Can you take non-Muslim women and children captive ? Yes , says ISIS . Can you have sex with them , even prepubescent girls ? Yes , according to the Islamist extremist group . Can you sell them or give them as gifts to others ? The answer is yes , once again . People in Mosul -- the Iraqi city now under control of the group calling itself the Islamic State -- got these and other messages loud and clear after sunset prayers Friday , when armed men handed out a color-printed pamphlet `` Question and Answers on Female Slaves and their Freedom , '' three residents told CNN . `` People started gathering in small groups chattering about this ( document ) , '' said one of the men , whom CNN did n't name for security reasons . `` Most are shocked , but ( we ) can not do much about it . '' The document was first printed in October or November , then later posted on an ISIS website . It has gotten more publicity recently because of the Middle East Media Research Institute , an independent Washington-based nonprofit whose advisory board includes former National Security Agency Director Michael V. Hayden , onetime CIA Director James Woolsey and ex-U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld . The idea that ISIS is kidnapping , selling and raping women and children is hardly surprising . Many such accounts have surfaced since the group began its often brutal run through Syria and Iraq , including chilling stories from members of the Yazidi religious minority . And these are on top of other horrific allegations , such as the killings and mistreatment of innocent civilians simply because they did n't subscribe to ISIS ' extreme take on Sharia law . Yazidi women 'treated like cattle ' And that 's the thing about ISIS : Its militants have justified their actions -- like the beheadings of journalists and aid workers -- in God 's name . Even then , it is rare to see its rationale laid out as plainly as in `` Question and Answers on Female Slaves and their Freedom . '' In the document , for instance , it is explained that capturing women is permissible if they are `` nonbelievers . '' It adds , `` Female slaves are the women that Muslims took from their enemies . '' Much of the pamphlet talks about ISIS ' policy on having sexual intercourse with a female slave , something that the group cites the Quran to justify . `` If she was a virgin , he ( the owner ) can have intercourse with her immediately after the ownership is fulfilled , '' ISIS explains . `` If she was not a virgin , her uterus must be purified ( wait for her period to be sure she is not pregnant . ) '' There are other rules as well , like that two men who co-own a captive ca n't both have sex with her and that a man ca n't have intercourse with his wife 's slave . As to girls : `` It is permissible to have intercourse with the female slave who has n't reached puberty if she is fit for intercourse , '' the document reads . `` However , if she is not fit for intercourse , he ( the owner ) can only enjoy her without intercourse . '' The Q & A is clear that , young and old , the captors have full control of their captives . As such , the ISIS document claims , `` It is permissible to buy , sell or give as a gift female captives and slaves , for they are merely property . '' In response to the question of whether a female slave can buy her freedom , the answer is , `` Yes she can . '' The document also says that freeing a slave is something a sinner who has committed an act like unintentional murder or perjury can do for his sin to be forgiven . Alternative actions are fasting for two consecutive months or feeding hungry people . The pamphlet sets a few other guidelines , such as that a captive mother ca n't be separated from her young children and that an impregnated captive can not be sold . Beating a female slave for discipline is OK , but beating her for pleasure or as a form of torture is not . There are fewer rules for the captives themselves , though the ISIS pamphlet does identify one thing as `` the gravest of sins '' -- running away from one 's master . This document marks the most detailed , albeit not first , justification for enslaving nonbelievers , as defined by ISIS . Time and again , the group cites the Quran and its view of Sharia law . `` ISIS is drawing these rulings from ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean codes of conduct for war and prisoners , '' said Abbas Barzegar , professor of religious studies at Georgia State University . `` Muslim leaders and lay practitioners the world over continue to condemn ISIS and find its alien interpretation of Islam grotesque and abhorrent . Unfortunately , in the context of failed states and civil wars most sane voices are often the most drowned out . '' None of ISIS ' rationalizations hold up , Seton Hall University law school Professor Bernard Freamon wrote on CNN.com last month . `` This argument is plainly wrong , hypocritical and astonishingly ahistorical , relying on male fantasies inspired by stories from the days of imperial Islam , '' said Freamon . `` It is also an affront to right-thinking Muslims everywhere and a criminal perversion of Islamic law , particularly its primary source , the glorious Quran . ''
ISIL produces a video , ` ` Question and Answer on Female Slaves and their Freedom '' It has been posted online , and armed groups distributed it to residents of Syria . In it , ISIS claims the Quran justifies taking non - Muslim women and girls captive . It also claims they can be treated as ` ` property , '' and that sex with captive girls is permissible .