The Chicago mother of a 19-year-old American facing a terrorist charge for trying to join the Islamic State accused the group on Tuesday of brainwashing youths into joining their ranks via social media. And she declared, “Leave our children alone!”
Mohammed Hamzah Khan’s mother cried softly as she read her statement in a lobby at a Chicago federal courthouse. Minutes earlier, her son had pleaded not guilty to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist group. It carries a maximum 15-year prison term.
Zarine Khan, flanked by her husband, Shafi, said her family felt compelled to speak out in the wake of “unspeakable acts of horror” in Paris last week that killed 17.
“The venom spewed by these groups and the violence committed by them ... are completely at odds with our Islamic faith,” Ms. Zarine said. She added, “We condemn the brainwashing and recruiting of children through the use of social media and the Internet.”
Khan was arrested in October at O’Hare International Airport, as he sought to board a flight in Chicago on the first leg of a plan to sneak into Syria to join Islamic State, court documents allege.
Siblings detained
Weeks later, prosecutors revealed that Khan’s sister and brother were also detained at the airport and allegedly also aspired to live under Islamic State control. The younger siblings were interviewed by the FBI but haven’t been charged.
According to court documents, the girl once used the Twitter handle DeathIsTheeNear to send a favourable tweet about a video of beheadings placing a smiley emoticon in the text. The younger siblings haven’t been charged.
Investigators later found a three-page letter in Khan’s bedroom, in which he apologised to his parents for leaving so abruptly.
“This nation is openly against Islam and Muslims,” he wrote.
Khan’s mother ended her statement by directly addressing the Islamic State group, which she referred to as ISIS, and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“We have a message for ISIS, Mr. Baghdadi and his fellow social media recruiters,” she said, raising her voice. “Leave our children alone!”
