From our sisters/to our sisters The discursive construction of ideal womanhood in the official magazines of the Islamic State

Abstract

Since the proclamation of the Caliphate in 2014, an unprecedented number of women have fled to Syria to join the Islamic State (IS). This fact, a matter of national security for many countries, has spotlighted the two major official propaganda magazines of the organisation, Dabiq and Rumiyah, since both publications are considered potential recruitment tools. This paper studies the sections addressed to women in the aforementioned magazines to find out: (a) the roles of women within IS as depicted by the two official propaganda channels and (b) the legitimation strategies used by the organisation to justify their claims. To reach these aims, I will study the data considering the legitimation models proposed by van Leeuwen (2008) and Reyes (2011). The analysis will unveil the ideal type of woman any Muslim female joining the armed group should aspire to become.