ISIS justified the enslavement of women and children in a recent issue of its online English-language magazine, "Dabiq," citing Shariah Law.
"One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar — the infidels — and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah, or Islamic law," ISIS writes in the issue published Sunday,
CNN reported. ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, shortened its name to the Islamic State upon declaring a caliphate in June of this year.
The article that discusses religiously-sanctioned slavery is titled "The Revival of Slavery Before the Hour," and addresses the recent enslavement of the Yazidis, a group residing in Iraq whose religious practices are considered pagan by many Muslims. The U.S. helped protect them this summer as they were besieged by conquering forces of the Islamic State.
"The enslaved Yazidi families are now sold by the Islamic State soldiers," the article states. "The Yazidi women and children were then divided according to the Shariah amongst the fighters of the Islamic State who participated in the Sinjar operations."
Fred Abrahams, special advisor at Human Rights Watch, confirmed many of the stories ISIS brags about in its magazine, and across social media in its recruiting efforts.
"The Islamic State’s litany of horrific crimes against the Yazidis in Iraq only keeps growing," said Abrahams, whose worked with at least 76 Yazidis whose towns were swept over by ISIS. "We heard shocking stories of forced religious conversions, forced marriage, and even sexual assault and slavery — and some of the victims were children."
According to The Atlantic, it's estimated that 500,000 Yazidis fled their homes to take refuge on Mount Sinjar in August.
"As much as we could, we didn't let them touch our bodies," said one young Yazidi woman who was abducted but later escaped.
"Everything they did, they did by force."
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