Such an interesting perspective on stories that we hear in the news. I appreciated the ability to see varying perspective of those in similar situations. Would recommend this book

In Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS, journalist, academic and writer Azadeh Moaveni chronicled years in the lives of women who joined the Islamic State. Why were so many young women (often Westerners) persuaded to leave their families and risk everything to journey to Syria? Some had men in their lives who they had hoped to follow, while others thought it would ideal to live in a country ruled by Islamic law, failing to recognize the extent of the atrocities being committed. Even more of these women and girls were simply naïve, lost souls who were groomed over the internet. They come from all different classes, backgrounds, and countries but they all had something in common: they would soon realize their mistake. This complicated, thought-provoking read begs the question: where do we draw the line between victim and conspirator?

Those of us in the United States don’t have much of a window on the women of ISIS, and I thought this title might help me understand them better. In some ways this proves true, but in the end, I couldn’t finish this book and I can’t recommend it. Thanks go to Net Galley and Random House for letting me read it free and early.

Here’s a quote that provides a thesis:

Many of these women were trying, in a twisted way, to achieve dignity and freedom through an embrace of a politics that ended up violating both...The political fractures from which [ISIS] arose have not been fixed. History has shown that unless conditions genuinely change, a new insurgency always arises from the ashes of an old one.

Moaveni shares the case studies of individual women that have been drawn to the Islamic State. Although the organization provides its women with a measure of security and protection, promoting higher education—in the service of the organization, of course—and sometimes furnishing jobs, it draws not only women that are desperate for food and shelter, but also women from comfortable middle class backgrounds. Once they are in, they find it difficult to leave. Moaveni demonstrates myriad ways in which women provide essential support for ISIS.

There are three things that I liked about this book. The research is well done; the women discussed here provide the reader with individual stories and therefore humanize them; and she acknowledges the disparity between mainstream Islamic belief and ISIS.

On the other hand, despite disclaimers within the narrative, I was overcome by a crawly sensation when I realized that the author’s overall purpose is to rationalize the choices made by women within Islamic State. She says they are relatable; I am appalled and unpersuaded.

Those that dislike a dictatorial regime should indeed advocate for a better system. How great a risk each person is willing to assume is of course an individual decision. But there is nothing that justifies or mitigates the atrocities visited on innocent people by this dreadful pseudo-religion.

When push comes to shove, the only real dilemma for me is whether to provide one star or two in review. The second star is reluctantly assigned on the basis of the writer’s solid research; yet the ideas within it are entirely abhorrent.

Never, never, and never.

ISIS, Syria. They came from everywhere, Libya, Tunisia, Great Britain Germany, these young women came to join a new group that was supposedly creating a new state, a state where being Muslim was accepted, the true and honest way. Why did they come, traveling so far into an unknown future? For a variety of reasons. Some to follow a loved one, some like the Puritans who left England, came for the right to worship their religion in their own way. Some came from radicalization from social media, some from message in their own mosques, some in anger at the Wests treatment . Some were highly educated, some just idealistic, some thought they were striving for a better future, most ended up disillusioned as what started out idealistic, turned to violence and terror.

Following several of these women, the author details their fate, the heartbreak of the families they left behind, and the girls reasons for leaving and what instead they found. Syria, has been much in the news lately, and as I hope many have by now realized, the media only prints or shows the terror, but not what led them to this point, never is the whole story disclosed, until now. This book show the how and why we have gotten to where we are now, with ISIS currently defeated, but now with the US withdrawal from Syria, maybe not down and out. Only time will tell.

While the author shows compassion for some of these women, she is also brutally honest, even at times critical. Like those who were indoctrinated into cults, so too were these same tactics used by ISIS. What will happen to these girls, yes many are still teenagers, women is still to be told. Now held in camps, their home country's evoking their citizenship, not wanting any of the former ISIS fighters or women back. A terrific book if one wants to know exactly what is happening and what went so wrong and why.

ARC from Netgalley.

Being a teenager is complicated. Teens are notorious for rebelling—in fashion, music and activities. Add complexities of being a person of color in historically racist Great Britain or Germany, or growing up Muslim in an era of rampant anti-Muslim discrimination. Even in Tunisia, which is a Muslim-majority country, teens coming of age in the years immediately before and after the 2011 Arab Spring found themselves snared in a confusing time of political instability, economic strain, and challenging rifts between religious and secular practices. Such is the backdrop for Azadeh Moaveni’s riveting, in-depth study of young women who searched for purpose by joining the Islamic State (IS) also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Moaveni—a journalist who has reported on the Middle East for two decades—profiles thirteen young women who grew up in Germany, Great Britain, Tunisia, or Syria. What they have in common is their choice to become muhajirat, to join the jihad in Iraq and Syria. Many later became disillusioned and discovered contradictions with the pure teachings of Islam and atrocities they witnessed while in the IS world. Most of their jihadist husbands were killed while fighting.

There are no easy answers here but the author probes essential life themes and nuances of current political-history in the making. For readers interested in recent history of Tunisia, Syria, Iraq and the rise of trans-national political movements, Guest House for Young Widows offers unprecedented insights into the lives of people behind the headlines. This book is an essential addition to library and academic shelves. Readers and book groups willing to dive into many complex themes presented here will find provocative ideas for discussion and peace-building. Full review is live on BookBrowse.

"She looked at the girls in the shadows of the backseat, as they drove past grain silos whose towering outlines were visible in the dark. How little they knew what awaited them. They would soon find out that the caliphate ruled by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi troubled itself little with the Prophet's law. That his men used the ancient punishments meant to instill an otherworldly fear -- the chopping off of hands, of heads -- as bloody, nihilistic gang rituals. The girls seemed to imagine they were en route to some Romeo and Juliet scenario in the desert. How could they not know? Asma wondered what or who had bewitched these girls, that they would travel all the way across Europe and cross this desolate stretch of border in the dead of the night, in order to voluntarily become citizens of the place that, every day, made Asma question the existence of God himself."

In 2015, Iranian-American journalist Azadeh Moaveni wrote an article for the New York Times depicting life for some of the women and "enforcers" living under ISIS in Syria. It's a moving read, and demonstrates choices and reasoning of women working for the Khansaa Brigade, the female "morality police" patrolling IS-held cities like Raqqa. It also shows their resolve crumbling as the punishing brutality of the regime hits its citizens ever harder.

But surely the choice that stokes the most curiosity is the one made by women from outside nations -- Germany, Great Britain, Tunisia (although Syrians are also portrayed), often educated and living safe, economically secure lives, to travel illegally to Syria, marry fighters and live under the bloody "caliphate" seen as terrorists beyond its boundaries. What made these women, some of them extremely young, choose to risk everything, their lives included, to support this brutal regime?

In Guest House for Young Widows, Moaveni expands on the personal stories of former female followers of ISIS, including those introduced in the article from the Khansaa Brigade. Among the others are the infamous Bethnal Green trio of teenagers from London, a housewife from Frankfurt, a German who converted to Islam, and several young Syrians who chose cooperation for survival. She recounts their personal and family histories, immigration backgrounds, and the complicated factors that led them to decide living under the caliphate was what they wanted, that it was the only way. Moaveni is not sympathetic with ISIS, but rather with the conditions and circumstances, including failures in the women's families, communities, and adopted countries to address the issues that they sought solutions for in ISIS.

"I started out wanting to write a book that painted milieus. If readers could be transported and helped to hear and see Tunis, London, Frankfurt, and Raqqa as these women experienced those places, they could perhaps start hating them a little bit less, and begin to understand the histories of loss that formed in the context of their deeds.

But in the course of writing, I quickly realized that a vivid portrait of milieu was not enough. A broader canvas was required, because the story of the women of ISIS is messy and sprawling, and encompasses so many strands that it could simply be described as the story of our present, and of our recent past."

Over a dozen women are profiled, all with very different biographies but common threads running through them. Moaveni's writing is exquisite. You can get an idea from the article linked above, and although that piece stuck with me, I wondered how it would play out at book-length, which often means filler. But it's brilliant -- nuanced, sensitive, richly detailed, and most importantly, it illuminates the dark, seemingly unfathomable corners of this issue. It's coming at a crucial moment too, as countries worldwide are faced with the decision of what to do with the hundreds of women and children, including former ISIS adherents, held in Middle Eastern detention camps.

Moaveni intersperses chapters from the women's lives with chapters providing background and analysis on ISIS and the conflicts that gave rise to the group, including its genesis from the US-led War on Terror. This was well structured so as to be easily understandable -- no small feat for this topic. This includes some exploration of the men involved, as it's impossible to understand the women's choices without understanding men's roles and choices, or perceived lack thereof.

"America's War on Terror had created an enduring, transnational third dimension, a lethal space of limbo, untethered from the rules-based international order, in which suspects were passed around, held indefinitely, tortured, and executed. The West had become more extreme, and professed confusion at the extremism that arose in response."

Although it's written page-turningly, it's a book that requires you to pay close attention. Perspective shifts every chapter to a different woman. I found this easy to follow because the women's identities and backgrounds are so thoroughly established that they become familiar and identifiable. It would be easy to get lost in though, because it reads like fiction with often poetic turns of phrase, with the reader getting to see, and actually understand, so much about the women's inner worlds.

"The gulf that separated belief and disbelief was impossible to cross."

That's what's ultimately so valuable here, and I would go so far as to say is unprecedented through Moaveni's access, rapport, and patience in allowing her subjects' thought processes to play out. Why did any women choose this path, or feel there was no choice but going to a war-torn place of restricted personal freedoms and shortages of nearly everything, where rape, immediate marriage, almost guaranteed widowhood, and quick remarriages regardless of assent awaited? Here's how and why it happened. Here's where things went wrong. It's too important to ignore.

I thought this was an enjoyable read, and it was very honest and different. I think what I found to be the most disappointing was the fact that there was so much history involved. I understand that sometimes that is necessary, but a lot of the time I felt as though I was reading a text book instead of a collection of stories. I would have liked a lot less of the history behind the culture and more story. It seemed to ramble on a lot and I found myself skipping over those parts because I found them to be boring and repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed the stores but did not enjoy the overload of history.

A fascinating and important book that challenges the readers to look at the women of ISIS with clear eyes. Moaveni has chosen 13 women to represent the vast array of those who joined voluntarily or were dragooned into the caliphate. She winds their voices with historical information and data points that help explain parts of their individual stories. At least one of these women will resonate with you. It's a cautionary tale in so many ways. As another reviewer commented, it would be fascinating to see where they've ended up and their views 5, 10, 15, or 20 years from now. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Excellent work.

I can't say I liked reading about women who joined ISIS, per se, however it was an interesting look into their minds and their lives and what motivated them to join such a militant group. The history of what was happening at the time was a nice addition, however I felt that perhaps it could have come before or after each women's story rather than right in the middle of it. Overall, it was educational and I think it is a book that needs to be read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

a very powerful read but a little to detailed for me. I wanted to get to the details of these ladies time in Isis and it took a lot of build up and back story to get there I guess I just expected something different. Still an important read though and I did learn a lot about the Muslim religion