The myth of the White Widow

Over the past year or so, a determined and fanatical Islamist has been waging a deadly and bloody war against the western world. This enemy is capable of moving unnoticed across continents and inflicting savage violence in each of them; inspires young Muslim men to become suicide bombers and die in their thousands. The enemy is particularly horrifying for being a traitor, born in Britain and a woman to boot. The ‘White Widow’, remember her? Samantha Lewthwaite from Aylesbury, usually described by our tabloid press as one of the most evil and powerful women alive.

But is she really evil? Is she really even much of a threat? My contention is that what we’ve witnessed over the past year is the curious demonisation of a misguided young woman who certainly has a morbid track record but who is far from an important or influential enemy of the West. There’s a huge disparity between the hype over Lewthwaite and the reality that should make us wary of believing even so-called ‘insider’ reports about her.