Daughter may have persuaded British family of Bangladesh origin to join Islamic State, relatives suspect

Relatives of a 12-member British family with Bangladesh roots that has reportedly joined Islamic State after going missing suspect the couple’s daughter may have persuaded them to join the terror outfit.

Speaking to bdnews24.com, the relatives in Sylhet’s Fenchuganj Upazila said the family had made contacts, possibly from Syria, a month ago, but their safety was still a matter of concern.

Septuagenarian Abdul Mannan and his wife Minara Khatun, 53, along with 10 other family members had visited his ancestral home in Fenchuganj’s Maijgaon in April.

The family has been living in England for a long time. Their last known address was in Bedfordshire’s Luton.

Mannan, 75, had moved to England in 1962 and worked in restaurants, according to relatives. The family now runs a small business in Luton.

Media reports said he had diabetes and his wife, cancer.

The family had come to Bangladesh on Apr 11 on a month’s visit. They flew to Turkey’s Istanbul on May 11 and were then due to travel to Britain.

But they went missing from there. Mannan’s two sons, from his previous marriage who also live in the UK, first reported their disappearance to British police.

A statement said to have been issued on behalf of the family on Saturday claimed some of its members had joined Islamic State.

Mannan’s brother Abdul Latif on Sunday told bdnews24.com the last time he spoke with his relatives was on May 21.

They did not mention where they were, but said they were fine and asked the relatives not to worry, he said.

Mannan’s family, which included three children aged between one and 11, in the statement also said, "We say to those that are concerned for our safety to put your hearts at rest, for we feel safer than we have ever felt before."

Different media reports, however, said the statement’s authenticity could not be confirmed.

Relatives in Fenchuganj’s Maijgaon said they did not see anything unusual in the behaviours of most of the family members during the time of their stay.

But Mannan’s daughter Rajia Khanam, 21, stood out of the crowd because of her different attitude, said Nazmul Haque.

Haque is the son of Mannan’s late older brother, Ekhlas Miah.

He told bdnews24.com that it was possible that Rajia convinced the rest of the family to join the militant organisation.

She appeared to be very strict with the others when it came to maintaining religious rules, Haque added.

Tarek Khan, a grandchild of Mannan, told bdnews24.com: “Our relatives in the UK also told us that Rajia was an active member of an Islamist organisation. She was the head of that organisation’s Luton branch.”

Some of the neighbours at Luton in Bedfordshire also suspect the female members of the family had got themselves involved with a group of religious fanatics. And it was possible that they travelled to Syria to avoid arrests.

The BBC in a report said it was believed that Rajia had links with the banned Islamist group al-Muhajiroun, which had members in Luton.

Some 700 Britons are thought to have gone to Syria, many to join IS which have taken control of large areas of the country and neighbouring Iraq.

But this was the first time a family with Bangladeshi roots reportedly joined the militant outfit.

Apart from Mannan, his wife, and daughter, the others in the family were his sons Mohammad Zayed Hussain, 25, Mohammad Toufique Hussain, 19, Mohammed Saleh Hussain, 26, his wife Rowshan Ara Begum, 24, and their three children.

Also with them were Mannan’s other daughter Saida Khanam, 27, and her husband Mohammad Abdul Kashem, 31.

The 75-year-old’s brother Latif on Sunday said Mannan had asked them to not tell anyone about them when he had contacted him 10 days after leaving Bangladesh.

He did not want to say anything more about his older brother. “Police have asked us to not talk much,” Latif said.

Fenchuganj police OC Nandan Kanti Dhar told bdnews24.com they did not have much information about the family. “But they are under our observation now.”

Despite the phone call from Mannan, Abdul Latif lamented ‘losing’ 12 members of his family.

Of the four brothers Mannan have, Latif and Abdul Wahid currently live at Maijgaon. Another brother lives in the United States.