The family of a Scottish student who fled her home to marry an Islamic State (Isis) fighter in Syria have said that she has betrayed her community and the people of Scotland.
The parents of Aqsa Mahmood made a public appeal for their daughter to return home and said she had “torn the heart out of our family”.
Muzaffar and Khalida Mahmood said they were horrified to find that their “sweet, peaceful, intelligent” child had become a “bedroom radical” and had joined jihadists in Syria.
The 20-year-old student, who had been a pupil at one of Glasgow’s most exclusive girls’ schools, travelled to Aleppo in Syria via Turkey in November. She married an Islamic State fighter in February this year.
In a statement read by Aamer Anwar, their solicitor, the parents said: “We still love you, Aqsa, but we now have to put your family, your brother and sisters first as you have betrayed us, our community and the people of Scotland when you took this step.
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“You have torn the heart out of our family and changed our lives for ever. Please come home.” They added: “If our daughter, who had all the chances and freedom in life, could become a bedroom radical, then it is possible for this to happen to any family.”
It has been reported that Ms Mahmood has been tweeting Islamic State propaganda and encouraging terrorist acts through a Twitter account under the name Umm Layth. The account has now been deleted.
Tweets from the account detailed daily life as an Isis bride and conditions on the “front line”, and urged people to carry out similar murders to the killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby.
One tweet said: “Follow the examples of your brothers from Woolwich, Texas and Boston. If you cannot make it to the battlefield, then bring the battlefield to yourself.”
Ms Mahmood was a pupil at Craigholme Secondary School, one of Glasgow’s most expensive private schools, and was “well integrated into society”, according to her parents.
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After failing to achieve her expected grades in her Highers exams, Ms Mahmood enrolled at the state-run Shawlands Academy in 2011 before enrolling in a radiography degree at Glasgow Caledonian University. Shortly after starting the course, Ms Mahmood, who had started wearing a full-length abaya cloak, disappeared from the city.
Her parents said: “We had high hopes for her and would have loved for her to be a doctor and to save lives. We dreamed that one day we would see her married with children, but sadly that no longer looks likely.
“As parents we would have liked for her to listen to us but we gave her everything possible in terms of love, freedom and education and she chose the path which we could never approve of.”
They added: “All parents want to be proud of their children but sadly we now feel nothing but sorrow and shame for Aqsa.
“We are not in denial and do not make any excuses for her and absolutely condemn her involvement in Isis and recent comments. But she is our daughter and we still love her, fear for her life and would urge her to return home while she still can.”
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Mr Anwar said that Ms Mahmood had kept in contact with her family through social media.