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Farah Mohamed Shirdon, Calgary ISIS fighter reportedly killed in Iraq, was partying and ‘dead inside’ long ago, friend say

Farah Mohamed Shirdon was a Calgarian Somali-Canadian ISIS fighter reportedly killed abroad.

YoutubeFarah Mohamed Shirdon was a Calgarian Somali-Canadian ISIS fighter reportedly killed abroad.

A young Calgary man who is believed to have been killed in Iraq fighting for ISIS was “dead inside” long ago, says his former best friend.

Social media reports on Friday said Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a 21-year-old Somali-Canadian, had died overseas.

It’s unclear when he joined the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham but in an ISIS video that surfaced four months ago, Mr. Shirdon can be seen burning his Canadian passport and threatening Canada and the United States.

“He was never like that before,” said Nathaniel Little, 21. “He had a great multitude of friends in Calgary. Everybody liked him.”

Mr. Little met Mr. Shirdon when the two were in Grade 8 at John Ware School in Calgary. Mr. Shirdon’s family had just emigrated from Somalia.
Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed Shirdon

Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed ShirdonFarah Mohamed Shirdon, far right, before he left Canada.

“He was a nerd and we hung out in a circle of nerds,” said Mr. Little. “He was extremely funny. … That’s what drew people to him was his sense of humour.”

The two worked part-time jobs at Orange Julius and Mr. Shirdon also worked at the local movie theatre. He was a hard worker who didn’t particularly like school but studied hard to please his family.

He was religious but “would never press his beliefs on anyone,” said Mr. Little.

While Mr. Shirdon was a “very confident” young man, he also had a temper and was desperate to fit in, his friend said.

“[He] never threw fists or anything … but when he was angry he’d make fun of people. He’d belittle them,” said Mr. Little.

Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed Shirdon

Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed ShirdonFarah Mohamed Shirdon, right, before he left Canada.

In Grade 12, while attending Henry Wise Wood Senior High School, the friends drifted apart.

Mr. Shirdon started partying and selling marijuana. He deleted most of his Facebook friends, except Muslim ones.

NP Graphics

“I saw his morals slowly start to decline,” said Mr. Little.

The last time Mr. Little saw Mr. Shirdon was May 2012.

In the April ISIS video, Mr. Shirdon wears glasses and can be seen tearing up and burning his passport. He threatens Canadians and Americans.

“This is a message to Canada and all the American tyrants: We are coming and we will destroy you, with permission from Allah the almighty,” he said mostly in English. “I left comfort for one reason alone. For Allah.”

Mr. Little said he didn’t recognize his friend in the video.

“It clearly wasn’t him anymore,” he said. When he learned of his death, Mr. Little tweeted: “The guy I knew was already dead inside, it’s still very disheartening to hear the news about my former friend. R.I.P. Farah Shirdon”

On Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said it was aware of reports a Canadian was killed in Iraq and was following the situation closely.

Mr. Shirdon’s family, including a mother, two brothers and at least one sister, were members of Calgary’s Somali-Canadian community.

Mohamed Jama, the Somali Canadian Society of Calgary president, described the family as “normal.”

“It’s very hard for his family,” he said. “Even the parents have no idea why this young man has [gone] to join this radical group.”

Mr. Jama was unaware Mr. Shirdon had been killed, calling the news “shocking.”

On a Twitter account believed to belong to Mr. Shirdon, a tweet from June read, “Beheading Shias is a beautiful thing.”

The account, under the pseudonym Abu Usamah, had more than 10,000 followers.

Mr. Jama said the Somali community in Calgary didn’t understand why Mr. Shirdon radicalized.

“It’s very hard to believe,” he said. “Especially a young person who grew up in the Western [world] and goes to a place he has no ethnicity, no community, no language.”

Mr. Jama described the actions of ISIS as a “killing phenomena.”

Mr. Shirdon is one of several Calgary men who went overseas to fight for extremist groups in recent years.

In January Calgarian Damian Clairmont died in Syria after converted to Islam following a suicide attempt. In November 2013 Pakistani-Canadian Salman Ashfrafi was blamed for a suicide bombing that killed 19 Iraqis.

“The RCMP is aware that there is issue with the radicalization to violence of individuals in the Calgary area who are leaving to take part in terrorist activities overseas,” said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Josée Valiquette. “We take the threats of terrorism and radicalization to violence very seriously.”

While Mr. Little is still “blown away” by the changes in his friend, he has an explanation for his radicalization.

“Farah was very easily manipulated throughout his life. If someone thought he was cool and he knew it, they could basically make him do anything they want,” he said. “That’s what he really wanted, was to feel accepted.”
National Post, with a file from Stewart Bell

Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed Shirdon

Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed ShirdonFarah Mohamed Shirdon, centre, before he left Canada

Source: National Post

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