Labour can’t seem to decide whether terrorism is okay or not

On Monday 9 December, a cabinet minster confirmed there are no plans to let Shamima Begum return to the UK. Meanwhile, the government is re-assessing the terror group of Abu Mohammed al Jolani, former member of al Qaeda:

Wait so Al Jolani who is on record massacring rural villagers in Syria because they didn’t want an ISIS caliphate gets his terrorist groups designation ‘re-assessed’ but Shamima Begum can’t come home? https://t.co/y5AyQjMUH6

— Jord☭🔻 (@DulanAon) December 9, 2024

Shamima Begum was trafficked from the UK aged 15 to marry an ISIS fighter. Now, she finds herself stranded in a Syrian Refugee camp, surrounded by chaos after terrorist group HTS ousted Bashar al-Assad.

So Shamima Begum, trafficked as a child and now it turns out those trafficking her were actually allied forces heroes. So will she get a heroine’s welcome home?

— Esheru (@EsheruKwaku) December 8, 2024

One rule for them, another for Shamima Begum

During Sky News’s reporting, they labelled Abu Mohammed al Jolani as a ‘rebel leader’. Both the US and Russia have labelled him a terrorist, and the US still has a $10m bounty on his head. He was fundamental in Hayat Tahrir al Sham’s (HTS) offensive which toppled the dictatorship in Syria.

HTS, previously known as the Nusra Front, is a former wing of al Qaeda, and before that the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) – and also briefly ISIS itself. Estimates suggest they have around 3,000 troops. Yet the UK government has said it could remove HTS from its list of banned terror organisations.

Wow. His terrorism is cured. It’s a Christmas miracle.

What compensation is shamima begum getting then https://t.co/CP1D5QeS53

— sure jan (@smerkinkones) December 9, 2024

Al Jolani has spent years trying to distance himself from al Qaeda and his hardcore jihadi extremist views. He claims to now embrace ‘pluralism and tolerance’:

Just watched the CNN interview with ex-Syrian Al Qaeda leader turned pretend statesman Mohammed Al Jolani where he promises to be fair to all sects and build institutions that respect diversity, all while lying that he never killed civilians or destroyed homes.

He claims he…

— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) December 6, 2024

So why are the western media presenting Al Jolani as ‘reformed’ when he is a literal terrorist? Meanwhile, the UK government are leaving Shamima Begum to rot in a refugee camp – a girl that left the UK as a 15-year-old to marry an adult ISIS fighter:

Can someone please explain how being groomed by ISIS as a teenager was enough to banish Shamima begum from the UK but Jolani is being interviewed on CNN claiming his terrorist isis identity was ‘just a phase’ and now he’s not a terrorist anymore? And we’re meant to believe him?🤔

— Arya warrior (@Nowtspecialhere) December 8, 2024

State failings

When Shamima Begum left the UK, a man named Mohammed al-Rashed met het at an Istanbul bus station. Since then, British police have admitted that he was acting as an informant for Canada’s CSIS spy agency:

So Shamima Begum, a British Bangladeshi citizen who was groomed by Canadian intelligence, is what now?

— cardi ghee (@shl0erpapi) December 8, 2024

It was also acknowledged that her school, Tower Hamlets council, and the Met Police all failed and therefore effectively contributed to Begum’s trafficking. Despite this, the UK government are still classing her as a terrorist and stopping her from returning to the UK:

Seems a bit hypocritical that UK Govt continues to deny Shamima Begum citizenship after going to join a terrorist organisation, but the UK Government is now going to lift the terror designation of that same organisation in order to have diplomatic relations with it. 🧐

— Kane (@KAlmsivi) December 9, 2024

I’m all confused, is ISIS now our friend, if it is can Shamima Begum please be forgiven and allowed to come home?

— Lisa Woman of a Certain Age Tucker-Clemens (@TuckerClemens) December 9, 2024

Maybe if Shamima Begum leads a coup, the UK might let her back in?

Now that we, as a nation, support Islamic terrorists in the wake of the Syrian coup, shouldn’t we be allowing Shamima Begum to return to the UK with open arms? Or am I missing the point? pic.twitter.com/xzFQDdQRRy

— Mannie Quinn & The Mighty Hornets🐝 (@MannieMighty1) December 8, 2024

Richard Madeley who in 2021 compared Shamima Begum to the Hitler Youth and wanted to hang her…now says Syrias “rebels” are ok …What an establishment hypocrite#gmb

Richard Madeley ‘goes full Partridge’ after Begum discussion https://t.co/RH4RxJudKM

— Coolagorna (@trueclausefour) December 9, 2024

According to the UK government – ‘our enemy’s enemy is our friend’. That is of course, unless they’re a Brown woman, then fuck them.

The UK’s Tory government were nothing short of callous and racist for stripping her of her citizenship, effectively making her stateless.

Now, the Labour Party government saying they’ll reassess an organisation that’s rife with human rights abuses, purely because it’s politically convenient, is nothing short of hypocritical. Refusing to reconsider her citizenship because she joined a terrorist organisation as a child – thanks to a Canadian asset grooming her – is truly disgusting.

Feature image via the Canary