Mariam Dabboussy

Mariam Dabboussy
Born1992 (age 33–34)
Known forlived in IS-controlled Syria

Mariam Dabboussy is an Australian woman who lived in Islamic State (IS)-controlled Syria.[1][2]

Dabboussy told The New York Times that she never planned to enter IS territory.[3] She said she traveled to Turkey with her husband, on what he said was an expedition to help his relatives escape Syria; his brother Muhammad was there.[4] But she claimed she was the victim of a trick, and that once they were within walking distance of the border, he pulled a gun and forced her into Syria at gunpoint.

The Australian television series Four Corners devoted an episode to Dabboussy.[2] Dabboussy raised her veil during her television interview, an act she said could trigger retaliation from the most devout occupants of the al-Hawl refugee camp.[5] She told reporters that her brother-in-law, Muhammed Zahab, convinced or coerced at least a dozen Australians into IS territory before his death.[6] He was a senior IS member.[4]

Early life, marriage and travel to Syria

Dabboussy grew up in Sydney's western suburns in a middle-class home. She worked in child care and at a migrant support service. She was not a devout Muslim as a child, but became more religious after marrying Kaled Zahad in 2011, at age 22.[4][5]

In mid-2015, the couple and their 18-month-old child went to Turkey on their first overseas vacation, where they were later joined by Khaled's parents. His brother Muhammed was already in Syria. Dabboussy said she didn't know where she was until she saw the Islamic State flag flying, and that she had been "conned by the boys", meaning her husband and his brother Muhammed, who was already in Syria and had facilitated Khaled's passage into IS territory with his family.[4]

Muhammed had brought at least a dozen family members into IS, including his wife, Mariam Raad, their two children; his parents, Hicham and Aminah; his sister, Samaya; his cousin, Nesrine; and his brothers, Kaled and Yusuf. He was killed in an airstrike in Iraq in 2018.[4]

Fate of self and relatives under ISIL

Three months after the couple's arrival in ISIL territory, while Kaled was still in military training, he was killed in an airstrike on his training camp. Dabboussy, pregnant at the time, gave birth a short time later. She said she was forced to remarry twice after Kaled was killed, and her second husband was also killed when she was nine months pregnant with her third child. In 2019, she and her children escaped ISIL's last territorial stronghold in Baghuz.[4]

In 2022, Dabboussy was repatriated with her children after being flown from Iraq to New South Wales.[7] In 2023, Raad was charged with entering or remaining in a declared area controlled by a terrorist organisation (that area being Raqqa, IS's Syrian capital); she was the first person in Australia to be charged with this offense.[8] Police alleged she was aware of her husband Muhammad Zahab's activities with IS.[9] In May 2024, Raad pleaded guilty and received a conditional discharge.[10] She could have faced up to ten years in prison for the charge.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Livia Albeck-Ripka (2019-10-21). "Desperate Pleas to Free Women and Children From ISIS Camps in Syria". The New York Times. p. A8. Retrieved 2020-07-22. 'It's tough; it's scary,' he told his daughter, Mariam, during a recent phone call. Mr. Dabboussy tried to comfort her. 'We're still pushing,' he said.
  2. ^ a b Livia Albeck-Ripka (2019-10-25). "'My Grandchild Is Not a Terrorist'". The New York Times. p. A2. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  3. ^ Livia Albeck-Ripka (2019-10-24). "Does Australia Have to Bring Its Women and Children Home From Syria's Camps?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-07-22. While the details of many of the women's stories are unknown, some have come forward to explain themselves, including Mariam Dabboussy. She says that in late 2015, she was forced by gunpoint over the Turkish border with Syria, after traveling there in what her husband claimed was an attempt to extract a relative who was trying to escape the Islamic State.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Australia's unwanted Islamic State brides reveal their identities". ABC News. 2019-09-29. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  5. ^ a b Benedict Brook (2019-10-01). "From blushing Aussie bride to IS widow". The Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-07-22. Another looks vastly different to her Australian wedding photos. In the pictures, Mariam Dabboussy, smiles broadly, hair down to her shoulders. Now she sits head to toe in black, visibly wizened.
  6. ^ Dylan Welch; Suzanne Dredge; Naomi Selvaratnam (2019-09-30). "Married to Islamic State: The untold stories of the women Australia doesn't want back". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2020-07-22. Mariam Dabboussy is risking her safety to reveal how her brother-in-law Muhammad Zahab delivered her and her baby into the grip of the Islamic State (IS) group.
  7. ^ Gregory, James (2022-10-29). "Australian families of IS fighters repatriated from Syrian camp". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  8. ^ Ireland, Olivia (2024-06-12). "Islamic State widow weeps in court as she avoids jail". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  9. ^ ABC News (Australia) (2023-01-05). Returned Islamic State wife charged over alleged travel to Syria | ABC News. Retrieved 2026-03-18 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "Australian 'ISIS bride' avoids jail time for entering terrorist-controlled Syria". ABC News. 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  11. ^ "Australia Charges Repatriated Islamic State Group Widow". Voice of America. 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
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