Farah Mohamed Shirdon of Calgary, fighting for ISIS, dead in Iraq, reports say – Politics – CBC News
2014/08/19 Leave a comment
Hard to feel any sympathy for Shirdon given his actions and rhetoric but we can for family members:
Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a Calgarian fighting overseas with the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was seen in the video burning his Canadian passport and threatening to destroy Iraq’s oppressors.
The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is aware of reports that a Canadian was killed in Iraq and is following the situation closely.
Farah Mohamed Shirdon of Calgary, fighting for ISIS, dead in Iraq, reports say – Politics – CBC News.
A good profile on Shirdon in The National Post:
Mr. Little said he didn’t recognize his friend in the video.
“It clearly wasn’t him anymore,” he said. When he learned of his death, Mr. Little tweeted: “The guy I knew was already dead inside, it’s still very disheartening to hear the news about my former friend. R.I.P. Farah Shirdon”
….. Mr. Shirdon’s family, including a mother, two brothers and at least one sister, were members of Calgary’s Somali-Canadian community.
Mohamed Jama, the Somali Canadian Society of Calgary president, described the family as “normal.”
“It’s very hard for his family,” he said. “Even the parents have no idea why this young man has [gone] to join this radical group.”
Mr. Jama was unaware Mr. Shirdon had been killed, calling the news “shocking.”
On a Twitter account believed to belong to Mr. Shirdon, a tweet from June read, “Beheading Shias is a beautiful thing.”
The account, under the pseudonym Abu Usamah, had more than 10,000 followers.
Mr. Jama said the Somali community in Calgary didn’t understand why Mr. Shirdon radicalized.
“It’s very hard to believe,” he said. “Especially a young person who grew up in the Western [world] and goes to a place he has no ethnicity, no community, no language.”
Mr. Jama described the actions of ISIS as a “killing phenomena.”
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Multicultural Meanderings 