Samira Salih al-Nuaimi died last week as she lived: a brave symbol of human rights in a region of religious extremist and oppression. Al-Nuaimi, a mother of three and lawyer, was taken from her home in Mosul by Islamic State fighters and taken to a Sharia court for trial for apostasy in her abandoning of true Islamic teachings. This true Islamic path for ISIS then included days of torture and the executive of Al-Nuaimi.
ISIS took over Mosul and began a slew of executions under Sharia law that happened to include anyone arguing for human rights. Al-Nuaimi’s family was later called to pick up her body at a morgue. The corpse showed evidence of savage torture, according to witnesses. ISIS fighters are well-known for torturing captives.
Notably, she was accused of posting Facebook messages criticizing the militants’ destruction of religious sites in Mosul. That was enough to make her guilty of apostasy in the eyes of the Sharia “court.”
It is startling to see young women responding to social media to come at become wives to ISIS fighters, particularly girls from the West like the two recent Austrian teens (though one may now be dead). These girls give up virtually every freedom to join Islamic State which is terrorizing and killing brave women like Al-Nuaimi. The courage and sacrifice of Al-Nuaimi reminds every lawyer of our common obligation to human rights and the struggle against authoritarian rule. Few of us will ever face the mortal dangers that Al-Nuaimi faced every day. That should commit us to fight all the harder against voices against individual liberty and free speech in our own countries.
I cannot imagine (and do not like to contemplate) what these Islamic extremists did to Al-Nuaimi before killing her. They want to force faith through fear and Al-Nuaimi was fearless. That made her a danger. I could think of no greater symbol for not just women in the Middle East but for us all.
Yep, the 9/11 bombers were both genocide makers to most of us, and martyrs to themselves.If this planet is to keep its human population going for another 100 years, at some point it will need a UN type player that is extremely good and very powerful. The few good nations today are very weak; the powerful nations are very bad. But you don’t have to be prescient to foresee this role; there simply is no alternative. Such a force for good would not permit a nation ruled by faith.
He death is a real tragedy. Funny ISIS tortures and kills educated women even those who husbands gave them religious permission to act, however the “achievement they allow their own women is suicide bomber
Pray,
You statement needs defining…. Not all martyrs are criminals, and I’ve yet to meet a criminal that was a martyr…. What about Wallstreet, the Banksters…
A suicide bomber would be a criminal and a martyr. You would probably want to meet them well before the suicide.
A genuine martyr. Odd that only criminals are now viewed as martyrs.
They’re working on the contrived, political, US “War on Women.”
where is NOW now???
Damn right: Finally a reason to fight in Iraq. Just don’t lose track also of which ‘great’ countries are setting the stage for more extremism & terrorism in the Middle East & North Africa, namely the USA & Israel. ‘1984’, it started in 2001 & is really validating author George Orwell right now for his knowledge & prescience. Even the side switching we see today is so Orwellian.
* should have stayed
Max-1,
The right answer for Iraq is neither ISIS nor Saddam.
Go to pages 78-82 of the April 2002 UN Commission on Human Rights report for the “Situation of human rights in Iraq” under Saddam:
http://www.un.org/en/terrorism/pdfs/2/G0215272.pdf
The right answer to Aubrey Bailey’s dilemma is, of course – as Sandi Hemming points out – we should stayed the progressing course of our peace operations with Iraq. President Obama’s unforced error of prematurely leaving Iraq in order to “end the war” has been catastrophic.
Sandi Hemming,
If you want the truth of ‘Why Iraq?’, primary sources that are on-line provide a straightforward explanation for OIF.
Basic essentials for understanding OIF in the proper context include the 1990-2002 UNSC resolutions for Iraq (at minimum, see UNSCRs 687, 688, and 1441), Public Law 107-243 (the 2002 Congressional authorization for use of military force against Iraq), Public Law 105-235 (“Iraqi Breach of International Obligations”, 14AUG98), President Clinton’s announcement of Operation Desert Fox (the penultimate military enforcement step that set the baseline precedent for OIF), President Bush’s remarks to the United Nations General Assembly and excerpts from the 2003 State of the Union, the April 2002 UN Commission on Human Rights situation report on Iraq (pages 78-82), the March 2003 UNMOVIC Cluster Document (summary) that triggered Bush’s final decision for OIF, and the Iraq Survey Group’s Duelfer Report.
Same text with links here:
http://learning-curve.blogspot.com/2014/05/operation-iraqi-freedom-faq.html#furtherreading
My take is above it.
And, thanks for the save.
Darren, No small orchards in your area? Wi is virtually all small dairy farms, orchards, etc. You live in Apple Central. I expected you had very large orchards but it sounds like they took over family owned. If so that’s a damn shame. I think many of the apples sold in supermarkets here come from your state. The local orchards have a retail business where they also make and sell apple baked goods. Very Norman Rockwellish.
Help, Darren my reply to you was eaten. Thanks.
Darren, I am envious. During the winter in San Diego we eat a lotta seafood. I seek out freshwater fish when we’re in Wi. Walleye and perch are 2 of our favorites. The CSA is a great way to get good produce. I’ve thought about joining one but I like to support local Hmong farmers who have stands and sell @ farmer’s markets. Great, hardworking people. Regarding organic, I only pay the extra if, like you, I know and trust the farmer. I grew up 20 miles form the coast in Ct. Seafood has to be fresh. I seldom order seafood if I’m more than 100 or so miles from the source.
Nick, I retrieved your comment at 9:30.
Nothing like home-grown if you can find it. One thing I miss about the past was in the 1970’s a person could get a variety of apples and cherries where I lived, now it seems most are growing for corporate buyers who sell to the Safeways and such of the country. Their preference is for small apples, and few cultivars. It used to be a person could buy some very large apples, the trees had to have the fruit thinned quite a bit for those. I guess it is no longer economical; sadly.
Nick,
We eat fish five or so times a week. To accommodate that I buy about a year supply of fish at one order during the salmon season (Wild Caught US). I section the fish into two portion wraps and place these into the freezer. I buy three or four varieties. A person can truly save money doing this, especially pescaterians, because the prices rise markedly for especially salmon off-season.
In the summer we can buy a share from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for $550. With this we can have a box of freshly grown veggies every week from May through October, enough to feed 3-4. The local food is 100% organic, non-gmo and chemical craziness free. What we have left-over we will put into the freezer for later use.
So for around $1000 we take care of most of what we eat and eat better. I think its the way to go.
Nick – the chances of solving Emma Watson’s problem are a lot easier than solving the problems in the ME. Besides, I think, in this day and age we can multi-task. I still can, kinda.
I love Friday Night Fishy Fry’s in Wi.
Wow, Paul- “feminists need to get off their fat butts.” How about just calling everyone to do something to honor this woman’s memory without being insulting?
Max-1. Are you aware that WMDs from Iraq have been found in Syria. Also, large drums of materials to make chemical weapons have been found in Iraq. Saddam had Al Qaeda training facilities in northern Iraq. We shouldn’t have left!
I just ate some great grilled Halibut. I do all the shopping and 90% of the cooking. No sexual stereotypes in my family. I quit jobs and moved twice to advance my wives career. Most cheeseheads are out eating fried fish and drinking cheap brandy tonight.