqqa, Syria, where her cousin lived and where a brigade of female ISIS fighters call home.

The Brigade is known as the Khansa Brigade and is made up of around 25 to 30 females tasked by ISIS to patrol the streets of Raqqa and ensure that women adhere to proper clothing requirements as outlined by the Islamic State.

Khadija’s story gives a profound insight to the power of the ISIS regime in its recruitment despite their radical mission. In fact, news sources all around the country are baffled by ISIS and their ability to appeal to various groups of people.

Fox News said that this is the main reason why ISIS is a far more substantial threat to international security than Al Qaeda ever was. ISIS’s ability to mobilize forces and attain profits that support their military are astounding.

The international community has a full-blown Napoleon on their hands.

Mobilization against ISIS is a well thought out stance against the exploitation of humans and their basic rights. While America’s track record proves that involvement in international affairs solidifies trade relations, it also shows that the U.S. supports the building of democracy, a system that breeds social equality and economic prosperity.

Khadija’s story shows the severity of the ongoing civil war in Syria. It clearly shows the violent nature of ISIS, the power of its manipulation and the realization that although one can be easily swept into a revolution that gains legitimacy, the minute it becomes violent and oppressive it is no longer supported. However, that does not mean it is not successful. A group like ISIS is gaining legitimacy and a strong foothold in Syria, as well as in Iraq, and it is therefore imperative that international forces squash its advances.