I believe that Shamima Begum should be barred from entering the UK. Here, are my reasons why. 

Shamima Begum was not just supposedly 'radicalised' or 'groomed' online by outside entities but by her own circle of friends that she kept who were her immediate source of radicalisation.

Shamima knew what she was getting into and decided to turn her back on her country of Birth for a foreign utopia, a place she would not even be able to pick out on a map. 

She felt a strong enough ideological connection with the Islamic State that she even turned against her own family whom she left behind apparently without even saying goodbye.

Cults like ISIS demand of their followers a complete submission to their way of life including cutting all ties with people who the person in question may have had a relationship with.

Allowing radicalised terrorist to keep their citizenship sends the completely wrong message to others that it is 'ok' to engage in nefarious operations and still be part of the country you hate and wish great harm for.

Revoking Begums citizenship was a necessary step by the British government to protect its citizens from any potential threat of terrorism. 

The journalist Andrew Drury described Shamima in an interview as “manipulative and narcissistic”, how does one trust then a person with these credentials?

Many people overlook Shamima Begums level of involvement in ISIS, particularly her practical and symbolic roles. She was the main poster girl for their recruitment brigade. ISIS gained an immense amount of propaganda capital by using Shamima and her other friends as a PR coup.  

If Shamima Begum was to be allowed her citizenship back, then every terrorist who has been barred from entering the UK including Jack Letts would have an equally compelling case to have their citizenship reinstated. A change of attire on her part is also certainly not going to fool anyone that she has had a change of heart.

An article in the Daily Mirror on 23rd February 2023 makes it patently obvious why Shamima should never be allowed back into the UK, the Mirror reported that Shamima Begum had indeed been involved in making suicide vests for ISIS. This fact alone should be sufficient to quash any arguments in support of Shamima Begum, after all how many innocent civilians lost their lives due to her actions?

Furthermore, the security services provided in depth comprehensive risk and threat analysis to the government in order to make an informed decision about the cancellation of her citizenship. The security services carry an enormous responsibility to keep British citizens safe in the face of terrorist threats and challenges, as any lapse in judgement could have catastrophic consequences just like in the case of Salman Abedi the Manchester Arena bomber. 

He too slipped under the radar of intelligence services because of lax judgement by counterterrorism command who incorrectly reduced Abedi’s threat level which resulted in 22 innocent people losing their lives.

The truth of the matter is Shamima Begum stripped her own self of her citizenship by turning her back on British Values and the British way of life in exchange for a barbaric cult. 

A few years back Shamima would have found herself locked away in Guantanamo Bay as an enemy combatant, she should thank her lucky stars that she is where she is. Shamima has only herself or her parents to blame for her shortcomings and no one owes her anything.

Asif Iqbal is from Blackburn is Coordinator for the Discussion Forum a group set up to tackle issues such as radicalisation.