Neighbours divided over return of ‘unrepentant’ jihadi runaway

IF SHAMIMA BEGUM thought her plea to return to Britain would be met with unreserved approval in the east London neighbourhood she fled four years ago she is likely to be disappointed.

The prospect of her returning home has understandably led to fears that an entire community may once again be tarred with the same brush that in the eyes of bigots damns them all as Islamist terror sympathisers.

Community groups and residents in the London borough of Tower Hamlets – home to thousands of second, third and fourth generation migrants whose families, like Shamima’s, came to Britain to build a better life – are divided on whether she should be allowed back at all, or be given a second chance.

John Biggs, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, spoke for many in the area when he told The Sunday Telegraph: “We should remember that Shamima Begum was a child when she left Lon- don and was the clear victim of radicalisation. Her lack of remorse and her apparent continued support for IS however are deeply worrying and cannot be left unchallenged. If she returns it is entirely right she is held to account for her actions.”

There are similar feelings among the area’s varied Muslim community – that although Shamima’s plight deserved sympathy, she should not be allowed to slip back into a normal life in Britain.

Khalil Yousuf, of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said: “The UK should permit her to return for the sake of her innocent unborn child…if she is released into society, she should be monitored carefully… The safety of the country should be treated as a priority.”

Other locals feel Shamima deserves forgiveness.

Ellie Ward, 47, a café owner, said: “We have a duty to look after our young and our children, and she was too young at the time to know what she was doing.”

Adeel Javed, 40, a Muslim shop owner on bustling Bethnal Green Road, said: “She definitely made the wrong choice to start with. But you can forgive people and bring them back if they understand what they did wrong. The baby deserves to be in a safer place than a bombardment area.”

Emma Kelly, 27, a teacher working with the anti-radicalisation Prevent programme, said it may be in her best interests to remain abroad.

“For the safety of the child she is carrying I think it is better that she stays in Syria. She believes England isn’t good and poses a risk to people living here,” she said. “It is a sad case. We feel emotion for the child but at the same time it will be a risk to the people of London.”

Over at Bethnal Green’s Baitul Aman mosque and cultural centre, the iman, Moulana Malik, said he fears Shamima and the other “Isil brides” still pose a danger.

“They think bad things – their views are not in line with the peace of the community,” he said. “They are a danger for the community.”