Shamima Begum must never return to UK – 2 of her own words condemn her | World | News

Jihadi bride Shamima Begum is back in the headlines thanks to the chaos in Syria. As fighting intensifies and questions are raised about the security of detention camps holding ISIS affiliates, the familiar old chorus has returned: “Britain should feel sorry for her. Britain should bring her home. Britain should see her as a victim.” No. Absolutely not. It’s time for another reality check. Shamima Begum is not a victim, and she never will be. Every time her name resurfaces, the same excuses are wheeled out.

Apparently, she somehow “drifted” into ISIS. Apparently, she was just a confused child who didn’t know any better. Apparently, the real injustice is what’s happened to her – not what she chose to be part of. Give me a break. The go-to defence remains the same: “She was only 15.” Fifteen-year-olds aren’t babies. At 15, teenagers sit GCSEs, (hopefully) understand right from wrong, and absolutely know that joining a terrorist death cult is wrong. 

ISIS wasn’t some obscure underground movement. Its barbarity was splashed across every news outlet with beheadings, mass executions, sex slavery, genocide. You couldn’t avoid it. Shamima Begum knew exactly what she was doing. You don’t accidentally get on a plane, travel across Europe, cross the Turkish-Syrian border and join a barbaric terror group by mistake. She was capable enough to plan her journey, evade detection, and reach ISIS territory.

We need to stop pretending she was some clueless child swept along by forces beyond her control. It’s gaslighting. Yes, teenagers do stupid things. Sneaking out to drink, getting caught smoking behind the bins, making bad decisions with friends. And I’m sorry but joining ISIS does not fall into that category.

Then come the accusations of racism. According to some commentators, Begum would be treated differently if she weren’t Muslim. That argument is lazy and dishonest. Race and religion are irrelevant. If anyone chooses to join a terrorist organisation responsible for mass murder, rape, and genocide, they do not get to play the victim card. Zero tolerance for terrorism is not racism, it’s common sense.

We don’t even need to speculate about her mindset. We have her own words. In 2019, Begum said she had “no regrets” about joining ISIS. She later softened her language, but there’s a world of difference between genuine remorse and simply feeling sorry for yourself. She falls squarely into the latter category. She spoke casually about seeing severed heads in bins, saying it didn’t faze her. Let that sink in. 

It’s astonishing that anyone could hear that and still argue she poses no problem, no risk, no moral stain. This is not someone I would want living next door – or anywhere in Britain for that matter.

In messages revealed later, she said the deaths of her three children “no longer made her feel sad anymore”. That level of emotional detachment is chilling, and it should horrify anyone still clinging to the idea she’s simply a misunderstood innocent. And then there’s her response to the Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people, including children. She described it as justified “retaliation”. There is no excuse for that. None.

Yet every time her case resurfaces, elements of the media rush to present her as a tragic heroine. She gets documentaries. She gets interviews. She gets endless analysis and hand-wringing. Sympathy flows freely. The real victims meanwhile are forgotten. How often do we hear the names of the 22 people murdered in Manchester? How often do we see their faces, hear their stories, remember their lives? Why does Shamima Begum’s name dominate headlines, while theirs fade into the background?

Some people also seem to have developed collective amnesia about who ISIS actually are, what they have done and what they are still doing. This is an organisation responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the modern era, the Paris attacks, the Brussels bombings, the Manchester arena massacre. Beyond Europe, ISIS carried out the genocide of the Yazidi people, committing mass murder, rape, and enslavement – broadcasting horrific executions as social media propaganda.

This is the organisation Shamima Begum chose to join. Not by accident. Not by mistake. By choice. Those who fall for her carefully curated pity narrative should be ashamed of themselves. Britain needs to stop apologising, stop rewriting history, and stop being emotionally blackmailed into sympathy for someone who showed none when it mattered.

I have no shame in saying I will never view Shamima Begum as a victim. I will never feel sorry for her – and nor should you.

No matter how often her name returns to the headlines, no matter what courts, commentators, or activists say, she should not be allowed to return to this country. Britain must not allow itself to be taken for fools.