Aqsa Mahmood is a citizen of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, who stirred controversy in 2013 when she was one of the first UK women to voluntarily slip into

Daesh An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

territory, when she was 20 years old.

Early life

Mahmood was born to Pakistani immigrant parents (her father Muzaffar was the first Pakistani to play cricket for the

Scottish cricket team The Scotland national cricket team represents the country of Scotland. They play their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh, and also some other venues. Scotland became Associate Members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1994

). Mahmood attended

Craigholme School Craigholme School was a private school for girls situated in the Pollokshields area of the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1894 and closed in 2020. History The school was founded in 1894 by Mrs Jessie Murdoch as Pollokshields ...

and

Shawlands Academy Shawlands Academy is a state secondary school in the Shawlands area of Glasgow, Scotland. Admissions Shawlands Academy was Glasgow's designated International School and one of Scotland's most multicultural schools. It was situated in Shawlan ...

in Glasgow.

ISIS

In 2015, her family challenged the allegation that she played a role in recruiting four teenage girls to follow her example. Her family expressed surprise over her travel to Daesh territory. In April 2015,

Mark Rowley Sir Mark Peter Rowley (born November 1964) is a British senior police officer who has been the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis since September 2022. He was the Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for Specialist Operati ...

, the Assistant Commissioner for

Specialist Operations The Specialist Operations directorate is a unit of the Metropolitan Police of London, UK responsible for providing specialist policing capabilities including national security and counter-terrorism operations. The Specialist Operations Directorate ...

of the Metropolitan Police Service and the concurrent Chair of the

National Police Chiefs' Council The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is a national coordination body for law enforcement in the United Kingdom and the representative body for British police chief officers. Established on 1 April 2015, it replaced the former Association ...

Counter-Terrorism Coordination Committee, told the

UK House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

Home Affairs Committee that security officials were close to compiling enough evidence to charge Mahmood, if she returned to the UK, or to request extradition, if she tried to settle elsewhere. On 28 September 2015 the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

placed her on its sanctions list, reserved for those with ties to Al Qaeda. UK authorities rescinded her passport, to prevent her return to the United Kingdom. In February 2019, '' The Mirror'' reported that Mahmood was believed to have died in the warzone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmood, Aqsa 1993 births People from Glasgow British expatriates in Syria Scottish people of Pakistani descent British Islamists Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members Possibly living people People educated at Shawlands Academy