The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On October 4, 2014, the FBI arrested Mohammed Hamzah Khan, a 19-year-old from the suburban Chicago area, at O'Hare Airport for allegedly attempting to join ISIS. Khan maintained a Google Plus page, as well as a YouTube channel, which mostly features videos he had liked over the years. Khan also commented on a Department of Defense video on Al-Qaeda's recruitment of children in 2010.
Khan's Google plus account has 20 followers and been viewed 3,048 times, and was last updated in April 2014.
Khan's YouTube channel (using the name "Mohammed Khan" and username "ThePathan150") was last updated around six months ago and has been active for approximately four years. It mostly features videos that Khan liked over the years, including several playlists he created with titles such as "Fav", "Death no Disgrace", "Allahu", and "Mine." His YouTube account has 3 subscribers and has been viewed 711 times.
Earlier liked videos by Khan include videos from the NBA and of martial arts, but also videos related to Islam and Muslims such as a France 24 report on Gaza. He also has liked several comedic videos related to Islam and several videos featuring nasheeds (Islamic songs) related to Syria, and clips of Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yogoubi. He is also a fan of Vice News, and has liked videos related to Bedouins, Ukraine, and Afghanistan.
The only two videos uploaded by Khan to the channel include a video from what appears to be a Muslim singing competition ("MIST Chicago" – the Muslim Interscholastic Tournament) from April 2013, and a comedic video Khan made with friends (Khan is billed as "Actor/Director" in the video description) advertising a fake pill that grants strength.
One of the YouTube channels Khan has subscribed to is "SoliderOfAllah2", which features lectures in English on Islam, particularly battles and figures from Islamic history.
One of the videos liked by Khan is a video from Syria titled "Abu Hafs threatens Bashar Al-Assad's forces: "We will cut of your head with these swords!" (The title of the video and description are in Dutch). In the video, Abu Hafs (who is reportedly a Libyan) brandishes a sword and threatens the Assad regime (the video is in Arabic with English subtitles). He says: "We shall chop their heads off with swords... You worshippers of America and Russia... You have betrayed the Syrian people and the Mujahideen... We shall fight with swords! We shall fight with rifles! We shall fight with stones! By Allah we are victorious..."
Khan also posted the comment "fake as hell" on a Department of Defense video titled "Al-Qaeda Recruits Children", posted February 6, 2008. Khan's comment is dated June 4, 2010.
