CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. ... What exactly is it about radical Islam that would appeal to western women? Here to talk about this, Daniel Pipes. He's the President of the Middle East Forum. Welcome.
DANIEL PIPES, PRESIDENT, MIDDLE EAST FORUM: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. Recent "Daily Beast" article talks about how these groups appeal to women with the idea that they can contribute to the movement by raising the next generation of jihadists. The focus, if you will, is motherhood and family, not martyrdom. Why would any woman believe that?
PIPES: Well, I think there are several appeals. One is that these appeals tend to go to women -- tend to attract women who are insecure and unsure of themselves. Here is a structured environment where they can fit in, they're told what to do and they're doing something that's beneficial.
Secondly, it is an appeal to join a community that is very intense and powerful, not floundering in one's own community.
And so -- thirdly there's the notion of motherhood and being part of a community of women who are working together and having a fine husband who is off fighting jihad.
All these things come together. Now, it's not a lot of women, but a few can do a lot of damage. It is also worth noting, that the appeal to Arabic speaking women, not Western women but women say in Tunisia, seems to be quite different. It's more of a comfort role. The Tunisian minister of the interior a few months ago said that there's a pattern of Tunisian women going off and servicing jihadis -- 10, 50, 100.
What it looks like, I can't tell you for sure, what it looks like is that Western women are being told motherhood and domesticity and raise the next generation and Arab women are being told go service the jihad.
COSTELLO: Ok. So women normally really care about their child's upbringing and the safety of their children. This group, ISIS, is unusually cruel. I mean they crucify people.
PIPES: They do, but they're also telling the Western women that come and you will be taken care of. You will have the basics of life. It won't be anything fancy, but you will be taken care of. You will be safe. You will be taken care of.
Now, I don't think this is a valid promise at all. But it does appeal and we are seeing a number of women from Britain, from Austria, from the United States taking their chances and going off there. And it's likely to be something that grows over time as this network on social media grows, as the advice grows, as the women there who can appeal to others back in the west.
It is not as great a problem as the men, but it is a significant problem.
COSTELLO: All right. Daniel Pipes, thanks so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.
