London: The BBC found Shamima Begum's best friend after she escaped from a Syrian detention facility, and she claims he inspired her to join Daesh.
Shamima Begum attended Bethnal Green Primary School with Sharmeena Begum, who was not related to her. She left to join Daesh in Syria in December 2014, and Shamima and two other friends followed her two months later.
Following her escape from the Camp Hol prison for women who were with ISIS and their children, the BBC located Sharmeena.
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A journalist from the "Shamima Begum Story" podcast contacted Sharmeena online under the guise of a supporter after learning about one of her social media accounts.
Sharmeena belittled Shamima as a failure and a non-believer in her correspondence with the BBC, claiming Shamima had tarnished the reputation of the women who had joined Daesh.
Sharmeena added that her former friend was "just another individual, living off the benefits" and that she made no contributions.
In hiding and using a different name, Sharmeena is still in Syria.
She is fanatical even by the standards of the extremist group, a former Daesh member told the BBC.
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Sharmeena was questioned about whether she regretted joining Daesh, but she sidestepped the enquiry by stating that she did not want to go back to the UK and risk being imprisoned.
Sharmeena was caught by the BBC illegally collecting donations while she was hiding out for members of Daesh. In an effort to raise cryptocurrency, she has been posting on social media about the conditions in the detention facility.
It is unknown how much money she has raised overall, but one account showed 29 transactions worth $3,000 in total.
The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, who is in charge of protecting the detainees at Camp Hol, expressed concern that resources like these are helping Daesh to reorganise, acquire weapons, and organise attacks and escapes.
Gen. Newroz Ahmed told the BBC that her people are among those being targeted and killed, saying, "If we...look at the camps, there are little children who are just a few years old and are being raised on the ideology of how to kill."
Over 65,000 people from 57 different countries reside at Camp Hol. According to guards, 50 people have been killed there over the past six months, and they have found grenades, guns, and explosive belts that were smuggled in, the BBC reported.
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Shamima claimed that Sharmeena was largely responsible for persuading her to flee to Syria and ally herself with the extremist "caliphate."
Shamima admitted to the BBC that she had been duped into believing it was the right course of action by being told lies about her intended destination and activities.
Sharmeena was also a victim of (Daesh), in my opinion, even though she probably still adheres to radical ideologies, she continued.