Across cultures, women tend towards grabbing a glossy fashion magazine to stay current on trends. Some have subscriptions, some pick them up while standing in line at the store. Either way, the magazines make up a big part of what be believe is in vogue. They inform our buying decisions and, even on a larger scale, life choices.

Sure, a lot of it is superficial. Stories like ‘10 things to do now to look great on the beach’ and ‘how to get inside your man’s head’ do little to create more independent and well-rounded women. In fact, for the most part, that is what fashion magazine’s excel at – getting you to believe you need something, or need to do a certain thing, because of how it looks on the page.

To tap that potential of grabbing women’s attention and forming their opinions for them, Al-Qa’ida has started a glossy fashion magazine for Muslim women. According to reports, the magazine is being called Al-Shamikha, meaning The Majestic Woman. Interestingly, the magazine focuses on the same topics that traditional women’s magazines write about – but with a extremist Muslim focus.

For instance, there are articles that advise women to stay indoors with their face covered to attain the ‘perfect’ complexion. There are even interviews with the wives of deceased Muslim ‘martyrs’ who talk about the great pride they have knowing their husband died for the cause.

Scary thought; but I would think a magazine like this would be unable to gain much of a readership. Then again, maybe not. Apparently, Al-Qu’ida knows exactly what they are doing. Less than a year ago they launched a similar magazine dedicated to Muslim men. The magazine inspires young men to partake in terrorist activities.