As European Women Stream to ISIS, This Reformed Extremist Is Offering Them a Different Path
Yasmin Mulbocus clutches her hijab as she sees images on TV of young women returning home from Syria.
She hears them talk about how they escaped from the clutches of ISIS. Mulbocus sees herself in them—her former self.
This 40-year-old mother of three with piercing black eyes, who speaks at what seems like a thousand words a minute, who elicits warm smiles from her West London neighbors with her vivaciousness and warm banter, actually used to be a recruiter for an extremist organization.
Today, she does the opposite.
She works with imams and community leaders in the Hounslow area of London, reaching out to youth—young Muslim women in particular.
Her goal? To prevent them from buying that plane ticket to Syria.
"What we need to do is work constantly, consistently, with these young people," she said.
Extremist groups like ISIS bring a lot of passion and build a vision in the eyes of their recruits. Countering that can be challenging, Mulbocus said.
Agence France-PresseBashar al-AssadFederal Bureau of InvestigationHeadscarfHijabMuslimRiyad Farid HijabSaudi ArabiaSyriaWomen in Islam