There are at Least Three Facebook Fan Pages for the White Widow

Samantha Lewthwaite, the White Widow, has a following of supporters. A few Facebook fan pages were created after the Westgate mall massacre in Nairobi, Kenya brought her to the international spotlight.

Lewthwaite is a British born Muslim convert who is active in the al-Qaeda linked terrorist group al-Shabaab, which is based in Somalia. In September, members of al-Shabaab targeted non-Muslims at Westgate Mall and murdered 67 people. Her first husband, Germaine Lindsay, was the 7/7 bomber who blew himself up and killed over 25 people in the London Underground. She has been on the run and slips through the authorities’ fingers with fake passports and staying on the move. She is reported to live in South Africa, Kenya, and Somalia. Interpol recently released an arrest warrant for Lewthwaite.

One Facebook community is on lockdown, but the Support for Samantha Lewthwaite page is active. It includes a picture of Osama bin Laden with the caption “Osama is a hero.” Another person said “Sami is a herooo!!!!” Both pages were created in late September after the Westgate attack. There is a Facebook page for a Samantha Lewthwaite, which uses pictures of her, but there is no confirmation if it is her. The page has 585 friends and people reply to her posts, which are mostly just famous sayings, with words of encouragement and praise for her actions. This page was created on October 3.