The Children of ISIS

Earlier this year, it was reported in Rolling Stone that three American teenagers, who were also siblings, from Chicago, had attempted to travel to join ISIS only to be stopped prior to departure by federal agents. The siblings had been plotting their journey since the spring of 2014, communicating online with people they believed to be ISIS sympathizers in Syria. The events that followed show a prime example of the destructive impact travelling, or attempting to travel, to join ISIS can have on an entire family.

As the article says, “to say that the past few months have been a nightmare for the Khans would be an understatement”, and it’s “as if someone had snuck into their home and stolen their children’s brains”. So often, the changes take place in secret, with parents unaware of what is happening; their children are being targeted online by ISIS recruiters who prey on young, vulnerable people they believe they can radicalise. For Shafi and Zarine Khan, it is a nightmare scenario -with “the best education and the best morals” taught to Hamzah and his two younger siblings ripped away by the false promises of a “Muslim utopia”.

While the three siblings awaited the decisions of American prosecutors, their parents were set for even more unwanted heartache. Shafi lost his job, and Zarine believes that friends are supportive from a distance, as “they’re scared, like, it’s as if these good kids could be brainwashed, we don’t know what’s going to happen to our children”.

The effects on the Khan family will resonate with so many affected in similar ways, and will invoke empathy in all parents who worry, naturally, for their children’s safety. If you are concerned about a loved one, friend or family member then please read the ‘What to do’ page on our website.

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