My Daughter and the Caliphate

a Film by: Volkmar Kabisch

Britta von de Heide
Amir Musawy

Synopsis: This documentary is all about a father who fights to save his daughter who left to join
the terror organization IS or Islamic State. A 15 year old girl named Leonora, who chose to join
the terrorists rather than living with his own father and even thinks that being with terrorists is
cool. A story of life and death.

On 2015 Maik Messing lost his daughter Leonora without any trace. Leonora was 15 year old that
time. When Leonora left Maik’s world turns upside down he didn’t know where is his daughter.
As a father, Maik’s desperately search his daughter’s room then he found out in a diary about the
parallel Islamic existence. She also mentioned in the diary about planning to marry a IS terrorist
and Maik even found photos of Leonora wearing head scarf. After he seen all of it Maik started to
blame his self.

In Leonora, when she joined the IS he married the high-ranking terrorist Martin Lemke and she
became his third wife. Leonora started her married life and her only way to communicate with is
father is via social media or voice messages only. After long time Leonora felt jealous to the other
wives of her husband then she realized that she’s not happy for her IS life and decided to go back
to Germany where she and her father live.

When her father got Leonora’s message about her problem, Maik started to plan of getting back
his daughter. He collected all his power to save his daughter. At first they failed to pick up
Leonora but they didn’t give up still they failed. Time past Maik get in touch with Martin’s second
wife and she told Maik that Martin/Nihad and his first wife were killed on a civil war and thinking
that Leonora is dead also. Because of the pressure Maik was so great he even contemplated
suicide.

This film shows us not only the life inside the the Islamic State but also the brutal existence of
women especially those naive teenager. This film made me realize that not because of how
beautiful their clothing and how brave their men means that they have a cool state of living.
Changing the state that you are living because only of your wants will make make you repent in
the future as what happen to Leonora, she repent after she realize that her decisions in life were
wrong.

This documentary will give you knowledge mostly about the state of one religion and how they
are living the lives.