Sharmeena Begum

{{Short description|Missing British jihadist (born 1999)}} {{distinguish|text = Shamima Begum (not a family relation) who left for Syria two months later}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Sharmeena Begum | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = 220px | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = bn | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1999}} | birth_place = Bethnal Green, London, England | disappeared_date = | nationality = | other_names = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = Bethnal Green Academy, London| | mother = Shahnaz Begum | father = Mohammad Uddin | relatives = | callsign = | awards = | module = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Sharmeena Begum''' (born 1999) is a British woman who left the United Kingdom to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria in December 2014 and became an ISIL bride. Two months later, in February 2015, her school friends Amira Abase, Shamima Begum, and Kadiza Sultana (who collectively became known as the Bethnal Green trio) joined her in Syria. Begum is one of the youngest British teenagers to join ISIL.

Begum was tracked down by the BBC in 2023, and was living in Syria under a different identity.<ref name=BBC2023-03-22>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65031943 |title=Shamima Begum: Friend who inspired IS defection mocks her as non-believer |work=BBC News |date=2023-03-22|access-date=2023-03-22}}</ref>

== Background ==

thumb|Main entrance of Mulberry Academy Shoreditch, formerly known as Bethnal Green Academy|alt=Covered entrance in the shade Begum was born to Shahnaz Begum and Mohammad Uddin, who are of Bangladeshi origin.<ref name="telegraph2015-03-16" /><ref name="Mendick-2015" /> She was raised by her mother until her father joined them in the UK in 2007.<ref name="telegraph2015-03-16" /> Begum's mother died of cancer in January 2014.<ref name="Mendick-2015" /> Her father remarried in September 2014, and Begum left for Syria in December of that year.<ref name="Perraudin-2019" /> Begum's father said that her behaviour had changed; she stopped listening to Western music and began going to her room to pray, but he assumed that she was grieving about her mother's death.<ref name=telegraph2015-03-16>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11475684/XXX.html |title=Syrian schoolgirl: blame the father, not the police |work=The Telegraph |last=Gordon|first=Bryony|date=2015-03-16|access-date=2019-03-03|issn=0307-1235 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213155654/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11475684/XXX.html |archive-date=2017-12-13}}</ref><ref name=theguardian2015-03-16>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/13/sharmeena-begum-first-of-british-girl-isis|title=Sharmeena Begum – British girl left to join Isis after upheavals at home|last=Dodd|first=Vikram|date=2015-03-13|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-03-03|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> At the time of her father's remarriage, she lived with her grandmother.<ref name="Mendick-2015">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11472196/Girl-15-fled-to-Islamic-State-after-mother-died-from-cancer.html|title=Girl, 15, fled to Islamic State after mother died from cancer |work=The Telegraph |last=Mendick|first=Robert|date=2015-03-14|access-date=2019-03-03|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

Members of Begum's family were certain that she was targeted for recruitment by a group known as the Sisters Forum within the Islamic Forum of Europe, which met at an east London mosque.<ref name=theguardian2015-03-16/><ref name=gulftimes2015-08-02/><ref name=LondonEveningStandard2015-08-02/> Women from the group that recruited her have been described as "brainwashing" her, telling her that she would meet her recently deceased mother in paradise if she died a martyr, and reportedly brought her to the airport for her departure.<ref name=theguardian2015-03-16/>

Sharmeena Begum was friends with Amira Abase, Shamima Begum (unrelated), and Kadiza Sultana, who left for Syria a few months later. All four attended Bethnal Green Academy.<ref name="Perraudin-2019">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/14/shamima-begum-friends-kadiza-sultana-amira-abase-joined-isis-syria|title=Shamima Begum tells of fate of friends who joined Isis during half-term|last=Perraudin|first=Frances|date=2019-02-14|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-03-03|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/turkey/revealed-first-of-four-teenage-schoolgirls-who-fled-to-syria-8ff5wx3nnpg|title=Revealed: first of four teenage schoolgirls who fled to Syria|last=Smith|first=Tom Ough and Hannah Lucinda|date=2015-03-14|work=The Times|access-date=2019-03-03|issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

== Joining ISIL == Begum became increasingly interested in religious themes after her mother died, although her family had previously described her as non-religious.<ref name=IllinoisDavis2016/> She is said to have begun praying, and stopped listening to Western music.<ref name=telegraph2015-03-16/><ref name="Mendick-2015" /> Begum did not get along with her new stepmother, and had gone to live with one of her grandmothers.<ref name=Vice2015-08-03/>

According to police, she was encouraged by two unidentified women to join ISIL. They brought Begum to Gatwick Airport for a flight to Turkey, from where she made her way to Syria. According to reports by her family, she purchased the plane ticket with £500 that she persuaded her grandmother to give her.<ref name="Mendick-2015" /> Begum used her grandmother's passport for her travels, telling her that she needed to borrow the passport for her schoolwork.<ref name=theguardian2015-03-16/>

thumb|The East London Mosque, where Begum reportedly met the Sisters Forum|alt=Large mosque on a city street The women who encouraged her are thought to be members of a group known as the Sisters Forum, part of the Islamic Forum of Europe. The East London Mosque denied any involvement in Begum's radicalisation.<ref name=LondonEveningStandard2015-08-02>{{Cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-schoolgirl-who-recruited-three-classmates-to-join-is-in-syria-was-radicalised-at-east-london-mosque-10433150.html |title=London schoolgirl who recruited three classmates to join IS in Syria 'was radicalised at east London mosque' |date=2015-08-02 |work=Evening Standard |author=Rachel Blundy |location=London |access-date=2016-01-01 |quote=The Mail on Sunday reported today that Sharmeena was radicalised at the East London Mosque in Whitechapel by women from a group called Islamic Forum of Europe.}}</ref> Two weeks after her departure, she reportedly called her father to tell him that she did not intend to return.<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31886146|title=First missing UK schoolgirl named |work=BBC News|date=2015-03-14|access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sharmeena-begum-fourth-isis-schoolgirl-named-as-father-claims-he-told-police-to-warn-families-10108507.html|title=Missing schoolgirls: First teenager who fled from east London named as|date=2015-03-14|website=The Independent|access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref>

After his daughter's disappearance, Uddin told police about his suspicion that Begum might have been encouraged by Islamists and her three friends might also be at risk. The Metropolitan Police subsequently approached the three girls to question them about their friend. Since they were minors, they gave them letters to give to their parents to give permission for the questioning. The letters were not passed along, and the police did not follow up.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/how-islamic-state-lured-three-uk-teenagers-1.2320836|title=How Islamic State lured three UK teenagers|last=London|first=Katrin Bennhold in|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref>

Begum was joined two months after her departure by her three friends from Bethnal Green Academy, who had also made their way to Syria via Turkey. They reportedly met in Raqqa.<ref name="BBC"/>

Begum reportedly married a Bosnian fighter who was later killed.<ref name="Perraudin-2019" /> Shamima Begum reported last seeing her in Baghuz in June 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/father-sharmeena-isis-schoolgirl-brainwashed/|title=Father Of Isis Schoolgirl Tells LBC His Daughter Was "Brainwashed" And Wants Her Home|website=LBC|access-date=2019-03-03}}</ref><ref name="Insider2019-02-19" /><ref name="Perraudin-2019" /> Jasmine Jawhar, author of ''Terrorists' use of the internet: The case of DAESH'', said that Begum and her school friends were "mesmerised by the {{'}}romantic idea of jihad{{'"}}.<ref name=JawharInternet/>

== {{anchor|Criticism of the response of security officials}}Criticism of police response == Begum's travel to Islamic State-occupied Syria, followed by the travel of three of her friends, triggered a discussion of whether UK security officials could have prevented the other girls from following her example.<ref name=independent2015-03-14/> Parents of fellow students said that they were unaware that Begum had travelled to Islamic State territory.<ref name=Nytimes2015-08-18/>

Begum's father criticised the police for ignoring his concerns that her friends might follow her example.<ref name=independent2015-03-14/><ref name=Nytimes2015-08-18/> On 19 February 2019, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick defended the police against claims that they should have been able to anticipate Begum's friends following her example. Dick denied that Begum was travelling on the same plane as another teenage recruit who was prevented from travelling. Acknowledging that another 15-year-old girl was prevented from travelling the night Begum left, she said she thought the other girl was on a different plane. As for criticism that the police could have prevented her friends from following her example, Dick said that police did speak with her friends but saw them as witnesses rather than potential victims at the time; "knowing somebody's intentions is 'extremely complicated{{'"}}.<ref name=leicestermercury2019-02-19/>

== Online contact with the BBC (2023) == In February 2019, Begum was described as missing.<ref name=Insider2019-02-19/> In 2023, she was contacted online by the BBC after she had escaped from a Syrian prison for women who had been with ISIL. According to the BBC's report, Begum was living in hiding in Syria, raising money for ISIL through social media.<ref name=BBC2023-03-22/>

== References == {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Insider2019-02-19> {{cite news | url = https://www.businessinsider.com/isis-brides-asking-to-return-home-years-after-fleeing-for-syria-2019-2#shamima-begum-fled-london-for-syria-when-she-was-15-years-old-1 | title = ISIS brides from Canada, the US, and Europe are asking to return home years after fleeing for Syria. Here are their stories. | work = Insider Inc. | author = Kelly McLaughlin | date = 2019-02-19 | access-date = 2019-02-22 | quote = Sultana is now believed to be dead, Sharmeena Begum and Abase are missing, Riedijk has turned himself in to authorities, and Shamima Begum is asking to return to London. }} </ref>

<ref name=IllinoisDavis2016> {{cite news | url = https://ugresearchjournals.illinois.edu/index.php/IJOIS/article/view/181/151 | title = What Do They See? A Look at the Appeal of IS to Young Muslim Women Raised in the United Kingdom | work = Illinois Journal of International Security | year = 2016 | author = Rebecca Davis | trans-title = | access-date = 2019-03-04 | quote = Others did not even wear a ''hijab'', the Muslim head scarf, until shortly before leaving the UK. This was true in the instance of Sharmeena Begum, the first girl from the Bethnal Green Academy to leave for IS-controlled territory (Sinmaz and Reid, 2015). }} </ref>

<ref name=JawharInternet>{{cite news |url = http://www.searcct.gov.my/images/Articles_2016/Articles_2017/Terrorists_Use_Internet_Mac_17.pdf |title = Terrorists' use of the internet: The case of DAESH |work = Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism |author = Jasmine Jawhar |year = 2016 |trans-title = |access-date = 2019-03-04 |quote = Another concerning development out of this influx is the travelling of women and girls as young as 14 years old into these war zones who are mesmerised by the 'romantic idea of Jihad'.  |archive-date = 9 October 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181009151201/http://www.searcct.gov.my/images/Articles_2016/Articles_2017/Terrorists_Use_Internet_Mac_17.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name=Nytimes2015-08-18> {{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/world/europe/jihad-and-girl-power-how-isis-lured-3-london-teenagers.html | title = Jihad and Girl Power: How ISIS Lured 3 London Girls | work = The New York Times | author = Katrin Bennhold | date = 2015-08-18 | page = A1 | location = London | access-date = 2019-03-04 | quote = Sharmeena's father, Mohammad Uddin, said he had been surprised that the other girls had not left with his daughter. He told ''The Daily Mail'' he had urged the police and the school to keep a close eye on them, though the police say the formal statement Mr. Uddin gave to them on Feb. 10 — a week before the three girls left — held no such warning. }} </ref>

<ref name=leicestermercury2019-02-19> {{cite news | url = https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/met-says-stopping-schoolgirls-intent-2557840 | title = Met says stopping schoolgirls intent on becoming jihadi brides is 'incredibly complicated' | work = Leicester Mercury | author = Kirsty Bosley | date = 2019-02-19 | trans-title = | access-date = 2019-03-04 | quote = It was claimed that Sharmeena Begum and another unnamed passenger were on the same plane when the latter was pulled from the runway at Heathrow in December 2014 as she sought to travel to Syria. ''The Times'' newspaper said the 15-year-old was arrested but not prosecuted, despite officers finding extremist material on her devices. }} </ref>

<ref name=independent2015-03-14> {{cite news | last=Buchanan | first=Rose Troup | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sharmeena-begum-fourth-isis-schoolgirl-named-as-father-claims-he-told-police-to-warn-families-10108507.html | title = Missing schoolgirls: First teenager who fled from east London named as Sharmeena Begum as father says he told police to warn trio's families | newspaper = The Independent | date = 14 March 2015 | access-date = 1 June 2015 }} </ref>

<ref name=Vice2015-08-03> {{cite news | url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/left-in-the-dark-the-story-behind-the-families-of-three-girls-groomed-by-the-islamic-state/ | title = Left in the Dark: The Story Behind the Families of Three Girls Groomed by the Islamic State | work = Vice News | author = Ben Ferguson | date = 2015-08-03 | access-date = 2019-03-04 | quote =  She wasn't getting along with her father's new wife and had decided to live with her maternal grandmother in East London. In the absence of news of where she was, parents at the school presumed she had returned to Bangladesh. }} </ref>

<ref name=gulftimes2015-08-02> {{cite news |url = https://www.gulf-times.com/story/449748/schoolgirl-%E2%80%98radicalised-at-east-london-mosque%E2%80%99 | title = Schoolgirl 'radicalised at east London mosque' | work = Gulf Times | date = 2 August 2015 | access-date = 2016-01-01 | quote = The group has previously been mired in controversy after one of its founders was accused of murders and war crimes in Bangladesh. The newspaper reported that Sharmeena was effectively brainwashed by the group. }} </ref> }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Sharmeena}} Category:1999 births Category:2010s missing person cases Category:British expatriates in Syria Category:English female criminals Category:English Islamists Category:English people of Bangladeshi descent Category:Female Islamic State members Category:Islamic State members from United Kingdom Category:Formerly missing British people Category:Living people Category:Missing person cases in Syria Category:People from Bethnal Green Category:People of the Syrian civil war