International Manhunt for Female Suspect in Paris Terror Attack; Women in Terrorism
LEMON: There's an international manhunt for Hayat Boumediene, the female suspect in the Paris terror attack. But, she's not the first woman to get caught up in terrorism. CNN's Ana Cabrera has more.</s>ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is among the most dangerous woman in the world, just 26-year-old, Hayat Boumediene. Camera's catching her writing at the Istanbul airport on January 2nd. Authorities now believe she's somewhere in Syria. Her boyfriend Amedy Coulibaly, pledging a legion to ISIS before, allegedly was taking the lives of four people inside of a kosher food store in Paris last week, along with a policewoman. His lawyer claims Boumediene is even more radical than her boyfriend. Authority says Boumediene and also has ties to the Kouachi brothers, who stormed the offices of Charlie Hebdo. They say she exchange about 500 phone calls with the wife of Cherif Kouachi in 2014. So how did this western Muslim woman become one of the most wanted? That's unclear.</s>ZUNERA MAZHAR, MUSLIM WOMAN: It's that sense of belonging and unfortunately a lot of times this sense of belonging is coming from -- you know, seeking a higher purpose.</s>CABRERA: Zunera Mazhar knows how easily it can be to foul play (ph) to a radical ideology. It almost happened to her after 9/11.</s>MAZHAR: I really had a struggle to find my place in the society. I started getting on the blogs, getting on the forums. I saw this extreme version of Islam. I was 18 at the time.</s>CABRERA: 19-year-old Shannon Conley family says that something similar happened to their daughter. The Colorado teen is set to be sentenced later this month. After admitting, she tries to go to Syria to marry an ISIS fighter and become a nurse in an ISIS camp. Her lawyer claims she went online to learn more about Islam, but got trapped in the web of an internet savvy jihadist organization with sophisticated marketing. So what it is about their messaging? Do you think that's connecting with women?</s>DR. ANDREA STANTON, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ISLAMIC STUDIES AND UNDERGRADUATE ADVISER, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER: I think first and foremost, there's now an appeal being made to women. ISIS is under really good job of suggesting precisely that. That -- hey, look, you know you have a role here too, women. It's not -- this is, you know, extremism is not just for men.</s>CABRERA: Religious studies scholar Dr. Andrea Stanton, suggest bringing women into the ranks is a new phenomenon.</s>STANTON: I think that it would appeal particularly to, women who grow up in a western European or a North American context, because they expect more equitable treatment.</s>CABRERA: Look, no further than yet another case, three Denver area high schoolers, just 15, 16 and 17 years old. The girls ran away from home in October and made it halfway to Syria before they were stopped by authorities in Germany. A group that tracks international terrorists analyzed the girl's social media activity and discovered they have been in communication with female recruiters, so-called ISIS sisters.</s>MAZHAR: I know we need more Muslim wife (ph) says who can go out there and to wait -- this is not Islam.</s>CABRERA: Compelled to speak out after what has happened in Paris, Mazhar posted this I-report on cnn.com. Hoping to start an educated conversation about Islam, which she believes saved her when she was drifting towards radicalization.</s>MAZHAR: I was able to get out of it as I read about more open-minded scholars, it allowed me to kind of come back, revert from that and really realize that the meaning of Islam just like any other religion is, is oneness.</s>CABRERA: A message she wants to teach her 6-year-old daughter, and the rest of the world. Ana Cabrera, CNN Denver.</s>LEMON: Fascinating. Let's talk now with Zainab Salbi, she's the founder of Women for Women International and author of Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam. I am so grateful to have you here tonight, and I can't wait to talk to you. So, we've -- let's talk about Hayat Boumediene, how important is she now to terrorist groups?</s>ZAINAB SALBI, FOUNDER OF WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: She's...</s>LEMON: She's the most wanted woman in the world.</s>SALBI: She's very important. You know, the terrorist organizations whether ISIS, Al-Qaeda or particularly ISIS are appealing to women. They are giving them a sense of purpose, they're telling them you can belong to us and you have -- you know, we will honor you and we will take you, and you can be part of our mission. They're not telling them that, you know, you will be a sex slave once you enter, we expect you to cook and clean and we out -- we expect you to operate as a very in a very shackled norms of women. But the appeal from the outside, come join the fight, they have sense of purpose. And here they have a woman who's having the image that she's escaping, and she has -- she's part of this organization, it's an appeal, it's not a rejected image and it is very dangerous actually sensationalize her, the way we are.</s>LEMON: You said careful with -- you know, reporting -- the reporting on her because...</s>SALBI: Well, because...</s>LEMON: Of sensationalism is the reason?</s>SALBI: Right. Because if you are a young woman in the Middle East or if you're young women in the Muslim world -- I mean, in the European world and you're living with a conservative family, you feel discriminated against by the society outside of you. They are telling you, you are a Muslim you are this, you are this, you are this, you feel disenfranchise, marginalize. You know, your family inside is restricting, you cannot do this, you cannot have a boyfriend, you cannot do that and all of it's gonna be. An image of a woman who is in a sense liberated by going on her own, and fighting and being part of this operation, there's a senses -- sensationalization of her, and it is dangerous that we actually allow that figure to grow.</s>LEMON: You said all of this, the male jihadist, the women. This is more about emotion and psychology than it is about anything else.</s>SALBI: Absolutely. So for Muslim, the -- merits of why ISIS is appealing for Islam for the -- you know, and it's recruiting as much youth as if's -- as possible and the scaring everyone actually. Is because they are addressing an emotional point, they're telling them that the west have failed you, the west have failed us in democracy and freedom and prosperity. Our own government, Middle Eastern governments has also failed us in -- delivering on prosperity and all of that. So we, are gonna take ourselves to the era of Islam where it is once upon time a golden religion, a religion where there is creativity and art and science. We're gonna take us back to that moment, for all Muslims, including myself, we all studied the same history...</s>LEMON: Yeah.</s>SALBI: That was the glorious thing that we've always a proud of. There's taking the history and they're making it into, with they -- they're promising it for the future...</s>LEMON: Yeah.</s>SALBI: And that's the appeal for a lot of people.</s>LEMON: You say that you are deeply concerned about the images -- about what happened obviously, but the images that are being portrayed on television that it's gonna inspire many more of these attack, that's what you've been talking about a lot?</s>SALBI: I am very scared actually, what we need to do is create another alternative image that is more attractive and is appeal to young Muslim women all over the world be in the Middle East or in Europe. And that image is you can be a Muslim and you can be hip and you can be cool and educated and liberal and all of these things. And you can fulfill your full potential and will accept you and honor you and you don't have to join this group. So the opposite image of this woman is not existing in the media, you see, if the terrorist is existing, her image is there, is package all of that, but the image -- the alternative is not, and we have to create the alternative.</s>LEMON: Yeah. Zainab Salbi, I've been interviewed you by satellite. It's such an honor to meet you in person...</s>SALBI: It's my honor, thank you.</s>LEMON: I always found you fascinating, and I love speaking with you all through all evening, please come back.</s>SALBI: Thank you.</s>LEMON: Thank you very much. Any minute now, the new issue of Charlie Hebdo will hit the newsstands in France and despite the deadly attack, the magazines unapologetic and controversial. That's next.