A British mother dubbed ‘Towie Jihadi’, who was jailed for joining Isis, now wants to rebrand to become a social media influencer.
Tareena Shakil, who became the first British woman jailed for joining Isis, has amassed thousands of followers on TikTok.
She has recently shared her “mindset” for success on the online platform, saying that “failure doesn’t scare me”.
The ex-Isis member was dubbed the Towie Jihadi due to her love of reality TV shows.
She was locked up behind bars in 2016 after it was determined she posed a “serious risk” to society, but only served three years out of her six-year sentence.
Shakil has since stated that she is remorseful of her actions and claims that she was “taken advantage of” by online groomers.
Now, the mum has tried to rebrand herself into an influencer, amassing almost 4,000 followers and close to 100,000 video likes.
Her account, called That girl Tam Tam, posts selfies and videos with the hashtags “fashion blogger”, “style inspiration” and “London Fashion”.
In a now private Instagram account, she posed for snaps outside luxury fashion brands like Dior and Givenchy.
Shakil also posted travel content, with posts showing her holidaying in Morocco, Milan and Amsterdam.
The ‘Towie Jihadi’ has denied that she was purposefully trying to become an influencer.
“I’ve learned from my mistakes and have served my punishment,” she told the Mirror.
“I don’t seek to be an influencer or blogger, I seek to show people you can make it through hard times even when it may seem impossible.”
In 2014, Shakil left the UK for Syria, telling her family she was taking her son on holiday to Turkey.
She was pictured in Raqqa, the Islamic State’s symbolic capital, wearing a balaclava and posing with an AK-47.
Another picture showed her young son wearing an Isis hat.
A year later however, she returned to the UK after deciding to flee the Isis state.
She was immediately arrested when she landed at Heathrow Airport, and soon found guilty of being a member of the Islamic State.
The judge at Birmingham Crown Court said that whilst it was clear she had been radicalised, she had shown no remorse.
After undergoing a de-radicalisation programme, Shakil was released in 2018.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/isis-convict-tareena-shakil-towie-jihadi-tiktok