Privileged youths who set off to join jihad in Syria and Iraq are finding that Islamic law is just too tough and the terrorists too demanding. Some even grumble that they have to clean toilets and don’t get to fight.
French jihadist Flavien Moreau quit the Islamic State after just two weeks because he couldn’t smoke cigarettes,
according to the UK's Daily Mail. Smoking is against Islamic law, he whined, after police caught him sneaking back into France.
“I brought Nicorette gum with me, but it wasn’t enough,” he said.
The 27-year-old Muslim convert, who has a long criminal record, was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Moreau is among other dispirited jihadists, many from upscale backgrounds, who were seeking adventure with the ISIS terrorist army noted for beheading captives and raping women.
“My iPod no longer works out here. I have to come home,” another French jihadist complained, according to what were described as “weepy” messages leaked to the Italian newspaper Le Figaro.
Authorities suspect that more than 1,000 French youths flocked to join ISIS and other terrorist groups,
reported the UK's Independent. More than 100 have returned to France, where 76 have been arrested.
The complaints have also enlivened a debate on Twitter.
Areeb Majeed, a 23-year-old engineering student from India, answered an ISIS recruiting call among India’s 172 million Muslims. But he soon soured on the terrorists, complaining that he had to fetch water for the fighters and clean toilets,
reported the Daily Mail.
“There was neither a holy war, nor any of the preachings in the holy book were followed,” he told Indian intelligence officials as he was arrested after returning from the Middle East.