The Heat: The mothers of ISIL fighters

The Heat

We’ve heard how the Islamic State has managed to recruit boys and girls or men and women, but what about the families these recruits leave behind?

It sounds like a horror story, but The Heat spoke to the mothers of children who they discovered had disappeared one day, later to find out they had joined the so-called Islamic State (ISIL), to take up arms and fight. This has been a reality for hundreds of ISIL’s western recruits – every one of them has a family they’ve left behind. But for their mothers, it’s particularly harrowing.

In Islam, the mother is highly respected – one Islamic scholar and confidant of the prophet Mohammad said:
“I know of no other deed that brings people closer to Allah than kind treatment and respect towards one’s mother.”

So, when these radicalized men and women leave, they do so at odds with that respect. And, their families are left in shock, with more questions than answers.

The Heat spoke with Christianne Boudreau from Calgary in Canada, and Karolina Dam from Copenhagen, Denmark.