Woman claims on social media to be Malaysian doctor married to ISIS militant

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK): A person who claims to be a 26-year-old Malaysian woman has created shockwaves on social media with regular updates on her experiences as a "Muhajirah", or immigrant, to Syria.

Most of her posts - on her Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter accounts - were compiled by American social media website Buzzfeed and she appears to be a doctor who travelled to Syria and entered into an arranged marriage with an Islamic State (ISIS) militant.

"I'm a Muhajirah, who speaks urdu and hindi and that's how some sisters welcome me here...I'm from Malaysia," the woman said on her Twitter account, @BirdOfJannah, on Aug 11.

On her Facebook account, she claimed that she went to Syria because she wanted to serve the people as a doctor.

"I made hijrah (pilgrimage) to Syria and my parents are not with me, but they are okay with my decision," she said in one of her comments on Facebook.

After two months in Syria, she said, she thought about marriage as she found it difficult to live on her own and she was introduced to a Moroccan by her housemate in Syria.

"One night, my best friend knocked on my door and before I could answer her, she opened the door and jumped on me. She told me that her husband has spoken to his friend, and his friend is interested in marrying me even without looking at me."

This, the woman said, happened quite often within the movement.

"I remembered we downloaded a dictionary app on our mobiles and it helped us a lot. What does actually matters is in the heart," she said on her earlier Facebook page which has since been deleted.

Four days into the marriage, she realised that she is married to a Mujaheed, or jihad fighter, and she had to confront the reality of it when one of her friends' husband was killed in a battle.

She also posted on her earlier Facebook account, a quote from her husband: "Jihad is my first wife, and you're my second. I hope you understand."

Her latest updates indicate that she is now pregnant.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.