'Hungry Hamza' once fought for the Islamic State. Now he battles the urge for Western fast food.
By Erin Cunningham and Erin Cunningham Middle East reporter covering Iran, Turkey, Syria and the wider region Email Bio Follow Kamiran Sadoun March 30 at 3:17 PM RMELAN, Syria — Five years ago, Hamza Parvez was a pudgy Islamic State recruit from West London known for his unusual social media posts about kittens, KFC and what passed for fast food in the so-called caliphate.For years, the fate of Abu Hamza al-Britani, as he was known, was unclear.
One purported photo of Parvez — who one British tabloid dubbed “Hungry Hamza” for his frequent posts about food — shows him bearded, armed and eating ice cream in the Iraqi city of Mosul, once held by the Islamic State. “Regret is not even the word. If there was a stronger word, I would use it,” Parvez, appearing gaunt and clad in loosefitting prison clothes, said of his decision to join the Islamic State five years ago.
Few Western governments have said they will take back their citizens who flocked to territory once controlled by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The group is accused of carrying out horrific atrocities across both countries, including mass executions, sexual slavery and widespread destruction of ancient sites and artifacts.Last month, Britain stripped London-born teenager Shamima Begum of her British citizenship after she emerged from the caliphate’s final scrap of territory in Baghouz.
In the interview Saturday, Parvez claimed to have joined the caliphate to help build the state as a civilian — despite his allegiance to the group’s violent ideology. “The things we found out, we found out the hard way,” he said, adding that his superiors forced him and others to fight on the front lines.
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