The New Jihadi John: Who is He and the Threat He Possess?

The New Jihadi John: Who is He and What Threat Does He Possess?

As of 2014, it was estimated that 200 Britons are part of the 2,000 Europeans who have left their homes to fight for the Islamic State (IS). When British born Mohammad Emwazi (AKA Jihadi John) denounced his citizenship and joined the Islamic State he became a martyr for those who held the same ideology and religious values, and the killing of infidels. When he was killed through a joint coalition air strike it seemed to only add to his legacy rather than eliminate it. However, a new Jihadi John has emerged named Siddhartha

Siddharta Darh was born in London to parents of Bihar-Bengal background.  He would later change his name to Abu Rumaysah when he switched from Hinduism to Islam. To his friends he was simply known as “Sid” and was an easy going guy throughout his early teens. Abu Rumaysah would attended the Finsbury Park Mosque and followed the teachings of Jihadist  preacher Omari Bakri Muhammad over the next few years. The mosque has a history of ties to terrorist organizations. Former preacher Abu Hamza, born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in Egypt, he became interested in Islam and Politics in the early 1980’s and traveled to Afghanistan to meet with  Abdullah Azzam, co founder of al-Qadea.

He arrived at the Finsbury Park Mosque in 1997. The concerns included being investigated by Scotland Yard for assisting in a 1999 Yemen bomb attack; the praising of the 9/11 attacks; a 2003 police raid of reports of the mosque producing ricin; a list of terrorists connected to the mosque; and setting up a terrorist training camp in Oregon.

Abu Rumaysah joined the banned Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun, an extremist group linked to half the terrorist attacks in England over the past twenty years. These include the 7/7 London Transport bombings, the Murder of Lee Rigby, the attempt to blow up planes with liquid bombs which are composed of chemicals like triacetone triperoxide that breakdown irregularly and become highly volatile, and attempted to bomb the Ministry of Sound night club.

His popularity grew with the Islamic movement in London for openly preaching against the United States, Israel, and Arab nations who were not controlled through Shariah. He stood outside of mosques on Friday afternoons and attempted to recruit new members to join IS and Al-Muhajiroun. On several occasions he openly expressed relinquishing his citizenship if he could travel to Iraq and Syria. In interviews with BBC, CBS, and VICE he detailed of how he would like to see the United Kingdom ruled by Shariah, as Sariah law is much superior to democracy.

Married Aisha Tariq and had four children prior to his arrest, and has since had a fifth child born in Syria. In 2014, Abu Rumaysah was arrested along with Islamist preacher Amjem Choudary for encouraging acts of terrorism and continued support for Al-Muhajiroun.  After posting bail  in September 2014, Abu Rumaysah along with his wife and children fled England and headed to Paris and settled in Syria.

David Anderson, a member of the Queen’s Council (QC), made the statement, “There are hundreds of people who have managed to get out of this country – people who are already known to the security service – and end up in Syria associated with ISIS”.

Individuals like Abu Rumaysah are now becoming part of a growing trend of young British Muslims traveling to join IS.  Abu Rumaysah was indoctrinated into jihad by British Muslims, and if these individuals who take religion and ideologies to indoctrinate more British Muslims into Abu Rumaysah then the world will forever be in an endless struggle.