Experiencing abuse, harassment, and sometimes death threats from ‘radical Islamists’, and accused of collaborating with Western imperialism by importing alien ideas and practices, secular Muslim women activists challenge discriminatory laws within Islamic texts, reject and condemn the jihadist political message, and assert that human rights laws have precedence over religious and cultural considerations.

In this presentation, I focus on two organizations run by two secular Muslim women activists; “Inspire” a counter-extremism and women’s rights organization; and “Mother’s Brigade” a French organization that provides support for traumatized mothers of foreign fighters working to save children from recruitment in extremist and jihadist groups. In doing so, I hope to unravel many of the tensions, conflicts and ambiguities that mark the nature of activism of Muslim women in the West opposing what they define as “violent Islamist Extremism”.