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| 'Attractive' jihadists used as 'eye candy to recruit British girls into extremist groups' | 'Attractive' jihadists used as 'eye candy to recruit British girls into extremist groups' |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| “Attractive” jihadists can be used to radicalise British girls, a former female extremist has claimed. | “Attractive” jihadists can be used to radicalise British girls, a former female extremist has claimed. |
| Ayesha*, a woman in her 20s from the Midlands, was one of many so-called “bedroom radicals” who was approached by a recruiter online before the rise of Isis | Ayesha*, a woman in her 20s from the Midlands, was one of many so-called “bedroom radicals” who was approached by a recruiter online before the rise of Isis |
| She told BBC Newsnight that a man contacted her when she was aged 16 or 17-years-old on Facebook with a message telling her she was “very attractive”. His message added: "Now's the time to cover that beauty because you're so precious." | She told BBC Newsnight that a man contacted her when she was aged 16 or 17-years-old on Facebook with a message telling her she was “very attractive”. His message added: "Now's the time to cover that beauty because you're so precious." |
| Ayesha says this was "best way I could have been targeted" because it played on her religious beliefs as well as exciting her. "As a teenager I wanted to get my piece of eye candy and I'd take a good look, and all the YouTube videos, for some reason, they [the militants] were all really, really attractive. | |
| "It was glamorous in the sense it was like 'oh wow, I can get someone who practises the same religion as me, who's not necessarily from my ethnicity and that's exciting'." | "It was glamorous in the sense it was like 'oh wow, I can get someone who practises the same religion as me, who's not necessarily from my ethnicity and that's exciting'." |
| She described recognising fighters on Facebook posts who had died. | She described recognising fighters on Facebook posts who had died. |
| "It was like, get with him before he dies. And then when he dies as a martyr you'll join him in heaven." | "It was like, get with him before he dies. And then when he dies as a martyr you'll join him in heaven." |
| She was also encouraged to believe that British women were "disgusting" and "like men". | She was also encouraged to believe that British women were "disgusting" and "like men". |
| Isis has been particularly successful in using the internet to recruit women and young girls, with at least 22 travelling to join the extremist group in Syria in 2014. | Isis has been particularly successful in using the internet to recruit women and young girls, with at least 22 travelling to join the extremist group in Syria in 2014. |
| Three young British girls from London recently fled the UK to Istanbul and are believed to have then travelled to Syria, where Isis has its defacto capital. | Three young British girls from London recently fled the UK to Istanbul and are believed to have then travelled to Syria, where Isis has its defacto capital. |
| Militants have provided detailed instructions on how to travel to areas under its self-declared ‘caliphate’ without detection. | Militants have provided detailed instructions on how to travel to areas under its self-declared ‘caliphate’ without detection. |
| The group regularly disseminates propaganda across social media accounts through its various media arms, including guides for women on how to be good jihadi brides. | The group regularly disseminates propaganda across social media accounts through its various media arms, including guides for women on how to be good jihadi brides. |
| Ayesha said she was taught to see the UK as a "kuffar [non-Muslim] nation" that had killed many Muslims and was "our enemy". | Ayesha said she was taught to see the UK as a "kuffar [non-Muslim] nation" that had killed many Muslims and was "our enemy". |
| "You don't trust the state, you don't trust the police, you don't send your children to state schools,” she said. | "You don't trust the state, you don't trust the police, you don't send your children to state schools,” she said. |
| The extremists she associated with would have idolised the British fighter ‘Jihadi John’, who was recently unmasked in reports as Mohammed Emwazi, and considered him a role model, Ayesha added. | The extremists she associated with would have idolised the British fighter ‘Jihadi John’, who was recently unmasked in reports as Mohammed Emwazi, and considered him a role model, Ayesha added. |
| *Ayesha's name has been changed. | *Ayesha's name has been changed. |