Rabiah Hutchinson (born Robyn Mary Hutchinson in August 1953) is an Australian Muslim sometimes described as the "matriarch" of radical

Salafi jihadist Salafi jihadism or jihadist-Salafism is a transnational, hybrid religious-political ideology based on the Sunni sect of Islamism, seeking to establish a global caliphate, characterized by the advocacy for "physical" (military) jihadist and Sa ...

Islam in Australia Islam in Australia is a minority religious affiliation. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who self-identified as Muslims in Australia, from all forms of Islam, constituted 813,392 people, or 3.2% of t ...

."Six women in danger dossier."
''smh.com.au''. Accessed February 6, 2015. Hutchinson, a one time

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

country girl "turned marijuana-smoking beach bunny and

hippy A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

backpacker" turned Islamic extremist has married at least eight times as of 2006, primarily to members of

Al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

and

Jemaah Islamiah Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...

, and has been the subject of an investigation by

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is Australia's national security agency responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated vio ...

(ASIO). Hutchinson traveled to the

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

camps in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and into

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

's inner circle and is believed to have been schooled there by the Mujaheddin."Rabiyah and daughter married terror twins."
''theaustralian.com.au''. Accessed February 6, 2015. She is the mother-in-law of

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

's current leader, Saif al-Adel; he married her daughter Asma, from her third marriage to Egyptian journalist Abu Walid al-Masri.

Early life

Hutchinson is of Scottish ancestry was born in August 1953 in

Mudgee Mudgee is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gover ...

to a Sydney

family; she later became a Baptist and then converted to Catholicism, eventually, Hutchinson converted to

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

Involvement in Afghan Arab affairs

Hutchinson was linked with radical Indonesian clerics in the 1980s. She worked as a doctor for members of the

mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...

on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the 1990s. In Pakistan, she initially settled in the town of

Pabbi Pabbi ( ps, پببے ; ur, ) is a large town in Pabbi Tehsil of Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located on both sides of the Grand Trunk (GT) around 20-km from Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa pro ...

, where a growing number of Afghan refugees affected by the war and foreign volunteers were pouring in.Alt URL
/ref> The only other Australian she knew in Pabbi was her friend Aisha, an Aboriginal convert whose husband had organised Rabiah's arrival in Pakistan, and who would bring Rabiah a jar of

Vegemite Vegemite ( ) is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1922. A spread for sandwiches, t ...

when visiting. While living in

Kabul, Afghanistan Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, Hutchinson met her third husband, Egyptian Mustafa Hamid (Abu Walid al-Masri). In Kabul, Hutchinson was regarded for her medical knowledge.Michelle Shephard
''Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr''.
Accessed February 6, 2015.

ASIO investigation

ASIO's assessment states that Ms. Hutchinson "has directly supported extremist activities" and, if allowed to travel, is "likely to engage in conduct that might prejudice the security of Australia or a foreign country"."Muslim matriarch Rabiah Hutchinson's suburban nightmare."
''theaustralian.com.au''. Accessed February 6, 2015. Rabiah Hutchinson and her daughter Rahmah Wisudo were placed on a "no-fly list" due to alleged links to radical Yemeni cleric

Anwar al-Aulaqi Anwar Nasser al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi, al-Awlaqi; ar, أنور العولقي, Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21 or 22, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American imam who was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a U.S. government drone str ...

, who had ties to an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terrorist group ."Australians placed on US terror no-fly list."
''dailytelegraph.com.au''. Accessed February 6, 2015. Rabiah maintains she was labeled as an al-Qaeda operative because the authorities wanted "someone to blame".

In the media

''Jihad Sheilas''

Rabiah Hutchinson was one of the women featured in a documentary ''Jihad Sheilas'' aired on ABC television.
''smh.com.au''. Accessed February 6, 2015."'Jihad Sheilas' speak out."
''abc.net.au''. Accessed February 6, 2015.

Family

As of December 2006, Hutchinson had been married eight times. She has been married to both Abdul Rahim Ayub and Abu Walid al-Masri. Two of her sons were arrested in Yemen, and were alleged to be linked to

Jack Roche Jack Roche is an Australian convicted on a charge of conspiring to commit an offence provided for by the Crimes (Internationally Protected Persons) Act 1976 to destroy an internationally protected building, the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Aust ...

. Her daughter is married to

Khaled Cheikho The 2005 Sydney terrorism plot concerned a group of five men arrested in 2005 on charges of planning an act of terrorism targeting Sydney, Australia's most populous city and the capital (political), capital of New South Wales. The group was found ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Rabiah 1953 births Australian Sunni Muslims Terrorism in Australia Living people Converts to Sunni Islam from Catholicism Former Presbyterians Former Baptists Former Roman Catholics Australian expatriates in Afghanistan Australian expatriates in Pakistan Australian former Christians Australian people of Scottish descent People from Mudgee