Farah Mohamed Shirdon, Calgary ISIS fighter reportedly killed in Iraq, was ‘dead inside’ long ago, friend says | National Post

Farah Mohamed Shirdon, Calgary ISIS fighter reportedly killed in Iraq, was ‘dead inside’ long ago, friend says | National Post

Social media reports on Friday said Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a 21-year-old Somali-Canadian, had died overseas.
It’s unclear when he joined the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham but in an ISIS video that surfaced four months ago, Mr. Shirdon can be seen burning his Canadian passport and threatening Canada and the United States.
“He was never like that before,” said Nathaniel Little, 21. “He had a great multitude of friends in Calgary. Everybody liked him.”

Mr. Little met Mr. Shirdon when the two were in Grade 8 at John Ware School in Calgary. Mr. Shirdon’s family had just emigrated from Somalia.

Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed Shirdon. Farah Mohamed Shirdon, far right, before he left Canada.

“He was a nerd and we hung out in a circle of nerds,” said Mr. Little. “He was extremely funny. … That’s what drew people to him was his sense of humour.”
The two worked part-time jobs at Orange Julius and Mr. Shirdon also worked at the local movie theatre. He was a hard worker who didn’t particularly like school but studied hard to please his family.
He was religious but “would never press his beliefs on anyone,” said Mr. Little.
While Mr. Shirdon was a “very confident” young man, he also had a temper and was desperate to fit in, his friend said.
“[He] never threw fists or anything … but when he was angry he’d make fun of people. He’d belittle them,” said Mr. Little.

Courtesy of a friend of Farah Mohamed ShirdonFarah Mohamed Shirdon, right, before he left Canada.

In Grade 12, while attending Henry Wise Wood Senior High School, the friends drifted apart.
Mr. Shirdon started partying and selling marijuana. He deleted most of his Facebook friends, except Muslim ones.

NP GraphicsClick to Enlarge

“I saw his morals slowly start to decline,” said Mr. Little.
The last time Mr. Little saw Mr. Shirdon was May 2012.
In the April ISIS video, Mr. Shirdon wears glasses and can be seen tearing up and burning his passport. He threatens Canadians and Americans.
“This is a message to Canada and all the American tyrants: We are coming and we will destroy you, with permission from Allah the almighty,” he said mostly in English. “I left comfort for one reason alone. For Allah.”
Mr. Little said he didn’t recognize his friend in the video.
“It clearly wasn’t him anymore,” he said. When he learned of his death, Mr. Little tweeted: “The guy I knew was already dead inside, it’s still very disheartening to hear the news about my former friend. R.I.P. Farah Shirdon”
On Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said it was aware of reports a Canadian was killed in Iraq and was following the situation closely.

Mr. Shirdon’s family, including a mother, two brothers and at least one sister, were members of Calgary’s Somali-Canadian community.