Mariam Raad
Mariam Raad is an Australian woman, whose husband took her to war torn Syria, when he volunteered to fight for Daesh. She married Muhammad Zahab, a charismatic Australian teacher of mathematics, who counter-terrorism officials would later assert had successfully encouraged dozens of Australians to live in Daesh-controlled regions of Syria.[1][2] The pair married in Australia. Zahab would take on a second wife, Zahra Ahmad, also an Australian, before his death in combat, in 2018.
The Daesh regime collapsed in 2019, and Raad was one of thousands of refugees held in camps run by Kurdish militia. The refugees in these camps included many foreign widows and orphans of individuals who volunteered to live in Daesh territory who had trouble returning to the countries of citizenship, due to security concerns.
In late October of 2022 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Raad and a dozen other Australian women, and their children, would soon be repatriated.[3]
References
- ↑ Livia Albeck-Ripka (2019-10-21). "Desperate Pleas to Free Women and Children From ISIS Camps in Syria". The New York Times: p. A8. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/world/australia/isis-camp-syria.html. Retrieved 2020-07-22. "While many women from around the world joined the terrorist group of their own accord, the families of all the Australian women in Al-Hol say they were coerced by husbands and other family members. Many say they are related by blood or marriage to Muhammad Zahab, a Sydney teacher turned Islamic State fighter, who they say delivered them to Syria."
- ↑ Dylan Welch; Suzanne Dredge; Naomi Selvaratnam (2019-09-30). "Married to Islamic State: The untold stories of the women Australia doesn’t want back.". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-30/women-of-isis-reveal-australian-network/11549490?nw=0. Retrieved 2020-07-22. "Mariam Dabboussy is risking her safety to reveal how her brother-in-law Muhammad Zahab delivered her and her baby into the grip of the Islamic State (IS) group."
- ↑ Matthew Knott (2022-10-28). "Government begins repatriating relatives of Islamic State fighters from Syria". Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-begins-repatriating-relatives-of-islamic-state-fighters-from-syria-20221028-p5btq1.html. Retrieved 2022-10-29. "Mariam Raad, 31, has four children aged under 11: Dujana, Haritha, JuJu and Sumaya. She is the widow of Muhammad Zahab, a Sydney mathematics teacher who became known as the most senior IS leader from Australia."
