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PBS’ “To The Contrary” The Extremist Influence, Muslim Women & the Hijab, Sex Talk Host: Bonnie Erbe May 13, 2016 Panelists: United States Institute of Peace Associate Vice President of the Center for Middle East and Africa Manal Omar, Founder of Anushay’s Point Anushay Hossain, Former Wall Street Journal Reporter Asra Nomani, President and Founder of the Republican Muslim Coalition Saba Ahmed Bonnie Erbe: Welcome to a special edition of to the contrary: Muslim women in America. First, what lures young Islamic women into terrorism? Then behind the headlines: Is choosing to wear the hijab becoming feminist? And islamic women pushing to discuss sex more openly. [♪♪♪] Erbe: Hello, I'm Bonnie Erbe. Welcome to To The contrary, a discussion of news and social trends from diverse perspectives. In this edition we feature an all­Muslim panel.Up first women and global terrorism. More and more women throughout the world are participating in terrorist and extremist groups,and social media is playing a key role in the trend­­­that information from a reporter for the Voice of America quoting leading experts speaking at the U.S. Institute for Peace. Coercion was cited as the primary reason most women join violent extremist groups, other reasons cited were women seek a sense of identity and belonging. One expert noted young women in the U.S. who belong to families from non­western countries tend to suffer from identity crises."Making them vulnerable to alluring social media messages and images from terrorist pitches. We should note "a total of 80 U.S. residents were linked to terrorism motivated by islamic extremism in 2015, that represents a nearly 200 percent increase from the previous year­­­that from the Anti­Defamation League. Meanwhile, the Citadel, South Carolina's prestigious public military college, barred a potential female Muslim student from wearing a hijab. Erbe: So Manal Omar Welcome back to the panel. Who is winning the hearts and minds of American Muslim girls? Is it U.S. culture or Isis? Manal Omar: I think what's really exciting is that U.S. Muslim girls, like a lot of women, are saying that those aren't our only two options, so neither. They're creating their open culture and they're trying to share it with the community at large. Anushay Hossain: I completely agree with Manal. We have to remember the diversity of Muslim women. They can't be fit into a box or two boxes. Saba Ahmed: And we have all the options and the hearts and minds of Muslim American women are influenced by all over global policies and discussions. There is no one factor. Asra Nomani: My concern is that the government of Qatar is winning the hearts and minds of Muslim women in America and in the world.That we have a hijamini that's existing, that's coming out of our Gulf states that is trying to put scarves on our heads and control what we think about the world in victim culture. Erbe: Why do you say Qatar? Nomani: I say Qatar because we have recognized for 40 years that the government of Saudi Arabia has been exporting to the world a very disturbing interpretation of Islam and now, below the radar, the government of Qatar has been exporting millions of dollars of their education material and their own propaganda and I find it very disturbing. I find it disturbing in a way in which it is creating a narrative that is very anti­west, anti­American, and very pro­Islamist. Erbe: Are you saying, is this where ­­ because I think a lot of people think Isis certainly got its initial funding from Saudi Arabia. Right? Not from Qatar? Nomani: Well Qatar has been supporting a lot of this extremism for the last 30 years and very much to the sort of ignorance of a lot of people. One of our disturbing facts that a lot of people people have just forgotten is that we had an F.B.I. agent land in Doha, Qatar some years ago, to pick up Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The government of Qatar picked up the phone, called him and he escaped and 9/11 happened. And so this is the details in history that were ignoring. And I do believe that Muslim women are one of those commodities that this government wants to also control. Erbe: You, you have spoken several times on the show about girls and terrorism. I figure, I see you as the world's expert as far as I'm concerned because you yourself were recruited by predecessors of Isis online in the late 90s. Erbe­ Well, I mean you always have people who are online trying to target and lead to the extremism. I think the challenge is Is that working as well now or are efforts to thwart that having any effect? Omar: I think that you're beginning to see more efforts to thwart it, but I think the underlying assumption and what, what’s the what’s the the problematic area in terms of the description that you just gave Asra is that you're falling into the same trap of Isis Isis. The assumption that theses young women don't have brains of their own. No amount of money, no amount of co­opting is brainwashing these women to make decisions. They're very intelligent. They're very empowered. I mean, I've been in the camps, whether it's in Kenya, or whether it's in Syrian camps in Jordan and in Turkey and none of these women have luxury of victimhood. They're powerful and they're making choices, whether we want to admit it or not.. Erbe: Seriously? Little, like the 300 girls who were kidnapped? Omar: The 300­­ I mean again I'm talking about women who are the actual survivors who get outside of conflict. Right. So when you're in the zone those women who are kidnapped, but I'm sure you've interacted with some of the Yazidi women who escaped. And those women are also, they don't have the luxury of victimhood. They're actually finding ways to re­incorporate into their communities. They've been on the Hill lobbying, talking about the horrors. Hossain: [indistinguishable speech] They're speaking out and organizing after being sex slaves to Isis for like 13 months or something. I mean we're talking Erbe: But let me, let's get back to American­Muslim girls because this is so important to our audience and to this country. You both agreed that they're starting their own culture. They're not really adopting U.S. culture. They're not buying into Isis either. Is that good if they’re, still if they're developing a culture that's separate from normal American teenage girls of all kinds of diverse backgrounds, how good is it for Muslim girls to have their own culture? Hossain: Well, it's always so weird when you have to explain this to somebody that isn't Muslim. Because I mean, I'm an American Muslim now. And I see American­Muslim girls all the time. I am an, I guess I am an American­Muslim woman. Not a girl anymore. But anywho, my daughter is. And I'm like I don't know she's in soccer practice. Like, everyone is doing something different. So what's happening on the Internet to maybe some Muslim girls who aren't integrating, don't feel like they belong here. I mean don't we all go through these questions in our teens. Erbe: Certainly all immigrant kids do, absolutely. Omar: You know, I mean you look at women of color, like the black women movement really created their own thing. You look at Latinas, I mean for the longest time I thought I was black in South Carolina and then I thought I was Latina and then I tried to be Desi, until I finally landed and my mom was like you're Arab. What's your confusion. Hossain: Well I tried to be Arab in college. Omar: You look for Identity and that's a lot of what's going on and I think that's the beauty of America. That's why America is so diverse culturally. Ahmed: I was going to say as a young Muslim American woman I grew up and I was not influenced by Qatar at all. I couldn't. I know I couldn't care less what they were doing across the world. I mean I grew up here and you know we adopted some of American culture. Some like you know we read teen magazines, we read like you know we grew up with that. And then We also had our Muslim roots. We would go into Sunday school, or like we would our families brought up our tradition. Hossain: And it’s evolving. It’s changing. I mean this last year Nomani: So I think that we have to recognize it's not about, it’s not about people being brain dead it's actually the disturbing part. This is a conversation also about terrorism and this is A very serious conversation that isn't just about, you know, fashion shows and these other ideas. There are women, Muslim women, being recruited by very serious radicalization efforts that are very much directed from from people that are ideologues. And the choice is what is actually disturbing to me. It's not about people being brain dead. It's actually about people intentionally choosing this.

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