Mary Wakefield Mary Wakefield

Isis takes its British schoolgirl jihadis seriously. Why don’t we?

If the authorities don’t act, the stowaway ‘Isis brides’ of today will be tomorrow’s homing missiles

issue 10 October 2015

When the first schoolgirls ran away to Isis I had some sympathy for them — at least, I could see how they’d been suckered in. The girls were young, daft, desperate for a cause. They’d nosed about online, and found the Twitter feeds of jihadi wives who sell Syria as a teenage paradise: all fast food, deathless love, martyrdom and shopping.

Because I felt for those first schoolgirls, I kept following their progress, checking for them online as they set up in Syria, married, and began to tweet themselves. But as I followed them on social media, my sympathy soon turned to disgust.

‘Happy #9/11’ wrote young Zahra Halane, one of the twins from Manchester who fled to Isis last year. ‘Happiest day of my life. Hopefully more to come. InSha Allah #Is.’

Her sister Salma cheered on the Charlie Hebdo massacre: ‘May Allah protect all the mujahideen in Franceeee!!! Shooting was maaaad!!’

Um Ayoub, 16, also from England, listed a few of her favourite things: ‘Vans, Nike, Chelsea FC, beheading Kafirs.

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