There are reports she flew to Syria to join rebels fighting in the civil war. She’s been called a jihadist, an extremist, and a martyr. But before all of that, Amira Ali, nee Karroum, was an Australian daughter, a sister, and a wife.
And that’s what makes Amira’s death as fascinating as it is tragic.
Amira was an ordinary woman from the western suburbs of Sydney who has now become the first female Australian casualty of civil war in Syria.
She was gunned down by the Free Syria Army (FSA) alongside her husband Yusuf Ali near the town of Allepo on Saturday. She was 22.
In the wake of the murders, we’re piecing together every detail we can to try and understand who this woman was, and how she met that fate. Here’s what we know so far: She was born and raised near Broadbeach on the Gold Coast by an Anglican mother and Muslim father.
She attended one of the country’s most prestigious private Anglican all-girl schools, St Hilda’s, and graduated in 2008. She enrolled in a graphic design course at UTS, and moved to Sydney’s inner west last year – the same year she married Yusuf Ali. Despite her Anglican education, she was a practising Muslim who started wearing a hijab around the same time she met her husband at a mosque in Granville, NSW.
Tragedies like these unfold in a series of raw, heartbreaking moments as news hits each family member and friend:
The moment Amira’s father collapsed on the street outside his Gold Coast kebab store when he heard the news of his daughter’s death. He’s still in hospital, recovering from a heart attack.
The moment Amira’s mother, Honor Deane, got the phone call from Department of Foreign Affairs to say her daughter had been killed in Syria – when she thought Amira was with her husband in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ms Deane has been spotted since, fragile and devastated, outside her home in Southport, QLD.
The moment Amir’s sister decided to frame Amira and Yusuf’s death as acts of heroism.
And that brings us to how this tragedy played out on social media.
Amira’s sister Rose, known on Facebook as “Mujahidah Lioness”, has posted a series of requests: ”Please everyone make dua for my sister Amira Ali and brother Inlaw Yusuf. They hav been martyred and insha’allah they r shaheeds. May Allah grant them both janah Ameen,” she wrote. ”May Allah make the mujahideen victorious against FSA and Assad’s regime.”
Their mother, Honor, has expressed her grief online: “My heart will never heal, I am distraught with grief but I am thankful for having her for 22 years.” And Amira’s cousin Rhonda Sayadi wrote: ”I am honoured greatly that your life was taken while trying to save the lives of others… my beautiful cousin Amira”.
Amira’s husband’s Facebook page is haunting to read. Shortly before the couple died, this is what Yusuf Ali posted: ”Death is a reality none of us can out run. What have you done to prepare for ‘destroyer of pleasures’? Believe in one God (without partners) enjoin in what is good and forbid what is evil and you will have success in this life and the next!”.
His page carried a photo of him with the caption ”The World is My Prison” and pictures of hooded men in army camouflage carrying guns.
Other Facebook friends contributed to Amira’s digital legacy with posts like this: ‘Their dreams came true”, ”she got what she wanted!”, and they died ”while trying to help”. Mejida David Mheich wrote: ”She was a beautiful person inside and out mashalla! She’s an inspiration, and a strong-hearted girl! I still remember that last time I saw her! She sounded so happy, it was a month ago like today!”
Most days, the conflict in Syria seems so, so far away. It’s beyond anything we can imagine, back in Australia. The deaths there seems almost other-worldly. But then something like this happens – an Aussie girl so normal-sounding she could have been a friend or acquaintance is killed – and the realities of that war come crashing into our own lives. It’s horrific, but riveting. We’ll be watching how it continues to unfold.
Top Comments
The destruction of Syria has been planned for many years by the MIC and big business in the West. See the Brooking Institute, "Which path to Persia?"
Syria had to go. The next stepping stone is/was to be Iran, hence the familiar catapulting of the propaganda about WMDs (where did we hear all this before??). But Iranian diplomacy has been too clever to allow that to happen and the US is too over extended/broke/f$%^ed up to dare to start a war with Iran.
This was to serve two purposes.
1) Removes remaining barrier to Western/US/Israeli hegemony in the Levant and allows "greater Israhell" to appear
2) Opens the way to Russia and China. ("The US's Pacific Pivoting")
The prize was to be the resources of Eurasia, but that will likely change given that
1) The political landscape has changed and
2) The US/Western energy conglomerates are now content to throw away the future for all of us by burning yet more filthy fossil fuels, in this case fracked gas.
To destroy Syria required playing the various factional divides, basically Sunni:Shia, masked by a number of (largely Western established/supported) 'other' factions. This has now spun out of control, but that is to the benefit of Western/Israeli interests too. Takes the attention from the ongoing crimes in Palestine. We await the outcome of Geneva, but nothing other than total subjugation will satisfy the western vultures.
This is a mess of Western manufacture. Decent people like this poor couple, have got caught up in it, like so many other useful pawns. Sad, but inevitable.
Sounds as if you suffer from Conspiracy Theoryitis.
I enjoyed your response !!!
First up, re ‘honourable Westerners’
I realize that it was tongue-in-cheek, lol, Plumplum, but I want to tell you that the expression is an oxymoron as far as I am concerned.
Also, I’d say that the West fights economic wars in addition to wars of spite and malice; economics rather than religion drives the West, in my opinion.
The damage, deaths and destruction wrought by the West is horrendous and I DO believe and openly acknowledge that we are now living with the legacies of that e.g. just one example being the horror plight of the Palestinians. (LOTS of Non Muslim Aussies agree)
I AGREE 100% with your list of the violent ones of the world.
(And we have a lot of them in the non Muslim population of Australia. We must act to change those aspects of Australian culture that have led to so many shameful attitudes and behaviours. I fear this will take a long time)
However, for brevity, I made a deliberate choice NOT to talk about the violence of those you listed because I stayed on topic – Muslims – and this ONLY because the article is about Amira and Yusuf Ali who went to Syria to be part of the action.
(They were not merely unlucky in getting ‘caught up in it)
I linked this with the concerns in Australia about all boat people, but especially, I think, unspoken fears about the growth of Islam in this country.
My main point was that those ‘boat people’ who are Muslim are probably no more / no less likely (I don’t know) to ‘cause trouble’for this country as those who arrive by plane. The fear mongering has been beyond belief – no, not really, anything to win an election, eh? . . . Cheers, Plumplum. I wish you well.
Cool story.
Great comment plumplum but a bit too intelligent for some people as you can see I suggest people look up gulf of Tonkin if they had any doubts. Might enable them to see past the BS
I’d like to know how this gorgeous Aussie girl was intending “to help”. . . ?
If it was by fighting, this tragedy speaks to “the elephant in the Australian room” which is the ease by which it appears young people can be so easily radicalized.
Being happy to fight and die in the name of Islam,
to believe in jihad and martyrdom
and to be called a hero for this –
these are not compatible with the way of life in most non-Muslim countries.
We do not fight religious-political wars any more. We moved past this some time ago.
Many Australians are concerned about the willingness of many Muslims to sort out their problems via violent conflict.It appears that some Muslim see this young woman as a poster girl for Islam. (e.g. as is indicated by the comments on Facebook)
Many Australians oppose the boat people because but we do not want Muslim violence here, but this is pretty silly, isn’t it? because the lovely Muslim families who arrived by plane, the young guys and girls with the University educations who flew in last year, any ‘nice’ Aussie family might have a fanatic in their midst, and that includes ‘nice’ NON Muslim families from which one or more children can be swept up into a radical Islamic fervour.
I think our best bet is as Karen said “I recommend making as many Muslim friends you can - to have them feel included in your community to serve as a disincentive for anyone who may think of causing strife here."
The boat people have been used in Australia as a divisive political issue.
The restoration of common sense and decency would be more sensible issues for us to promote and would be more in keeping with what used to be respected throughout the world as “AustralianValues’.
You are not particularly up to speed on the origin of much of the violence in the Middle east, are you? Like most Australians you don't have any real idea of the genesis of the problem. It is not your fault, you are not encouraged to lean the truth about much of the last 500 years or so.
Look up "Sykes Picot" and learn about what really happened in Palestine from 1897 until. well, today. Consider where many of the refugess fleeing to Australia come from and ask yourself "Who destroyed their societies and countries, for ignorant ideological and grasping financial ends?"
If we honourable Westerners are not fighting religious wars, why do you think most of the interference from the West is in Muslim countries?
People of all walks and creeds in ALL countries could be peaceful and prosperous but for malicious interference by external interests.
I believe your post to be well intended but it is unfortunate you type this..
"Many Australians are concerned about the willingness of many Muslims to sort out their problems via violent conflict.."
Substitute "young drunks", "Americans", "Israelis", "Illegal Squatters", "zionists", "Christian fundies", "football hooligans", "vandals", "rapists", "Politicians" (etc) for Muslim and you might be closer to the truth of the human condition..