Since Jihadi John’s identity was revealed as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi, several accounts of his personality have been released by people who knew or were around him. The latest comes from his father, who has been quick to insist that there is no proof his son is in fact the infamous Jihadi John. Earlier reports had suggested his mother recognised her Emwazi’s voice in the video. However, those have since been rejected by his father, Jassem Emwazi, who stressed he would contact a lawyer in order to file a lawsuit against those making accusations.
A second account was given by a former Islamic State fighter, Abu Ayman.
The former member left ISIS but claims to have met and spent time with Emwazi when he first arrived in Syria two years ago. He claims that there was very little to Emwazi, and that ISIS had managed to turn him into a propaganda machine in order to attract other from the UK to join the Islamic State. Ayman highlighted that Emwazi was “nothing special” and noted that he was “cold and strange”, often isolated and kept away from the group.
A further description of the boy was given by a former teacher of his. Emwazi attended Quintin Kynaston school during his teenage years, and a teacher expressed her shock at his transformation into Jihadi John. In fact, she claims Emwazi was one of the success stories of the school given the fact that he struggled with anger management issues upon his arrival at the college. But with the help of school teachers and advisors, he went on to accomplish everything he set out to do, including go to university and graduate with a good degree.
