Abu Rumaysah

Abu Rumaysah al-Britani (born c. 1984), born Siddhartha Dhar, is a suspected British Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant. In January 2016, he was named as the narrator and central figure in a film issued by ISIL that showed the execution of suspected spies against the regime.[1][2]

Dhar was born in London to a Hindu family and changed his name to Abu Rumaysah after his conversion to Islam. He is believed to be in his early 30s as of 2016.[3] He acted as a spokesperson for the Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun, an organisation banned in the UK, and worked as an aide to Al-Muhajiroun's co-founder, Anjem Choudary.[4] Dhar also owned a bouncy castle rental company.[3] He lived in Walthamstow. He used social media to promote his radical Islamist views and attended demonstrations in Britain against the United States, Israel, and Arab regimes. In a video he posted to YouTube, Dhar described ISIL's self declared caliphate as "...a dream for all Muslims worldwide ... We can finally have a sanctuary where we can practice our religion and live under the Sharia. It is a big, big thing."[2]

He spoke of his desire for the UK to be governed under Sharia law on the BBC's Sunday Morning Live programme, and said of himself that he didn't "...really identify myself with British values. I am Muslim first, second and last." In 2014, Dhar was under investigation by British authorities for allegedly encouraging terrorism, but subsequently disappeared after being released on bail. Although he had been banned from travelling, Dhar departed for Paris from Victoria Coach Station in London with his wife, Aisha, and their four children, and later arrived in Syria.[2] Dhar was believed to have been living in Raqqa as of September 2015. Dhar's sister-in-law, Zahera Tariq, attempted to travel to Syria with her four children in September 2015 but was stopped in Turkey and deported back to the UK, where she was arrested.[5]

Dhar wrote a travel guide to the Islamic State in May 2015, called A Brief Guide to Islamic State, and wrote of it that "If you thought London or New York was cosmopolitan, then wait until you step foot in the Islamic State because it screams diversity ... In my short time here I have met people from absolutely every walk of life, proof that the caliphate's pulling power is strong and tenacious."[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Islamic State video suspect thought to be Briton Siddhartha Dhar". BBC News Online. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dominic Casciani (4 January 2016). "Who is Siddhartha Dhar?". BBC News Online. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 Joseph Flaig (4 January 2016). "Speculation that ISIS executioner 'could be Walthamstow jihadi', report claims". Guardian Series. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Mother feared to have taken children to Syria linked with high ranking ISIS man". Guardian Series. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Georgia Diebelius (1 September 2015). "Mother-of-four 'bound for Syria' arrested". Guardian Series. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
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