ISIS fatwa urges 'compassion' for sex slaves at the end of detailed list of rules for rape

Iraqi women hold signs saying "Help women who are abused by DAESH (ISIS)" during September 2014 protest
(Image credit: Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

Rule No. 14 in a detailed January 2015 Islamic State fatwa on the treatment of female slaves suggest that "the owner of a female slave should show compassion towards her, to be kind to her, not humiliate her," and No. 15 says slave owners should not sell a female slave to anybody "he knows will treat her badly," according to a copy of the religious edict obtained by Reuters. The other 13 rules, which carry the force of law in ISIS-controlled territory, dictate when and how the "owner" of a female slave can force sex on her.

The sale, dissemination, and rape of female slaves is so common in ISIS that, as Reuters reported over the weekend, it has a "war spoils" department that manages the distribution of female "infidels." The January fatwa, from ISIS theologians on the "Committee on Research and Fatwas," is an attempt to dictate rules for permissible sex with the slaves. The rules — which you can read here — prohibit a father and son from having sex with the same slave, for example.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.