The media is full of the story of Shamima Begum, the woman who made the choice to forsake a life in Britain to join up and live with a terrorist organisation. The decision of the Home Secretary to deprive her of UK citizenship has been greeted with every emotion from delight to despair.
Forgetting questions about whether or not the Home Secretary's decision is legal under international law, is it the 'right' think to have done ?
Begum has shown not the slightest remorse or regret for her decision to join the organisation which called itself IS. She is, without doubt, someone who considers herself to be, over and above all else, a Muslim and she has embraced every aspect of the IS philosophy. Being a British citizen was, in her eyes, an accident of birth and is now simply a convenience; it is something that she hoped to use in order to get her out of her current predicament. No one should believe that, given the opportunity, this woman's Muslim beliefs wouldn't again take precedence over else.
It's been said that her heritage gives her a right to Bangladeshi citizenship and Bangladesh is a Muslim country. Given Begum's beliefs and behaviour, Bangladesh is where she belongs and she should go there. If she wants so badly to be a Muslim, let her live that life to the full in a place where being a Muslim is far more natural than it is in Britain. That would be her true 'home', far more so than any part of Britain.
No comments:
Post a Comment