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.
“They want to force faith through fear…”
Although at this point in history, these particular extremists are the ones employing physical pain and death in support of their imaginary god, it has been true of other extremists claiming other religious authority throughout history.
Even now, in the 21st century, extremists claiming authority from America’s most popular religion use a “faith through fear” tactic (aka, eternal hell fire) to maintain and add new followers.
Religion poisons everything.
SWM, The POPE said bomb the mofo’s. more delicately than that, but said nonetheless. Here’s what I see. Of all the victims in the Middle East, women are the most victimized. Christian men and women are killed and crucified, but ALL women, even Muslim are victims. STRONG leadership from Western women can vault them to higher status by seizing the moral authority on this. The persecution of women in the ME should be the ENTIRE focus of Western women. The piddly “War on women” meme only plays to the choir. THIS issue plays to ALL people. If your girl Hillary could think out of the archaic freminist box, she could be untouchable as a candidate. A war plan to save women should be the main plank in her platform. I’m not being facetious or busting balls. I SHUTTER to see her President. But, this is a winner and ripe for a female candidate. Maybe Sarah?
Nuaimi was an extremely brave woman in a culture that was a misogynistic, fundamentalist, theocratical, male dominated hell hole. She was the epitome of a feminist. I hope her family gets the opportunity to leave and start a new life in a civilized country.
Nick ~
I would posit that Samira Salih al-Nuaimi held some feminist views.
Rest in peace, al Nuaimi. What a brave woman. My heart grieves for her, and for what she went through at the hands of those savages.
If we don’t take the trouble to crush ISIL while we can, we will get more of the same – more beheadings of Americans, more slaying of human rights workers, and more extremism. They are currently plotting to attack American trains and subways. The more they get away with, the more emboldened they will be to try more.
Muslim extremism is a movement of expansion, and never stays within its own borders.
Karen – the Obama administration sent 3 representatives to Michael Brown’s funeral. Let’s see how many they send to this martyr’s funeral.
So just so I understand this “religion”, torturing people, killing people, raping women. these are all more godly things to do than let each person make up their own mind about god? Yep, makes sense to me, NOT!
The Islamic State. Some terrorists claim that there is a nation state called the Islamic State. There are other territories which have been recognized as nation states which are clearly pirate territories. So, within the pirate territories of Syria and Iraq, we have this new pirate territory controlled by a new group of terrorists. One point to make here is that we civilized nation states need to form a coalition to wall off these pirate territories. Deny any American the right to travel to designated pirate territories. Deny any business the right to buy from them and that means you Exxon. Wall these pirate territories off by land and sea. Kill the pirates and terrorists when they come out and prey on boats and planes or people. Join together a military force and invade and kill all the terrorists and set up a new international colony run by the international group of invaders to administer the territory. Think about reforming the territory such that we allow some local governance but never assume that all humans are capable of civilized self governance. The BarkinDog Doctrine is starting to take hold in the Obama administration. They must read this blog.
Although democrats have been criticized here for not protesting the bombing of ISIL, executions like this make it difficult for most to have any desire to protest the bombings. I have seen a few protestors but I think they were mainly elderly green party members.
Horrible ordeal for her to go through.
This type of brutality must come to an end. It is not going away on its own.
“girls from the West like the two recent Australian teens” (*Austrian — not Australian — I believe.. but horrifying either way)
Let’s go back in time to Chile when, blessed and assisted by our CIA, pregnant women and others were thrown out of planes. Let’s not pretend that torture and other sorts of violence are unique to ISIS.
http://www.soaw.org/
http://www.soaw.org/about-the-soawhinsec/what-is-the-soawhinsec
Paul, The problems w/ Hollywood don’t amount to a hill of beans compared to the atrocities of women like this being tortured and slaughtered. It’s a total disconnect that many, you included, do not see. Rome is burning and feminists are fiddling.
Nick – women in Hollywood and in the theatre and young men, too are being sexual abused to advance their careers. It is not as bad as it used to be, but it is still there. The casting couch is not a fairy story. There are three issues that need to be dealt with, all serious. DiCaprio is a non-issue. Watson is an issue. Ebola is an issue. Women’s non-rights in Islamic states is an issue
Personally, I can do nothing about any issue anymore and when I was in the theatre I tried to make sure my women had as much power as I could give them (equal power). But I am out of the game now.
What you are not seeing Nick is that the same thinking that drives the Morality Police is Saudi Arabia is the same thinking that drives producers in Hollywood and Broadway. We have to change the thinking in both places.
Yeah……….. I just “Love” Religion…………………. And now I’m going to go scratch my back with a ‘razor knife’…….
Few things that man is capable of doing are as cowardly and ungodly as torturing innocents. While you may be amazed that young women would want to be subject to the likes of IS, it’s even more amazing (and disturbing) to see how IS ‘men’ brutally treat their own. Welcome back to the stoned age….
Atro – City is the capital of the current world order.
To show how completely insular and out of touch feminists are, Emma Watson gave a sophomoric speech @ the UN on how hard it is for women. She spoke of problems in the Western World like her being sexualized as a young actress. And, the equally out of touch and hypocritical Leo DiCaprio spoke of global warming while he flies the world in his private jets and sails on huge yachts, leaving a carbon footprint the size of Texas. Western liberals are spoiled, narcissistic, stupid, vapid, idiots. And, I’m just getting warmed up. For the UN to have the temerity to give these people a forum while shit like this is ignored is reprehensible.
Nick – I will agree with you on DiCaprio who has the same intelligence level as Alec Baldwin. However, there is a real problem for women in Hollywood and in the theatre and she was open and honest about it.
There is a very famous story about Marilyn Monroe on some movie yelling out to the cast and crew “Who do I have to f**k to get off this film.” There are more women directors now but most of them are in TV, few in film, few in the theatre. Yet the top grossing theatre project in the world “The Lion King’ was directed by a woman.
Having spent a lot of my years in the theatre, anything Emma Watson says about the theatre and Hollywood is true.
These aren’t people, they are savages and must be treated as such, meaning destroy them.
The West needs to come up with intelligent ways to suppress brutality. First, stop providing them with weapons. Second, stop using brutality to fight brutality. Third, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
doglover – honey does not work with psychopaths.
These crazy Muslims are emboldened. They see us bugging out of countries and they truly believe they are kicking our asses. That’s why their recruitment is up. I am not a hawk but we need to show power and resolve. No more half measures. Hell, even the Pope agrees.
The TV show “Legends” is working on a story about a woman fighting for the civil rights of Islamic women, however in their story line, I think she is going to be blamed for killing a Saudi prince (if only).
We can imagine exactly what was done to this brave woman and we need to honor her sacrifice for her cause. Feminists need to get off their fat butts and quit worrying about ‘trigger words’ and worry more about their sisters in Islamic countries.
Al-Nuaimi R.I.P.